Oiling and caring for your flute 

Corks and Tuning Slide 

The corked tenons are very tight at the start. You must apply cork grease each time the flute is assembled. After 
3 or 4 weeks the new corks will compress and the flute will be easier to assemble. 
It is necessary that the corks are very tight at the start so they will not leak once they have compressed. A 
corked tenon that is slightly too loose will leak and make your flute much more difficult to play. Grease the 
tuning slide with lanovaseline which is less stiff than cork-grease. You can buy lanovaseline from a pharmacy. 
Rings 
The silver rings on your flute are not just decorative. The tenons need to be relatively tight and exert outwards 
pressure on the mortices. The rings support the wood and stop the mortices from cracking. The rings also bind 
the barrel and head around the tuning slide. ​Many flutes crack because the rings are loose. 
The rings are installed on your flute with a press so they are extremely tight but the wood can shrink due to dry 
weather or central heating.  
 
The rings are not glued in place and they can and do come off sometimes. 
If a ring comes off ​superglue or epoxy is not the answer​. It must be reinstalled tightly with cloth underneath it to 
fill the gap. Although this is a simple standard repair it is best to see a woodwind repairer or you can send your 
flute back to me for a total revision.  
 
DRYING YOUR FLUTE 
Dry the bore off your flute after playing with a flute cleaning rod. 
Oiling  
Your flute has been oiled with hard drying oils already in the workshop. I recommend continuing to nourish the 
wood with almond oil (which is a non-drying oil). Once every 10 days for the first couple of months and then 
once per month. When the flute is a couple of years old perhaps just every couple of months. 
 
You do not need to put a lot of oil on or in your flute. A light smear is enough. If you use too much it will take 
longer to dry and can aglomerate in tone holes and key slots and will be bad for the sound and performance of 
your instrument.  
 
Note​ : Your flute will not sound as good for 24 hours after oiling. Oil the flute when it is dry not after playing. 
 
Put a drop of oil on a strip of cloth and pull it through the bore with a « flute drying rod ».  
Oil is not varnish. Do not try to build up a thick coat​. 
A few drops of oil is enough for the outside of the flute. ​Avoid the key slots​ and clean out tone holes and 
embouchure with a drop of oil on a cotton bud. 
Do not take the keys off to oil the flute​. If you take the keys off you will almost certainly have leaks when you 
put them back. You can use cigarette papers or kitchen towel under the keypads to soak up any oil that may 
be underneath the pads. 
Do not oil the metallic parts. Wipe any residue off the inside of the tuning slide. 
 
Head-cork position. ​The standard head cork position for D and Eb is 19mm from the centre of the embouchure. 
19.5mm on a C flute and 20mm on a Bb. 
 
Evolution of your flute 
After a year or two the aspect of the surface of your flute will change. It will darken and start to take a more 
brilliant and less dry looking shine. You can not rush this by putting large amounts of oil, but light regular oiling 
will help. When a flute starts to have this new aspect the hard D and general sound will improve. The bass 
notes will become clearer which is especially noticeable on Bb and C flutes.  
Revision 
You are welcome to send the flute back to me for a revision.