I attended John Landell’s Vermont Flute Workshop in 2009. This was an amazing experience to work alongside and learn from a true master craftsman.
Here is my photo journal of the adventure.
This is a jig made to solder the G# key assembly together. All angles must be perfect and held together so nothing moves. If anything does while soldering you have to start over.
This happened to me at the end of the day. The rib on the foot joint pulled from the body. When this happens on something this old, the rib is removed, old solder cleaned off, then wired to the tube and soldered back on.
This is a titanium headjoint, the same material used for aircraft wings for supersonic jets. Very light and very hard. The jig holding it is made by Mr. Landell.
Buffing a flute in preparation for an overhaul.
If you look closely there is a rod that is between the two posts, this helps to stabilize and hold while soldering these posts on.
Soldering the posts on.
We had to solder a post back that should not have come off. Here it is being lined up to solder in the right place.
This is one of Jon Landell's flute. In the center of picture is a very small ball bearing that he used in the king post instead of there being a friction fit with two surfaces constantly rubbing against one another. This is the way the F# and Bb are usually made, and Landell's use of a ball bearing is small but major innovation.
Preparing to resurface a new tone hole.