These past few months I've been studying woodwind instrument repair.

I thought it might be interesting to post a picture of the flute overhaul that I'm in the process of completing.

This is the second overhaul that I've done, and the first one that I'll be doing on my own. The first one took nearly a month because everything was new to me. This one has been coming along a little faster, but I find myself getting hung up every now and then due to a lack of tools.

What you're looking at is a partially disassembled flute with new pads and corks. The next step is the most time consuming, and involves shimming each pad to give it a good seat.

I can't shim pads without a feeler, and I can't make a feeler without scotch tape, so I'm stuck at the moment!

So much to learn, but so rewarding, and completely worth the investment of time and money.