Klarinet Archive - Posting 000328.txt from 1995/10

From: "Edwin V. Lacy" <el2@-----.EDU>
Subj: Re: Question about bore oil (now *key* oil)
Date: Fri, 13 Oct 1995 10:23:39 -0400

On Fri, 13 Oct 1995, Laurence Liberson wrote:

> Yeah, that's what Bill Brannen has spoken of for years: 10W-30 motor oil
> for the keys. The premise is that since the so-called professional player
> is putting his/her instrument through a lot of use (or torture?), that the
> heavier oil will last longer and lubricate better.

I know other woodwind players who use motor oil, in weights up to 30W.
The oils with higher viscosity seem to work especially well where there
is more play in the keywork - it can cushion a certain amount of
"looseness" in the action. Another advantage: 1 quart can supply you
and all your students for years.

A company which markets household oils under the trade name "3-in-1"
sells a generic oil, which appears to be about 5 or 10 weight, but they
also sell an "electric motor oil" which is 20 weight. Advantages: you
can buy a smaller amount (about 2 or 3 ounces in a can), and it does not
contain all the additives which are required in oils for modern
automotive engines.

Some of the additives in motor oils, such as detergents, *might* be
advantageous for use on musical instruments, but I'm sure I don't have
any idea about what others may be in the automotive oils, or what they
might do to the wood or pads of an instrument. Possibly they are benign,
and I think they are alkaline rather than acid, but I can't be sure.

Ed Lacy
el2@-----.edu