Klarinet Archive - Posting 000610.txt from 1998/09

From: John Dablin <johnd@-----.com>
Subj: RE: [kl] real subject: breaking in my R-13
Date: Thu, 17 Sep 1998 04:08:52 -0400

For what it's worth, a repairman told me recently that there was no
point in oiling the bore of a clarinet because the grain was far too
fine and densely packed for the oil to soak in. He reckoned that if you
must oil the wood then you had to put it where the end grain was
exposed, such as in the joints and the tone holes. I must admit I can
see a certain logic in this, but I would be nervous of oiling tone holes
too much in case a residue builds up and alters the tuning.

A thought I've had which I've never heard any else suggest:- maybe a
thin film of oil on the bore encourages water to form globules rather
than spreading out, and thus helps stop it running into the tone holes?

John Dablin
Aylesbury UK

-------------------------------------------------------------------------