Klarinet Archive - Posting 000132.txt from 1999/02

From: "Steven J. Goldman M.D." <gpsc@-----.com>
Subj: RE: [kl] Bore Oil (Planas Article)
Date: Wed, 3 Feb 1999 22:22:31 -0500

Mark,

OK, now I've read the whole thing. It does not change my opinion at all. The
article is flawed by the incorrect assumption that the oil has to be
absorbed to work. Mr. Planas correctly states that cracking is caused by
uneven absorption of moisture (one of several reasons by the way), and he
correctly recommends careful drying of the instrument as the most important
thing you can do to prevent this. But that is JUST what proper oiling helps
in doing, whether it is absorbed or on the surface. The skin of dried
linseed oil is much more then "very cosmetic", it is very water repellant.
And all the examples of how incorrect oiling can ruin the instrument carry
no weight whatsoever. If you perform any maintenance improperly it will be
detrimental. Improper reed prep can make a fair reed into an unusable one.
Does this mean that no one should prepare a reed. Of course not. One should
learn how to properly prepare it.

Depending on the luck of the draw, a black wood instrument may not need
oiling, pre-warming, etc. but you will only find out which type yours is
when it cracks.

In summary, every argument against oiling is flawed by three errors:

1) Not differentiating proper from improper oiling.
2) A basic misunderstanding of what the oil is doing and if it has to be
absorbed
3) Over generalizing from the fact that many black wood instruments are
strong enough to withstand the moisture they absorb to all black wood (or
worse all wood) instruments are strong enough to withstand this.

Steve

-----Original Message-----
From: charette@-----.org]
Subject: RE: [kl] Bore Oil

Re: Planas

Did you read the whole article? There was a lot more to it, but I only
excerpted a portion.

There are some who feel that the _penetration_ into the wood is the
desired effect.
Mr. Planas does discuss the other oils, too - but I brought up only one
small area - the section on oil penetration.....

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unsubscribe from Klarinet, e-mail: klarinet-unsubscribe@-----.org
Subscribe to the Digest: klarinet-digest-subscribe@-----.org
Additional commands: klarinet-help@-----.org
Other problems: klarinet-owner@-----.org