Klarinet Archive - Posting 000925.txt from 2001/01

From: Bilwright@-----.net (William Wright)
Subj: [kl] Lanolin -- Life's Little Mystery solved
Date: Sun, 28 Jan 2001 20:26:00 -0500

I like lanolin (anhydrous pharmaceutical grade) because its
viscosity is more stable at various temperatures than what is normally
sold as cork grease. On a really hot day, it doesn't turn into slurpy
goop that makes a mess. On cold days, a tiny amount spreads and coats
the cork more evenly. My teacher borrowed some from me, and now she's
converted as well.

Despite being an animal product (extracted from sheep wool, judging
by the label), I have kept a tub of it at room temperature for at least
six months now, and there is no hint of degradation --- no change in
color or odor or viscosity. A pharmacist assures me that he has
never experienced or heard of lanolin degrading.
Lanolin has caused no damage to my corks that I can perceive. In
fact, my corks seem more resilient and less dried out/stained than what
I've seen on many other instruments.
If you multiply the price of a tube of ordinary cork grease by the
number of tube-fuls in a one-pound tub of lanolin, it's less expensive
also. Hey, if I'm going to spend a few hours sealing and adjusting
reeds, I can afford an extra 60 seconds every few weeks to refill a 'lip
balm' tube.
Not to mention the presumably beneficial effect of occasional
lanolin contact to my fingertips --- a person can't finger properly with
chapped fingertips, now can they?

....but the disappearing lanolin was a mystery to me until I
discovered the answer.
It turns out that, unlike normal cork grease, the lanolin creates a
really tight air seal between the cap and the dispenser tube. The
result is stored air pressure when you slide the cap onto the tube.
Over a period of a few hours, this pressure causes the lanolin to flow
past the piston at the bottom of the dispenser. When the air space
below the piston finally fills up with lanolin (over a few weeks or
months), then lanolin oozes out past the thumb wheel at the bottom of
the dispenser when you retract the piston to the bottom of the tube in
order to refill the dispenser.

@-----.

Cheers,
Bill

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