Klarinet Archive - Posting 000680.txt from 2003/03

From: GrabnerWG@-----.com
Subj: Re: [kl] RE: Oiling
Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2003 12:32:30 -0500

In a message dated 3/17/2003 10:14:33 AM Eastern Standard Time, el2@-----.edu writes:

> It seems to me as though the experiment of soaking grenadilla for a long time and then slicing it to see the actual results would constitute scientific experimentation, even though perhaps of a rather unsophisticated kind.>>

You know, I've been thinking about this in the back of my mind for several days now, and about what we are doing when we oil an instrument.

When I thought about it, and the anecdote about Moennig, I realized that maybe I don't care about how FAR the oil penetrates the wood. What I do see and observe is what is happening to the SURFACES of the wood.

Now I want to get this straight. I DO NOT regularly oil my clarinets. They do not seem to need them. They are regularly played, and when the in-door humidity is low, I try my best to humidify them. My bass is 30 years old and has never been oiled, for example (although next time I strip it, I might do the immersion process).

What I was talking about was restoring very old instruments, some of which have not been played for years. Many of these have wood that looks and feels extremely dry, almost brittle. The oil immersion process seems to bring the wood back to life. I would be VERY hesitant to play these instrument without or before the oil treatment. My fear is that they would absorb moisture like a sponge, and quickly and enthusiastically crack.

So perhaps both "arguments" are correct. Maybe the oil does not penetrate far into the wood (the observed phenomenon), but is does protect, and to a small degree "restore" shrunken and dried surfaces.

Let's discuss this concept for awhile and see where it gets us.

Walter Grabner
www.clarinetXpress.com
Clarinet restorations

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