Klarinet Archive - Posting 000389.txt from 2004/11

From: Tim Roberts <timr@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Problems with water... and other oil and swabbing wisdom
Date: Wed, 10 Nov 2004 12:45:18 -0500

On Tue, 09 Nov 2004 22:13:32 -0500, Ejahls@-----.com wrote:

>I look forward to reading responses to Magnus' question. I have a few related questions. What's the conventional wisdom re. how often/when to oil one's clarinet?
>

There is no "conventional wisdom" on oiling. Or, more accurately, the
conventional wisdom is contradictory.

Buffet recommends that you do no oiling at all of their new clarinets.
Like all manufacturers, they soak their clarinets in an extended oil
bath during the manufacturing process. Grenadilla is an extremely dense
wood. Even during this initial oil bath, it soaks up very little, and
what it does soak up evaporates very, very slowly. Thus, during your
clarinet's toddler and even teen-aged years, whatever oil you spread in
the bore ends up in the swab, not in the clarinet.

With much older clarinets, it's more a matter of tradition,
superstition, and personal preference. Several well-respected clarinet
repair professionals say they have achieved miraculous results by using
an oil bath on old, abandoned clarinets that were thought to be beyond
their useful life. On the other hand, many people have owned wood
clarinets for decades and never used bore oil at all.

So, for the most part, you should do whatever makes you feel right. Too
much oil is clearly a bad thing, but if an occasional oiling makes you
feel better, go ahead and do it.

--
- Tim Roberts, timr@-----.com
Providenza & Boekelheide, Inc.

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