 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: coasten1
Date: 2003-10-27 19:29
What is the concensus to a drop of oil at the post once a month to lubricate the keys? I have been told to do this once a month to keep the keys and posts from wearing down from rubbing against each other.
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Author: BobD
Date: 2003-10-27 20:05
Well, first are the questions of how much do you play and what kind of oil to use. In a general way my feeling is that once a month is more than needed especially if you don't take care that the oil doesn't lay on the wood.
A needle oiler is helpful.
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Author: JMcAulay
Date: 2003-10-27 20:42
There are varying opinions on this topic. Most of them are wrong.
My view is that oiling monthly may be damaging. Oil is a dust collector. More oil on a bearing surface thus means a collection of more dust, which increases wear.
If you are very concerned about this, the Clarinet can be disassembled now and then, perhaps once every six to twelve months. All moving parts should be cleaned, so that there is no black-looking goo on the parts (the black goo is composed of dust and dirt captured by oil). The instrument should be reassembled and checked for proper operation, then oiled *very lightly*. No part should require oil to make it move okay. The oil is to minimize wear, not to make the thing work.
Many recommendations for frequent oiling come from those who sell oil.
Regards,
John
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Author: Henry
Date: 2003-10-27 20:58
I agree with John. Once a month seems unnecessary to me. I would say once every six months would be more like it. Of course, the oil should be of high quality; it should not be volatile and should not leave any residue by itself. I believe the Doctor's Key Oil meets those and other important criteria. I disagree only slightly with John on the nature of the black goo. Although dust and dirt may contribute to it, it could well be metallic particles, which would be a sign of objectionable wear that a good oil is meant to eliminate, or at least reduce drastically.
Henry
P.S. I wish that oiling my own joints was such an easy matter!
Post Edited (2003-10-27 20:59)
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Author: coasten1
Date: 2003-10-27 21:04
Thanks, I appriciate the input. I have oiled the joints only a few times with a needle dropper. The reason I was told to oil the joints is because of the key wiggle I had between the posts. It was a considerable amount. The oil would help slow the advancement of more wear and tear. Granted there are seasonal changes and with the shrinking and swelling of wood there is going to be some play between the posts. (This was from a shop near my house.) I ended up taking my clarinet back to Brannen Woodwinds to get my clarinet fixed up again and they tightened up the keywork. They told me a drop of oil on the contact points helps now and then but to use sparingly.
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Author: JMcAulay
Date: 2003-10-27 21:18
Henry: you are quite correct, I should have said black goo includes "dust, dirt, and crud" (a technical term). It truly does include a small amount of microscopic metal particles.
Regards,
John
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2003-10-28 01:05
As a teenager I was once told that finely divided metal particles in a liquid usually appeared black. Intrigued by this notion, I put a little mercury in my mouth and squished it rapidly past my teeth to finely divide it in the saliva. Yes, it turned black!
Definitely not to be recommended!!!!
I probably did a lot MORE damage to my person when I evaporated mercury in my bedroom. It would have condensed on all surfaces and given me a reasonable mercury intake from the air I breathed at night for the next decade.
I do know however, that my memory was lousy BEFORE these ignorant activities.
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Author: Henry
Date: 2003-10-28 01:30
Gordon: You always impressed me as a dedicated and keen experimentalist. But you really carried it to extremes in your youth! We are lucky to still have you around. From your recent posts, here and on saxontheweb, I conclude that you have learned from past mistakes! Thank God!
Henry
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Author: JMcAulay
Date: 2003-10-28 05:10
I often wonder who were the intrepid experimenters who determined two noted characteristics of Beryllium:
1. It tastes very sweet.
2. It is a deadly poison, just a tiny bit being enough to kill the average person.
I hope never to be so caught up in the pursuit of knowledge.
Regards,
John
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Author: ron b
Date: 2003-10-28 05:39
Gordon -
Please don't ask me why but, as a matter of curiosity, do you glow in the dark?
- r![[cool]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/cool.gif) n b -
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2003-10-28 10:23
LOL! No! Not yet!
I also breathed a lot of black smoke when I burnt the rubber and plastic of electrical cable to retreive the copper. Dioxins?
I used to take apart old radios - even used the leaked capacitor wax as chewing gum. PCBs?
I brewed up lead to make my own sinkers.
I played with loose-fibre asbestos. At least it was white.
I breathed in bottled gas and blew a flame from my mouth. With the right residual air in my lungs they could have exploded! Messy!
At least I have lasted longer than I would have, had I taken up base jumping.
BTW my 2 kids, 2 & 7 yrs seem particularly healthy and bright. Perhaps the mercury actually protected vital parts of me from the rays that would have made me glow.
Perhaps my large fruit intake helps.
LOL! We live in a different world now.
Post Edited (2003-10-28 10:25)
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Author: BobD
Date: 2003-10-28 16:08
Geez, Gordie, was this before or after you moved down under! I often marvel at the "lead soldier kits" we used as kids. You got a pig of lead, a cast iron ladle, a mold and instructions which directed you to place the ladle on your mother's gas stove burner, put in the lead and when molten pour it into the mold. Damaged soldiers were remelted.
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Author: Henry
Date: 2003-10-28 16:27
Yes, and do you remember the X-ray machines in shoe stores, frontal lobotomies, and electric shock treatments?
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2003-10-28 19:35
Geez, BobD! "... MOVED down under"
I've ALWAYS been lucky enough to be down under. :-)
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