The Clarinet BBoard

RE: Oiling Wooden Clarinet

Author: paul  Date:   2000-01-10 18:38 First, do you need to oil your clarinet? Fairly new horns don't need it for at least 10 years because the manufacturers soak the wood very well at the factory. Second, make sure you use a vegatable based oil with Vitamin E as a preservative. The preservative keeps the oil from getting rancid. Sweet almond oil is a good one that seems to be fairly popular. Yes, garlic oil could also work, but most folks can't stand the after taste and other aromatic effects. NEVER use petroleum products on your wood. It will strip the laquer right off and possibly ruin the wood. That means you should never confuse bore oil (vegetable based stuff) with key oil (petroleum distillate). Some folks oil their clarinets on their own. Make sure you don't get any oil of any kind on the pads. It will ruin them. If you want to create a drain path for moisture inside your horn so your C#/G# key pad doesn't gurgle too soon, you can paint a line of bore oil inside the bore to do it. There is a great reference on another part of this BBS about this trick. I personally would avoid the preprepared bore oil products. Every single one I've found had petroleum distillates in it. Instead, buy a bottle of sweet almond oil at your local gourmet grocery store. Look in the gourmet cooking oil shelf. The sweet almond oil costs much less this way and you are practically guaranteed that there are no petroleum products in it. You can give your horn a good oiling without removing the keys. It isn't as thorough as dipping the horn without keys, but at least you don't have to worry about reassembly from pure scratch. I was brazen enough to apply a very thin coating of oil on my horn without covering the keypads, but I took great pains to not let any oil touch the pads or get too close to the tone holes that had key pads. I don't suggest you doing it this way. Instead, take the time to properly cover your keypads. Use only a few drops of oil, because a little bit can go a very long way. Cotton Qtips work great for detail work around key posts, etc. Use one of the Qtip ends for oil application and the other dry end for spreading and taking up excess oil. For large surface areas, paint a few light strokes of oil in a spread out pattern and then wipe down with a clean cotton based rag until the wood gives off a slight sparkle under bright light. A very dry horn may need a couple of light coats with time to let the previous coat sink into the wood. This should work great on the outside of the horn. I haven't seen any consistent opinions on whether you should oil the entire bore of the horn or not. As for oiling frequency, you will find all kinds of opinions. For most horns with most situations, you should not have to worry too much about applying oil to it. If your horn is fairly old and dry and you are in a dry environment, oil it more often. Again, I can't quote even a range of time. You may need to see a good clarinet tech in your area for advice. And, if all of this concerns you, seek the advice and assistance of a local professional clarinet tech in your area. The techs I've worked with are quite honest and straightforward. Let the tech help you decide if an oiling is really necessary or not.

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RE: Oiling Wooden Clarinet

Author: paul  Date:   2000-01-11 18:03 Dee: Good point. My apologies for being "Buffet-centric"

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