 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: johng ★2017
Date: 2005-12-16 14:50
Recently I have noticed that my prized 1960's Buffet R13 has places where the wood is getting a reddish tint. This is especially true on the right hand joint for a few inches below the thumb rest. It doesn't disturb me, and it is really kind of nice, but I was wondering if anyone knows why this might happen. Maybe we are both aging gracefully?
johng
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Author: BobD
Date: 2005-12-16 15:09
The stain is probably being removed
Bob Draznik
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2005-12-16 15:13
Maybe the wood is drying out and needs to be oiled. I've gotten some old clarinets whose wood was so dry I first thought they were rosewood rather than grenadilla, but upon a light application of bore oil to the exterior they returned to dark black.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2005-12-16 16:01
The wood on my old Selmer CT A clarinet has a nice deep red tint to it in strong light, I do like to see grenadilla in it's natural unstained form (and highly polished to a bright sheen), not masked with dye like Buffet (with exception of the Prestiges) and others tend to do so the wood looks a uniform colour.
Worst are Schreiber who paint their Buffet E11 joints with black paint, but the natural colour of wood can be seen where the toneholes have been cut. I'd prefer to see the natural colour, even if the colour or grain in the wood of each joints doesn't match.
Even cocobolo turns black, and can be mistaken for grenadilla at first glance. But it's bright orange when first worked, then polishes to a nice deep red or crimson.
Kingwood is bright purple (hence the name 'Violet wood') when first turned, but fades to a light brown. I don't know if this fading can be halted in exposed wood by a special lacquer (with anit UV properties), but beneath the surface (and under rings, pillars, etc.) it still remains purple in colour.
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Author: johng ★2017
Date: 2005-12-22 17:07
I tried the oiling routine and most of the redness went away. Thanks to David's suggestion. This whole oiling thing bothers me since there is such conflicting advice. I had settled on oiling 2 times a year just on the inside, but now I can see the need for a little outside oiling as well. After all, woodworkers are advised to apply the same amount of finish on both sides of a piece of wood so the wood will be less likely to warp.
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Author: Shorthand
Date: 2005-12-22 23:28
John, the advice against oiling comes from the issues with the mineral oils that most bore oils are made from. You really don't have much to fear if you use a good organic oil, like the Dr.'s bore oil. I believe that there are people that use it near monthly with few if any ill effects (its mericful to pads as well.)
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Author: BobD
Date: 2005-12-23 13:49
Oiling the outside may seem to make sense, but not everyone agrees. I used to do that but now use Renaissance wax as it is less messy and if you do get some on pad edges it's probably less detrimental than oil. Also, the R.wax is good for the hardware as well.
Bob Draznik
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2005-12-23 19:58
I've never really oiled the outside of any of my clarinets intentionally, just buffed the wood either by machine or hand ragging to keep it shiny when it starts looking dull and that's enough for me, though I don't see any problem oiling or waxing the outside as long as it's well buffed afterwards and the toneholes are cleaned to be sure the crown of the bedplace where the pads seat aren't sticky, and your fingers don't get oily during playing.
I overhauled a B&H 1010 recently that had been completely sprayed with WD40 to keep it oiled!
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2005-12-23 20:06
> I overhauled a B&H 1010 recently that had been completely sprayed with
> WD40 to keep it oiled!
Ewww. Caters for some slick riffs, eh?
--
Ben
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2005-12-23 23:35
Chances are it would have caused an environmental catastrophe on the same scale as the Exxon Valdiz if I threw it in the sea with the amount of oil in it - if I took a pillar out and then screwed it back in, a load of oil rose to the surface as it was under that much pressure!
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
Post Edited (2005-12-23 23:35)
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