 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: john gibson
Date: 2001-03-03 22:05
I need to oil both my clarinets...what's the best way to do it without messing up the pads? And how do you do the outside? (i know, very carefully) What kind of oil? the kind in the bottle from the music store? Or something else. Also would like to oil the screws...do you lossen them a bit first or just put a drop on the screw head?
Second quesn is for KEN SHAW...are you related to Artie? My real quesino for you is ...you once wrote that Artie would go buy any mouthpiece off the shelf and sandpaper it down>>..you ever done that? Can you use a sandblock? Have an old buffet MPC I'd like to try it on....
John
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Author: deejay
Date: 2001-03-03 23:26
My band director told me that I do not oil the outside of the clarinet, because the oil on the inside soaks through.
deejay
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Author: Dee
Date: 2001-03-04 01:18
deejay wrote:
>
> My band director told me that I do not oil the outside of
> the clarinet, because the oil on the inside soaks through.
>
The wood is way to dense for oil to soak through from the inside to the outside.
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Author: Karel Vahala
Date: 2001-03-04 01:23
I understood (or misunderstood) that oiling the outside would interfere with the passage of moisture out of the wood, therefore not recommended. Internal oiling is to prevent moisture from soaking in. The oil I have used is almond oil. As you use the oiling swab, insertion of a film such as gladwrap or saranwrap under the pad should prevent pad-oiling. I did not know screws needed oiling, but keys do. I have been advised to use clock oil - thicker and quietens key action.
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Author: jbutler
Date: 2001-03-04 11:37
Go to the archieves and search the following thread. This topic was discussed at great length in December:
Author: L. Omar Henderson (158.111.4.---)
Date: 12-05-00 13:04
John
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Author: L. Omar Henderson
Date: 2001-03-04 11:48
We have had many discussions about oiling the wood of clarinets - you should go back and check out the pros and cons but since a soapbox has been placed before me ---
Most of the music store and even brand name bore oils are merely light mineral oil, some are so bold as to even say what they contain - the most expensive baby oil on the planet and a huge profit hog. Mineral oil is ultimately not good for the wood and is not the oil that manufacturers use to initially treat their wood during manufacture. These will soak into the wood very, very slightly and waterproof the wood and block moisture from entering. Natural oils will penetrate much more deeply into the wood and, depending on their composition, allow selective moisture exchange - maintaining a small, even moisture content in the wood. Fine wood has been treated with natural oils for centuries to preserve it - not with mineral oil. I recommend a blend of natural oils (some just use almond oil or a mixture of a couple oils) with natural antioxidants, stabilizers (different oils will separate and enter the wood at different rates) and natural emulsifiers (again to blend natural oils of differing characteristics to enter the wood evenly). If you use these natural oils you can treat the outside of the wood too (I use seran wrap under the keys to protect the pads). Once all the oil has been absorbed by the wood, I put a coat of wax on the outside and buff. An even and controlled moisture content and moisture exchange of the wood, I believe, is a very important element in preventing cracking in wood that is prone to crack upon the insults of moisture imbalance and temperature variation. My formulation of natural oils, antioxidants, stabilizers and emulsifiers is proprietary so it is not DIY.
The Doctor
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Author: L. Omar Henderson
Date: 2001-03-04 15:36
Almost forgot about your second question. I would defer the many excellent experts that do repair work about oiling the keys and mechanisms. I know that many use the classic Nye clock oil for this but the newer generation of repair people primarily use the new synthetic oils (Alisyn synthetic or my own brand of aerospace oil) of low viscosity that have superior anti-corrosion, anti-rust, little viscosity change with temperature, and high metal binding film strength - greater than the Nye oil. It is interesting to note that the Nye clock oil has changed it's formulation from using sperm whale oil to Jojoba bean oil (with some decrease in oil attributes). I do not know if it contains anti-corrosion and ant-rust additatives but is still used by many of the older clock repair technicians because it leaves no residue or film after evaporation (what they call varnish) - the new synthetics are the same. I know that some light mineral oil (machine oil - sewing machine oil) can saturate and eventually rot the wood around posts if too much is applied, too often. It is important to use the right synthetic or the right oil and avoid the ever present 3-in-1 oil (good for other things but not clarinet keys).
The Doctor
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Author: Ken Shaw
Date: 2001-03-05 17:21
John -
Artie Shaw was born Arthur Arshawsky. My grandfather's name was something like Shawskous (in Cyrillic). No relation whatever, I'm afraid.
I don't remember saying anything about Artie Shaw's mouthpieces -- certainly not that he refaced them himself. I've tried fiddling with mouthpieces over the years, always with disastrous results. I'd leave it to people who know what they're doing. On the other hand, Buffet stock mouthpieces are practically unplayable, at least for me, so you could hardly make one worse by experimenting on it.
Best regards.
Ken Shaw
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