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Re: Bore Oiling Interval

Author: clarnibass
Date: 2017-03-09 10:11

Anecdotal opinions ("tone got better"... "my teacher told me"... "insert-famous-name said"... etc.) mostly cancel each other out eventually, or too much psychology...

What you would want is statistics or real evidence.

What is definite is that there are many clarinets that haven't been oiled in decades and still play fine with no problems, no cracks, nothing wrong with them (excluding mechanics).

Dry wood cracks far more than wet wood. Soak some wood in water and put some wood in the sun... which would likely crack more? Have you seen wood crack in water? It's definitely possible but how often? Have you seen wood that was left for a long time in the sun, in dry weather? These are extremes that give a good starting point.

The standard method of oiling is what Omar described. It is not necessarily possible to know how much of the oil was absorbed by thew wood and how much evaporated. The question is, would you necessarily want as much oil into the wood as it would absorb? Maybe... or not... but why...?

Oil "oozing" (or "bleeding" as someone called it) can be an issue. Not a problem with the wood, but for the player who would get oil on their hands, or keys which might get vegetable oil in the hinges, which is the worst thing possible for the mechanism.

So after a lot of tests, research and statistics I didn't come to a definite conclusion. Better to be most skeptical of anyone who gives facts without real evidence behind them. Also not reliable are the opinions of players, regardless of their level, of the effects of oil.

So with all the statistics and evidence I could find, what I do is suggest to oil when the instrument (or part of it) looks dry (dull/gray as was mentioned by others). I also explain that it is not for sure that it will help. I wouldn't recommend any specific interval, that's pretty random.

I use the Doctor's oils, both Grenadoil and the regular one. I like them because (unlike most regular vegetable oil) I haven't had them become rancid and I like their smell (especially of his regular one).

Post Edited (2017-03-09 10:18)

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Bore Oiling Interval new

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2017-03-02 21:59