The Clarinet BBoard

The Clarinet BBoard The C4 standard

New Topic | Go to Top | Go to Topic | Search | Help/Rules | Smileys/Notes | Log In

Previous Message | Next Message

Re: Bore Oiling Interval

Author: Micke Isotalo ★2017
Date: 2017-03-09 13:59

Here comes some more fuel to the fire :-)

A friend of mine was convinced that a bore still wet from oil (not absorbed in the wood) improved his tone.

I noticed the same on my clarinets, BUT only in a very special setting. That was when my Wurlitzer clarinets were still quite new and when the protective lacquer coating that they apply to the bore was only partly worn off. My guess is that the oil smoothed out the roughness in the bore created by the bits of lacquer still remaining. Later, when all lacquer was polished away at an overhaul, I didn't notice any difference in the sound with a bore wet from oil compared to a dry one.

My opinion is that wood staying dry, as well as wood staying moist, is dimensionally stable. What isn't stable and what may cause cracking is rapid changes in humidity, as when a dry piece of wood is suddenly soaked in water. I have cracked a lot of pieces of wood that way, but fortunately no clarinets (I try to avoid soaking them in water ...). One of the arguments favouring oiling - right or wrong - is that an instrument well saturated with oil hinders water from penetrating and thus causing more or less sudden swelling of the wood. If I had a clarinet stored in a dry climate for a long time without playing on it, I would carefully oil it to full saturation before playing even a single note on it. I believe this is also the reason why clarinet manufacturers usually recommend a "break in" of new clarinets, by playing only up to one hour or so per day - despite of the wood being well oiled.

My opinion is also that oil simply doesn't evaporate. Put any oil on any non absorbing surface (like metal) and it will just stay there. Eventually it will get rancid, harden or perhaps deteriorate in some other way, but not evaporate.

I'm also convinced that any wood regularly exposed to moisture eventually rotten. On hardwoods as Grenadilla the process is a lot slower than on softer ones, but it's still there. On clarinets the first visible sign is usually on the upper end of the top joint, where the outer surface of the tenon gets light brown in colour and more or less porous or even mushy in appearance. After all, wooden string instruments hundreds of years old are still around, but probably not a single woodwind - at least not one kept in regular use. Regular oiling may not save a woodwind instrument for ever, but I believe it at least slows down the rotting.

I agree with clarinbass that statistics and real evidence would be most desirable, but until we get such we can't but rely on more or less informed opinions. I'm not really aiming for "fuel to the fire" but just sharing my thoughts on the matter for anyone to agree or disagree upon, as all of us here are doing :-) .

Micke Isotalo

Reply To Message | Avail. Forums | Flat View

Newer Topic | Older Topic

Topics

Author

Date

Bore Oiling Interval new

BGBG

2017-03-02 21:59