Author: jmcaulay
Date: 2001-09-24 07:14
The Doctor says, in part:
"...I am in contact with many of the acknowledged master woodwind repair persons and shops in the U.S. and in many other countries and they, almost universally, use plant derived oil formulations on instruments brought in for rehabilitation or overhaul."
Mark M says, also in part:
"Basically, we all have to remember that wood is wood. Doesn't matter what the application is, it's still just wood. If you leave the wood siding on your house alone for years, it will crack check etc. Same with a boat or whatever. If you put new beams into a house (as I'm currently remodeling) they will somewhat crack as they dry out. They concensus is to get a good coat of penetrating oil on it ASAP. So, apply this to a clarinet"
And Gordon (NZ) tells us, among other things:
"For what It's worth, one of the world's top recorder (blockflute) makers once told me that recorders saturated in oil were very heavy and had an inferior tone." He then questions:
"If we attribute good tone as a quality emanating from the structure of grenadilla, then why fill up the pores and totally change the structure? Any use of pore blocker should surely be carefully controlled. I believe Doc's oil is claimed not to block pores. Do manufacturers aim to block pores?"
I used to be quite an intent clarinet player. Then I went forth to make "the big bucks" (ha!), and recently I'm getting back into the clarinet. Once upon a time, I was too stupid to know much about oiling clarinets, so I just used some good quality olive oil when the instrument looked like it needed it (?), which was about every year or so (and seems to have been in the autumn). I used a swab and rag to do it, and the instrument lasted at least twelve years with no problems, but now I'm a bit surprised it didn't smell rancid after some time. Now that I'm getting back into playing the clarinet, the topic is of great interest to me.
If "wood is wood," then the best protection might be a good grade of Porch and Deck Enamel. This, however, seems somehow totally counter-intuitive. That is, until I look at a recorder I own, a Moeck. Sure enough, it has some sort of lacquer/shellac/whatever on the exterior of a quite lightweight wood which seems well-cured. The bore seems not to have been so treated. It is very obviously not saturated with any sort of oil; in fact, the instrument's wood appears quite dry. Examination of another recorder, a lower-pitched one which was made in the DDR, shows similar treatment of similar wood.
And so far as blocking the pores might go, the Buffet "Green" clarinet does quite well, to many at least, against the lore of wood surfaces producing such a wonderful sound. It would appear that the sound of the "Green" instrument is virtually indistinguishable from "real 100% wood," yet it is substantially a composition material loaded with wood particles. I presume that periodic oiling (or other treatment) would be pretty much out of the question with one of these.
A comment was made to me by an individual who has been in the furniture business for about 40 years: "No furniture manufacturer with any sense recommends oil. They all suggest wax. Oil picks up a great amount of dirt, and each time you oil it, more and more dirt gets in the pores. Wax it, not often, and don't worry about it." Anyone know of *waxing* a clarinet? Might those *extremely* long-chain molecules really do wood more good than the somewhat shorter ones?
And finally, I have never heard of a clarinet that cracked from the inside out. Seems as if all the cracks that exist started on the outside of the instrument. Considering the shape of the tube and the stress relief that might occur through cracking, this sure sounds reasonable. Yet people seem to be more concerned about oiling the inside of the instrument. I have known players who swabbed their instruments out with oil very often, maybe even weekly (I'm not certain), yet hardly ever put a single drop of oil on the outside surfaces. This does not seem like the way to do it. Or am I missing something?
Regards,
John
who sorta wishes he'd just stuck with the olive oil
and who definitely wishes he'd been playing all these years
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The Clarinet BBoard
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