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MsclBND
(36 points)
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I am sort of embarrased to ask this, as I am primarily a double reed player and should know this. However, I recently purchased 2 new wooden piccolos (a Boston Legacy and a Yamaha 62). SInce it is starting to get cold I was wondering if I need to oil the bore. If I do, what kind of oil should I use and how do I apply it?
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Micron
(1329 points)
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Good questions.
Oiling the bore is primarily to hopefully (no guarantees) reduce the risk of the instrument splitting.
I think that both science and experience suggest that a relatively thin-walled instrument such as a piccolo is far less likely to split than a thicker walled instrument such as an oboe or clarinet.
I rather think that most piccolo players do not oil the bore.
As a technician I have never encountered a split piccolo.
If you DO decide to do this, then consider the following:
You must do it in a way that there is NO chance of the oil getting anywhere near the pads. For a piccolo, that is not so easy.
There are some exceedingly poor bore oils on the market. The end result can be a "polymerised" coating resembling the sticky mess on the kitchen shelf under the cooking oil container. (Very difficult or impossible to remover) And/or a stink of rancid oil, that is impossible to remove. And/or damage to the cell structure of the timber.
One person who has done a huge amount of technical and museum research on the effects of different oils long-term is an honest and humble guy (in myh experience), a research scientist / hobby clarinetist, Omar Henderson. He is selling a bore oil that is almost certainly superior to anything else on the market. He markets it through his website, www.doctorsprod.com
There is a huge amount of detail about this in the clarinet forum at www.woodwind.org, if you search using the words, Henderson bore oil.
The only other bore oil I would possibly trust, is that market by Naylor. (Google search to find selling agent)
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MsclBND
(36 points)
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Thanks for your help Micron. I never oiled the bore on my oboe or english horn and neither has cracked, though both were bought used and were already "broken in". Guess I will just make sure I warm the instrument up before I play it.
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Flutist06
(1545 points)
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Oiling the bore is not a terrible idea, but should probably be left to a tech if you decide you want to do that. Oiling the bore is intended to prevent the absorption of moisture into the wood in such a way that would make it crack. It will do nothing against changes in temperature, so if the fact that it's getting colder is the only reason you're considering oiling it, you can probably discard that idea. If it's just a general maintainance thing that happens to coincide with it getting colder, you might consider doing it. As long as you take the proper steps to break the instruments in when they're new, you shouldn't have to worry too much about cracking, which indirectly means that oiling isn't of the highest importance.
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MsclBND
(36 points)
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Would I break the piccolo like any wooden instrument? Play on it a few min a day and gradually build up the playing time in a 2 week period?
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Flutist06
(1545 points)
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Yup. That's the general idea. I've also heard it argued by piano enthusiasts that you should play a wide variety of music (energetic and loud, slow and soft, etc.) employing as many nuances throughout the range as possible so that the instrument becomes accustomed to all of this. Apparently within the piano world, when breaking in an instrument they follow this procedure (the Steinway factory in particular from what I'm told), and thoroughly believe that it has a positive effect on the instrument in the long run.
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Kara
(2843 points)
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I only oil the piccolo head on mine with the oil that Omar makes as Micron suggested once every 6 months. I also use it on the embourchure area where my lips sit very lightly maybe once or twice a year because that area tends to get dried out. I have the bore of it oiled only when it is being serviced and all the key work is off of it.
<Added>
Sorry that is "embouchure." You think I would know that!
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Kara
(2843 points)
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Patrick,
You better be carefull what you say, or you might get a lecture from Micron. lol!
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Micron
(1329 points)
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Altough temperature has no direct effect on the likelihood of splitting, humidity most certainly does, and absolute humidity (in the atmosphere, and hence the timber)is usually lower when the atmospheric air is cold.
Splitting is most likely to occur when the timber is generally dry, and then subject to a lot of moisture inside the bore by being played for a long time. Moisture is absorbed into the area of the timber next to the bore, so the timber here expands, while the timber on the outside of the instrument does not expand. Eventually the stress (stretching) on the timber on the outside gets sufficiently great for it to split.
It really has nothing to do with playing loud or soft, or nuances, or whatever. It is to do with moisture-laden air going through the instrument when the moisture content of the timber is low..
The formulation of Doctors Products bore oil attempts to maintain a stable moisture content (i.e. "buffered")throughout the timber, so teh timber does not get stressed.
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