Chiff and Fipple Forums

Greetings again, fellows,

I have recently got my hands on a wooden MacMaughnus whistle, and been treating it externally with almond oil in means of maintenance, just as instructed. Been working well so far.
However, I read somewhere that I must be careful not to let the oil in contact with the metal parts of the whistle. Why is that, and is there any truth to it whatsoever?
What would be the substance to put on the metallic parts to keep them lubricated without damaging the whistle, then, namely the joint in between the body and mouthpiece?

Furtermore, do you have any advice on how to clean & maintain the inner parts of the wooden whistle?

Advice appreciated!

Hi

I also have one of Roy's whistles and a wooden Deerness whistle (both little Ds) and a Low D Grinter.

In terms of the exterior, wiping the body and mouthpiece with an oily cloth will do. You should use a cotton bud (Q-Tip) to do the end grain and the insides of the holes. Almond oil, or Roy's own recipe mineral oil, won't harm the metal as such. You just need to wipe oil carefully off the metal slide so that it doesn't get gunked up and stick.

To do the inside of the body, what I do is take the whistle apart and pour some oil into one end of the body. Let it run down to the other end until it's about to drip out and then hold the whistle level and roll it so that oil coats the inside bore all round. Leave it to sink in for 20 minutes and then remove the excess using an ordinary flute pull-through with a small piece of cotton in it. Remember to wipe the metal parts completely free of oil. For the mouthpiece, I put oil into a narrow container (something like a shot glass) holding a couple of centimetres of oil and put the mouthpiece BEAK DOWNWARDS into it so the tuning slide isn't in the oil but the wooden part is. Leave it a couple of minutes and then CAREFULLY clean it out with the pull-through and wipe off the excess. You can blow the excess out by covering the fipple and giving it a good puff.

I use almond oil for the inside of my wooden whistles and flute, but I give the outsides a rub with Roy's own recipe mineral oil as it smells so lovely.

You shouldn't need to lubricate the metal tuning slide on a whistle. If it's well made it will hold its position whilst being moveable.

m.d.

First and foremost, don't overthink or overdo the maintenance of your wooden whistle. I've repaired several whose owners killed with kindness.
A whistle does not need to be oiled, inside or out, very often. Wood can only absorb just so much oil. Oil doesn't evaporate so adding more might make you feel good or make the the whistle temporarily shiny but probably isn't going to do a whole lot of good. Too much oil, particularly on that thin blade, can soften the wood which is not a good thing. I hesitate to tell you how rarely I even think of oiling my own personal wooden whistles and that's with playing them at sessions and band gigs, in bone dry winter weather and hot muggy summer weather. They're all still just fine.
Oil won't hurt external metal parts but doesn't do them any good either. As has been mentioned, a well fitted tuning slide should not need any lubrication. Occasionally a slide may need to be re-fitted, usually to tighten it up a tad. Oiling the slide is definitely bad. The oil attracts dust and grit which can gum up or even glue the slide together. I've had several whistles come back to me with the head glued on by oil, and I could only separate them using a micro butane torch. Do not try this at home! When you do oil your whistle, be sure to wipe all of the oil off of the mating surfaces of the slide. If you feel that you simply mustlubricate a slide, teflon bicycle lube might work without getting gummy, but I haven't tried it.

Paul makes a great point there. I only oil my whistles about once a year.

m.d.

Thanks for your responses.

Yes, I'm aware that excess oiling won't do good. I only oiled it when I got it (pre-owned), as it came from a more humid climate to the dry weather of Finland.
I'm not completely sure that even that would've been absolutely necessary, but anyway.

I was just thinking about the tuning slide, as it seemed a bit tighter than it did a while back, but seems that I'm better off not doing much about it, except playing and using it.

Cheers!

I dont believe the problem is oil contacting the metal.
I think the problem may arise ,when too much oil is used and works its way beneath the rings ,
breaking down the glue,then the rings fall off.

Remember also with oil,that a little goes a long way.

If the tuning slide feels tighter, it just might be dirty,possibly from oil used to lubricate it attracting dirt. Clean it thoroughly with a damp cloth.Do both the male and female halves of the slide. If it's still tight you can clean it using some 0000 steel wool gently. You want to remove dirt, not metal. Be sure to carefully clean the steel wool grit afterwards.