Chiff and Fipple Forums

Well,

I began polishing up some of the brass keys (a 9-key ABW and boxwood set by Richard and Anita Evans).

My thought now is to attempt to remove the keys for better and more thorough cleaning without getting brass cleaner into small crevices.
Then I thought I'd oil the outside wood with food grade almond oil with a little vitamin E in it.

Does anyone have any reasons why I should not pursue this plan?

Thanks.

Here's a thread from th UP forum, about brass cleaning: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=75212
For the wood, use pure almond oil from the pharmacy, without any additives. The vitamin E in food grade almond oil will prevent the oil from drying - almond oil is very slow-drying anyway.

... some would say you don't...

Yes, thanks, I'm familiar with the "you don't" answer, but I'm not of that bent.

I'm asking, "if one is going to . . . "

Cheers!

In this case, remove the keys, be careful that you push out the axle pins to the right side. Clean and polish the keys, use whatever ammonia-free brass cleaner you decided to go for, and remove any residue from the metal. Put the keys back on and check for leaks. Re-pad keys if necessary.

Though I don't bother cleaning my uilleann pipes' wooden parts (they don't seem to need it), whenever I oil my wooden flutes' bores, I also wipe down the outsides with plain old bore oil. Sometimes I remove the keys first; often I instead wrap aluminum foil over the pads, and oil around them. After letting the oil sink in and dry overnight (much of the excess evaporates), I wipe the outside with a nice soft cloth.

This is all standard procedure for wooden flutes, which are made of the same hardwoods as pipes, so it should be equally applicable. Bore oil is intended mainly to keep the wood supple enough to expand & contract through the seasons without cracking (which, actually, is seldom an issue for bellows-blown pipes), but it also loosens up surface grime, and my flutes look terrific when I'm done. So, bore oil is probably also a good choice for cleaning your pipes.

People sometimes argue the merits of bore oil, which I think is usually petroleum based (and therefore arguably not terrific for lip contact), versus almond oil, which some people fear can turn rancid unless vitamin E is added. But I think the rancidity issue only matters with stored almond oil -- you shouldn't need to worry about almond oil turning rancid on the instrument. Either way, Mr. Loos' advice is certainly quite trustworthy.

Regards,
Mick

For goodness sake please leave the chanter in the stock to protect the reed! I am just speaking from experience. Thank God a friend in Houston at the time (1992) had a spare reed. A Good reed is like a good friend you treat it right and it will play for you for years. I had Mike Sharp recently fettle my F and D set His reeds are magic. If you need work done he is the man! http://www.sharpbagpipes.com