Cleaning and oiling an Olwell Bamboo Flute

Hoovorff · Post by **Hoovorff** » Mon Oct 06, 2003 3:14 pm

I just got an Olwell Bamboo in F. I love playing it! I just wanted some advice on cleaning and oiling it. For those of you who have one, how often should I oil it? I understand Sweet Almond oil is a good choice of oil.

Since the flute is in one piece, it's difficult to swab out the part of the flute closest to the embouchure hole. Normal plastic flute swabs aren't long enough. What do you use?

Thanks for any advice!

spittle · Post by **spittle** » Mon Oct 06, 2003 3:29 pm

Good questions - I'm anxious to hear other's experiences/recommendations.

I oil mine whenever I think about it before playing, probably once a month or so using Almond oil. In addtion to swabbing the bore, I'll around the inside of the embourchure, finger-holes, and end-grain on both ends with a soaked q-tip (I think this is most important).

My swab is a frankenstien-looking thing, consisting of a metal swab stick with a hole in the end (with a piece of old t-shirt threaded through), which is taped to a longer peice of wood doweling. It's probably close to 3 ft. in length overall. I've never been able to get the area arounf the embochure very well. I'm thinking of cutting a piece of foam about the diameter of the bore to attach to the rod to better swab and wipe clean back there.

Regards,
- Ryan

P.S. also, has anyone used the Dr's Woodwind wax on their Olwell Bamboos? Stuart? I'm curious if it makes the flute more slippery to hold if one had sweaty hands.

bradhurley · Post by **bradhurley** » Mon Oct 06, 2003 5:16 pm

I think I oiled my bamboo Olwell once, a few days after I got it in 1996. I've never oiled it since then, and it's in fine shape.

If you do oil yours, the main thing to be VERY careful of is to avoid getting any oil on the membrane at the end near the embouchure hole. That membrane is, in effect, the "cork" at the end of the flute, and if you puncture it with your swab or weaken it with oil, your flute is pretty well finished. When swabbing out the flute after I play it, I'm always very careful to not let the end of my swab come near the membrane. I use a recorder-type swab attached to the end of a long dowell to swab out my bamboo flute (it's an Olwell C).

spittle · Post by **spittle** » Mon Oct 06, 2003 6:55 pm

Good point about the 'node membrane' - I was unconsiously careful about that area from the beginning, and with good reason!

The bamboo is so light, yet so strong, I've wondered if oiling is really even neccessary. I figure it can't hurt, and I'm getting good practice for when my real wood flute arrives

Regards,
- Ryan

prunci · Post by **prunci** » Tue Oct 07, 2003 12:51 pm

I made a swab for my Olwell bamboo using Terry McGee's design, which is a simple and very effective one:

1. Buy a piece of wooden dowel (I think mine is 3/8") and cut it just long enough to fit the length of the bore with an inch or two extra for a handhold.

2. Bore a hole (about 1" deep) in one end of the dowel, as if you were making a straw--or a flute--out of it.

3. Drill a second hole in the side of the dowel, so that you actually drill into the borehole that you created in step 2.

4. Thread your cleaning swab through the side hole and out the end hole. Since the cleaning swab juts out the end of the dowel as well as the side, you can access the very end of the flute beyond the embouchure hole. I use the same swab for oiling as well and it works very well.

This whole operation took about 5 minutes and cost about 60 cents.

Good luck!

Paul

bradhurley · Post by **bradhurley** » Tue Oct 07, 2003 1:35 pm

prunci wrote: Since the cleaning swab juts out the end of the dowel as well as the side, you can access the very end of the flute beyond the embouchure hole. I use the same swab for oiling as well and it works very well.

"Accessing the very end of the flute beyond the embouchure hole" is fine for wooden flutes, but as I mentioned above you should be very careful not to do that with a bamboo flute. The risk is too high that you might puncture the membrane with the swab or get oil on it (which weakens the membrane and will affect your tone).

In general, I find my Olwell bamboo very forgiving...I often don't even swab it out but just shake or tap the water out of it, and I really don't think oiling is necessary even though Patrick advises it.

jim stone · Post by **jim stone** » Tue Oct 07, 2003 5:39 pm

I confess I've never oiled or swabbed a
bamboo flute. Never had any trouble
with one, either. Best

prunci · Post by **prunci** » Wed Oct 08, 2003 8:52 pm

Well, I've learned something here, as usual. Thanks, Brad, for the advice regarding the oiling of the membrane on a bamboo flute. I've been swabbing and oiling the bore from stem to stern (including the membrane) since I got the flute almost two years ago. But I think I'll stop that practice now. THat said, I guess Olwell bamboo flutes are even more forgiving than we knew!