Too much oil on flute.

[TomTom]

Maybe i'm using the wrong oil...
I had to bring in my flute for crumbling and loose cork lappings.
And the repair man advised me to stop oiling for 3 to 4 years,
The cork lappings had come loose because i was over-oiling.
I just used linseed oil and oil the flute before i go to bed,
and wipe of the excessive oil in the morning, once a year.
Maybe i should wipe the oil of right away or use a different kind of oil ?

Any advice please ?

[Nanohedron]

Is your flute made of African Blackwood? If so, I'm of the firm opinion that oiling is something it will seldom, if ever, need. Flutewoods of the Dalbergia species tend to be naturally chock-full of oils and resins already; my Blackwood flutes never absorbed the oils I applied to them, and eventually I abandoned the practice. What is more important is keeping your flute from drying out, and that is a matter of monitoring and controlling humidity.

[Torrin Riáin]

Were you getting oil on the cork?

[busterbill]

I used to oil my corked flutes when they were new, also about once a year. I would wet swab them in and out and let them sit wrapped in a dish towel overnight. Then swab them dry. Early on I used to submerge the flute in a tupperware of oil, but abandoned that practice since it used a lot of oil and swabbing seemed to have enough oil left in the morning to wipe off. After they aged a bit I would do this in the winter only if I felt the joints or rings were feeling loose. So some years I wouldn't oil them. Heaven only knows if they benefited from this. I thought so since the rings that seemed to be getting loose and the joints that were wiggling a tiny bit seemed to improve.

I never had a problem with the corks, but I never used linseed oil. I used almond oil. I don't know if linseed oil is tougher on corks.

[Kirk B]

You must be using a lot of oil and getting it on the cork. I only oil my flute every 3 or 4 months and I just put some oil on a little piece of cloth and run it through the bore. Just enough to get a thin coating on the surface of the bore.

Remember the reason you're oiling the flute is to keep the condensation of your breath from soaking into the bore and causing it to swell while the outside of the flute is drier and stays stable. That's what causes cracking.

I keep the flute in a closet where the effects of the HVAC system are minimal and keep the humidity in the case at around 60%. Never had a problem in 10 years of owning this flute.

Kirk

[TomTom]

Thanks for all the advice!
it's a Dave Copley in Blackwood, i took great care to never oil the cork lappings.
I'll oil again in a few years and switch to almond oil.
And i'll use very little oil.