Seery Flutes - Oil the Bore?

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Karen - Ohio
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Post by Karen - Ohio »

I was told that Desi Seery recommends we oil the bore of his polymer (delrin) flute for better sound. What oil would I use - any suggestions please?
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eskin
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Post by eskin »

Oil a polymer flute? Why? I guess it could smooth out any imperfections in the bore but it sure sounds strange to me...
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gcollins
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Post by gcollins »

Karen:

Wierd for sure, but you will get smoother sound since the oil will smooth out the bore even more...at least until it all leaks out on your right foot.

Use any oil that you have since it's not wood. Even motor oil will work, but Olive oil will taste much much better.

Let us know how it works!
Eldarion
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Post by Eldarion »

I spoke with someone with a Seery flute, and he told me that oiling the bore does make it sound better. I guess it should be the smoothening out theory at work.
Bryan
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Post by Bryan »

Wouldn't the oil simply bead up on the surface of the polymer? If so this would have the opposite effect of smoothing. Just my $0.02.

Bryan Poe
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rich
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Post by rich »

On a wooden flute, the oil doesn't make the bore smoother like a hard wood finish would -- it makes it less rough, by preventing the grain from raising from the moisture (since the wood in the bore is otherwise unfinished). It never gets smoother than the wood was in the first place.

Since you don't have to prevent the grain from raising with polymer, I can't begin to imagine what oiling the bore would accomplish.

I drop my Dixon polymer into the dishwater before I do the dishes every now and again; that seems to bring it back to top shape if it starts to get mung-y. I keep the cork out of the water, though.

(I wonder if they're dishwasher-safe? :smile: )

<ul>-Rich</ul>
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beowulf573
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Post by beowulf573 »

A gentleman I took a workshop from this summer recommended using almond oil with a bit of vitamin E mixed on wooden flutes to help keep the moisture in the wood and to provide a smooth interior surface.

He claimed that it also improved the tone of delrin flutes. I've not yet tried it on mine, but I've been meaning to.
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peeplj
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Post by peeplj »

I have both an M&E and a Seery polymer. I've never oiled the bore on either for fear it would damage the plastic over time, but if anyone has oiled a polymer instrument, I'd be interested in hearing from you how it worked and what difference (if any) it made in the sound.

--James
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"Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending" --Carl Bard
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beowulf573
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Post by beowulf573 »

I went ahead and tried a bit of almond oil on my Seery. It did seem to smooth the tone out a bit, however my playing is not very consistent yet so it could I was just having a good day. So, not a definitive answer.

One issue, delrin is non-porous, so only use a little bit of oil.
griff
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Post by griff »

I posed this question to Tony Dixon. He stated that there might be a slight improvement, but he was concerned that over the long term, the oil might trap dust, defeating the purpose by creating a rough bore. He said that it doesn't hurt to try, though, as it could always be swabbed out.

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rich
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Post by rich »

Willing to give my all for Chiff and Fipple's R&D department, I just oiled the bore of my Dixon polymer. Well, that's not really the whole truth; I recently oiled my Sweetheart rosewood flute (aka the "Love-Hate Flute" -- currently in "Hate" mode, if you're curious).
Then I accidentally used my "clean" flute swab to swab it out, and got oil all over the swab. <i>Then</i> I accidentally used that oily swab to swab out my Dixon.

I didn't realize I did this until a couple of days later, when I realized that it wasn't just that I'd lost the blow, but that I'd been fighting the flute too. Looking down the bore, I could see it shiny with oil and lightly covered in dust.

Out came the dish soap, in went the flute. The bore's now dry again, and the flute's playing as good as ever.

From this, I conclude the following: With a wooden flute, the wood absorbs the oil. With a polymer flute, the oil isn't absorbed, so it coats the inside of the bore, and since it's <i>oil</i>, it collects dust and whatever other disgusting things might find their way down the bore of the flute, negatively influencing the sound of the flute.

<ul>-Rich</ul>
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