oiling

[vomitbunny]

In Wal Mart they carry "purified lindseed oil", which is what I usually use, save for a bit of vitamin e oil from time to time. Is purified lindseed oil the right stuff?

[Erica]

Flaxseed is the same!? Hmm, well that is widely available and in my fridge this very moment. But that is suprising to me because in the health food world, flaxseed oil is considered one of the most vulnerable oils to rancidity.

I just visited my local music shop and talked with the repair tech...who gave me some of the bore oil he uses. All it is, is a mix of almond and olive oil

[Erica]

Casey, at danielsmith.com they have both cold pressed and refined linseed. You said to get the refined linseed in your post. Is there a reason to use refined over cold pressed? My understanding is that 'raw' means cold pressed. ?

[bradhurley]

Flaxseed is the same!? Hmm, well that is widely available and in my fridge this very moment. But that is suprising to me because in the health food world, flaxseed oil is considered one of the most vulnerable oils to rancidity.

Yep, back when I used to oil my flutes (I don't anymore), I kept my flaxseed oil in the fridge and replaced it every few months.

I like the smell of flaxseed oil, and preferred using that than raw linseed oil from the hardware store.

[Cathy Wilde]

In Wal Mart they carry "purified lindseed oil", which is what I usually use, save for a bit of vitamin e oil from time to time. Is purified lindseed oil the right stuff?

I don't know whether it's the font width or what, but I keep reading that as "puTrified linseed oil"

Savoring the irony ......

[Casey Burns]

Cold Pressed oil still has impurities that need to be removed by dissolving them in water mixed with the oil, then decanting the oil off. These are the factors that promote rancidity. This has already been done (albeit by a different process) in the refined linseed oil.

Cathy W. see:
http://www.wweek.com/html/25-1990.html
no explanation. I just liked the graphic.

Casey

[Random notes]

A bit of general information: Boiled linseed is not actually boiled, it has chemicals addedc to it to promote oxidation and polymerization.

I found a gallon of RAW linseed oil at a commercial paint store for just a few bucks. I haven't washed it yet, but I have used it "as is" and it has been quite satisfactory and the odor is not objectionable (to me, anyway). It is probably several lifetimes' supply, so I will have to buy more flutes to make it worthwhile ...

Roger

[Erica]

ooh! I just oiled her for the first time...she's so beautiful with her redish tone and blonde highlights....


Ok, thanks for the explanation casey....just wanted to make sure.

Erica

[I.D.10-t]

Flaxseed is the same!? Hmm, well that is widely available and in my fridge this very moment. But that is suprising to me because in the health food world, flaxseed oil is considered one of the most vulnerable oils to rancidity.

Yep, back when I used to oil my flutes (I don't anymore), I kept my flaxseed oil in the fridge and replaced it every few months.

I guess the real question than should be if the main problem is the oil going rancid, which one is best on salad. Right?

Or doesn’t dry enough on the flute and eventually go rancid there?

(PS This why I used walnut oil first, I had it on hand)

[DavidSchulz]

I uses Barleans Flax Oil. Says Cold Pressed and 100% Organic Pesticide Free on the bottle.

http://www.Barleans.com

[sturob]

I'll weigh in for fun, since I seem to be procrastinating and reading C&F today.

Probably the best reason to oil a flute is if the maker tells you to. Second, if you like the way the flute plays. I don't think we have any evidence whatsoever that any of these oils do anything to prevent absorption of moisture by timber. As a matter of fact, with oily timbers, like blackwood, the oil you put on the surface probably ends up floating on the surface of the water droplets that form on the wood. I think we have good evidence that nothing penetrates blackwood, really, so all the tea (oil) in China's not going to prevent blackwood from cracking. It's all about the seasoning and how the flute was made, in my own hemidemisemi learned opinion. There are cocus flutes from the 19th century that aren't cracked. There are blackwood flutes from last week that have cracked. It's not all about oiling.

That said, there's probably not any way to disprove the effect of oiling on protecting wood. No one has done the appropriate testing, so no one can say scientifically that oiling does or does not help. So, if it makes you feel better, do it. If you hate doing it, don't do it.

Even meticulously oiled boxwood instruments warp when the relative humidity changes. The relative humidity. That doesn't mean in the oversaturated environment of hot breath, that means when the temp drops, and you start using central heating . . . and the RH in your house goes down.

Linseed smells, well, unique. You either like it or you don't. But, I think the potential for problems (like gumming up the bore) is very high with something drying like linseed. I personally occasionally oil with almond or olive oil, neither of which is a drying oil. I think another poster put almond in the drying category, but I don't think it belongs there.

Do what the maker says, or what makes you happy, but realize that the oiling may not do anything. Brad made an interesting aside in his post: he doesn't oil hhiis flutes anymore. He lives in eastern Canada, which gets QUITE cold. And therefore REALLY dry. And he's got some expensive flutes. I live next to a swamp, and I oil sometimes. No logic.

Stuart

[tin tin]

I'll chime in as a very negligent oiler. I oil my flute occasionally, mainly for cosmetic reasons (if the wood starts to look dull). So in the year I've had my current flute, I've oiled it, I think, three times. (I think oiling keyed flutes is a chore...when I had a keyless, I was more regular in my oiling.) My flute, incidentally, is made from mopane, and in doing a bit of research on the wood, I saw it recommended for use in aquariums, due it's high density/low moisture absorption. If the stuff can sit for years in a fish tank, I doubt oiling is highly essential!

[bradhurley]

Brad made an interesting aside in his post: he doesn't oil hhiis flutes anymore. He lives in eastern Canada, which gets QUITE cold. And therefore REALLY dry. And he's got some expensive flutes. I live next to a swamp, and I oil sometimes. No logic.
Stuart

True, I don't oil my flutes anymore (and I have three Abell blackwood whistles that I haven't oiled in more than 15 years...no cracks and they're as good as new), but I do keep my two flutes in a humidified Tupperware container, swab them out carefully after playing, and say nice things to them occasionally.

Speaking of Chris Abell, I remember him telling me that he once talked with a clarinet repairman who'd been in the business for something like 40 years. He had always made a point of asking his customers whether they oiled their instruments, and he kept records. He found absolutely no correlation between oiling/not oiling and cracks appearing in the instruments.

When I did oil my flutes, they sounded different after oiling, but the effect was temporary...after a day or two they sounded just like they did when they were dry.

But still, I think the best advice, which has been given here in this thread already, is to follow the maker's instructions (assuming you're playing a flute made by a living maker) when it comes to oiling. That way if anything does go wrong, the maker can't blame you for negligent care!

[Erica]

My flute, incidentally, is made from mopane, and in doing a bit of research on the wood, I saw it recommended for use in aquariums, due it's high density/low moisture absorption. If the stuff can sit for years in a fish tank, I doubt oiling is highly essential!

That is an interesting bit! My flute is mopane too...this is my first wood flute, so oiling, petting and whispering sweet nothings is a new favorite past time for me

[ChrisA]

As a matter of fact, with oily timbers, like blackwood, the oil you put on the surface probably ends up floating on the surface of the water droplets that form on the wood.

...

I personally occasionally oil with almond or olive oil, neither of which is a drying oil. I think another poster put almond in the drying category, but I don't think it belongs there.

I think oiling -must- slow down the interchange of moisture with the air, since oiling does this to every other wood item that is not a flute. I don't know why flutes would be exempt from this effect. Even if the oil floats on the surface of moisture, that's fine. In terms of crack prevention, you want the wood to exchange moisture more slowly so that it stays nearly the same. Keeping moisture out of the wood is impossible, but slowing the rate of change is not. Now, whether blackwood is so dense and resinous that the effect of oil is negligible is possible, but I don't think oil behaves differently on a flute than on any other piece of wood (and not everyone's flutes are blackwood.)

In any case, I like to oil the -outside- of my flute in order to thoroughly clean it of finger and chin marks. I oil the inside of my flute more in the hopes of preventing grain-raising than out of any concern for splitting.

I'm the one that said almond oil is a drying oil, but I was repeating hearsay. I had heard that almond was the only nut oil that dries. I don't know offhand where I could confirm or deny that bit of hearsay.