I’ve checked archives and searched and have failed to find definitive answers concerning oiling the bore of wooden whistles. Looking in stores in the area, I have found ‘bore oil’ made by Yamaha, Selmer, et. al. The bottles do not list contents of the oil. I like my
Busman whistle and do not want to damage it by using products that are not ‘right’ for it.
To wit:
What, exactly, should be used to oil the bore of a quality whistle? Where can I get it?
How often should the inside be oiled? Outside? (Have read once a month - but have also read a lot of other opinions…)
Any other questions that I am too ignorant to ask, please answer.
I truly want to do this, correctly.
Best to all.
Byll
There has been an oiling debate going on over at the woodenflute list for a week or so, with opinions from some respected flute makers and players posted. It seems there are almost as many opinions as there are players. Take a look over there, unless you’re afraid it will only add to the confusion.
And Jef: Paul Busman sends a sheet with his whistles. It contains a ‘recipe’ for oil and mentions commercial bore oil…Paul’s suggestions - including oiling ‘times’ - are pretty general…I am looking for specifics…
Which commercially available oil is the best for whistles? Are they all the same?
Cheers.
Byll
I don’t think there are hard and fast rules about oiling. I use standard music shop bore oil, or sweet almond oil, or linseed on a swab in the bore, and then lightly on a cloth on the outside. Another recipe has Vit E and almond oil…I don’t think this is a science.
I oil about once a month, but it may not be necessary that often. I do not oil the blade.
Hi Byll: For what it’s worth, I just got my Busman whistle ~ couldn’t possibly say enough nice things about it! and plan to treat it EXACTLY like my wooden flute ~
I bought a bottle of almond oil from the health food store. I squeezed into it three crushed capsules of vitamin e oil from Walmart.
I have a small piece of cotton t-shirt that I soaked in the oil ~ (keep it in a small rubbermaid container) After every play, I run a dry cloth through the bore, (with a thin wooden dowel I bought at Home Depot) and then when the bore is dry, I run the oil-soaked cloth through ONCE.
I know that most people oil their flutes or whistles once a month ~ that’s fine. I don’t think I’m hurting my new wooden whistle by oiling it more frequently than that.
I would HATE if anything bad happened to this whistle!!!
Probably once I am satisfied that it is played in and oiled enough (after a few months) I’ll oil it only every once a week or so, like I now do my flute.
Keep in mind, I’m not “soaking” it with oil, just a thin layer goes through.
And yes, I would worry about a previously owned wooden whistle… But not if I was the previous owner!
Mary
Thanks be to all. Mary: Your detailed directions are excellent. I just oiled my Kingwood Busman for the first time. I used a Yamaha oil I had bought, and may try Paul’s concoction (basically yours, also) in the future.
While I am not interested in any more wooden whistles, I, too, wish to keep this one pristine. It is unique in so many ways.
Best.
Byll
My recipe, which I got from the Weasel himself, is a 5:1 mix of LIGHT olive oil and almond oil, with a “couple” of vitamin E capsules squeezed in as a preventative against the oil turning rancid.
No set time to oil these instruments-- Glenn recommends doing it when the wood “looks dry” through the fingerholes. In a new instrument, this may be weekly or so, but as time goes on it will not need it as often. One thing which I consider to be important: do your oiling BEFORE playing. You don’t want to be sealing condensed breath moisture into the wood-- you’re adding oil to prevent it from getting absorbed in the first place. You don’t need tons of oil-- a thin film will do the trick.
It provides excellent advice in simple terms on the whys and wherefores and what to use - just ignore the “R” word and replace with “Whistle”! (And ignore their promotion of their own product)
On 2003-01-29 07:15, madguy wrote:
where can I find one of these swabs everyone talks about using to do the oiling with? >
When I needed a swab for oiling panpipes, I went to the music store, and they sold me a picollo swab.
Try finding one to oil your Toyos!
Toyos are about 5 feet long on the longest pipe. we use either a gun cleaning rod or a cleaning rod I made from 18" rod stock with an eye smithied on one end and a patch of flannel threaded through that. Make sure the swab material is fastened well or else you end up with an oily bit ‘o flannel 2’ down a tube!
