Hi all,
I need to clean out my tone holes and embouchure holes. What solution can I use that works well but of course does not damage the wood?
Thanks!
Jason
A piece of cloth, with alcohol or oil… (not too sure about oil on the blow hole though)
I usually just wet a q-tip in water and use that. For really stubborn gunk I use alcohol (not the drinkable variety); I’m not sure whether it’s a problem for wood, though, so I only use it as a last resort. Intuitively I would think alcohol would dry out the wood, although in my practical experience I’ve never observed any harmful effects (e.g., cracking) from my cleaning efforts.
If I may ask, what is clogging the toneholes? I’ve never seen any problem with mine. I do swirl a bit of paper towel in them when oiling, but that’s just to remove any oil leaking in there (usually nothing). Just curious.
For embouchure hole, I regularly clean off (uh…don’t really want to know what) stuff that deposits there with a wetted tiny brush, the kind they sell in bulk for cleaning between teeth. Those are stiff enough but not too aggressive. I do that every few days, typically, and that does it.
Good luck!
P.S. I used to use Q-tips too, but found it hard to get some of the stubborn gunk off; which the wee brush and water handles very nicely.
I use a little water and a Q-tip, too. For the really stubborn stuff I generally scrape with a toothpick and a bit of damp paper towel.
That said, I just resorted to a bit of “Goof Off” to remove some insanely stubborn adhesive (typical St. Patrick’s Day story involving a bodhran player and a green fake mustache) from my boxwood uilleann-pipe mainstock and can’t see any ill effects. The smell went away quickly, too. And, um … wow, was there some dirt on that mainstock! 
I won’t use it again unless absolutely necessary, though; it’s too scary. Especially since a damp paper towel or Q-tip works fine 99% of the time.
I’m with Cathy on this one. I use a Q-tip but with some bore oil on it. I softly swirl it around the tone holes and the embouchure hole of my flutes. I’m hoping the bore oil acts as a moisture barrier too.
Paul
I use wooden Q-tips and jojoba oil.
Imho NO alcohol on a Wooden Flute…
Yep, I oiled my flute using bore oil, swabbed it a bit in all the holes; voila, junk all gone. Thanks.
Might I suggest the wood cleaner that Bore Dr. sells. I’ve used it, and frankly I think it works very well and isn’t supposed to damage wood. Couldn’t tell you what’s in the mixture–I use only his products now and feel very satisfied with the results. Price is up there, but I think it is well worth it.
I use wet q-tips as well, and if the gunk’s fossilized, a HILTI does good work.
Alcohol and acetone on wooden flutes are not a problem. They do remove oil/fat from the upper surface (that is why you use them after all), but if you don’t drown the flute in it, a simple re-oiling afterwards does the trick.
Caught myself looking for the “Like” button on Gabriel’s post … Acetone is very handy for cleaning up superglue if a crack repair gets a little messy.