Hi Folks!
I was wondering how often do you oil your flutes, and if you consider climate conditions an important subject when oiling your instrument.
The thing is, I’ve heard a lot of different opinions regarding oiling, some people say, you have to oil your flute only when you see the wood dry, others preffer to oil their flutes once a week or twice a month.
And I really don’t know if Almond Oil is the best option, is it? Do you use another type of substance on your flute?
Diego.
Every chance I get.
I’ve been using Joboba oil for a while now with only good results. Wood seems to love it so far and your skin will like it too.
That sounds great, I’m using Sweet Almond Oil, but I don’t have much left.. 
I’ll ask at the pharmacy for the Joboba thing and see what happens!!
Sure, give it a try.
Its non skinning/drying and I doubt you’ll find anyone allergic to it.
Every chance I get.
Never get sick of that one.
Every now and then, I don’t oil it frequently. Perhaps three to five times a year, certianly not more. The only bit of maintenance I do regularly, i.e. every few weeks, is cleaning the embouchure hole with a cotton bud and some spit or oil. And I polish the keys from time to time, but only for my personal lusting after shiny things…
I use a clear mineral oil for woodwinds which dries fast and doesn’t stick. No cracks or other damages so far…
That sounds great..
¿What can I use to clean the silver keys? .. Some special material?
you are just all over the hard questions today!
(might want to find out what the wood is)
Hahahaha .. Maintenance questions 2day..
I ahave a boxwood so I am constantly babying it… Once every two weeks or so.
Hola Diego,
Do you have a Lehart flute? I’ve got one too and I’m oiling it with almond oil from the begining (It has 6 years old and still like new). I think almond oil is cheap and easy to find.
I oil about once a month or when the bore looks dry. When I do the monthly oiling I typically remove the keys and oil the outside as well, when the bore looks dry I just oil the bore and tone/embouchure holes (putting plastic film under the keypads).
edit: I use a commercial bore oil, intended for clarinets and other woodwinds.
Has it struck anyone else that oiling the flute is a lot like foreplay? It’s not the best part with your relationship, but you do it to take care of it and make it happy so the playing afterwards is better, and your relationship don’t risk cracking. At first it seems like a shore but you have more fun doing it than you thought it would be
whisky 
Too much whisky, Henke!
FWIW, I oil my original R&R with commercial woodwind bore-oil 2-3 times a year and polish the keys (with a Goddard’s Silver Cloth - GB equivalent to what Aanvil showed) when they start to look tarnished. I’ve had it c25 years and it hasn’t complained! I’m less careful/regular with my other flutes with German Silver keys (which goes dull/patinates quite fast) and which I play less regularly/intensively, so they get less exposure to moisture etc. Living in GB, humidity is rarely an issue! I have an antique (early C19th) boxwood 1-key flute which has no cracks whatever and I haven’t oiled that since I cleaned it up when I got it nearly two years ago…but I don’t use it a huge amount.
I agree with Henke, though, that a freshly loved flute is a rewarding thing both to look at and to play.
I agree with both of you..
The thing is, I have a Lehart flute, and the day it arrived home, it came with a huge CRACK on the right-hand body.. But it wasn’t a problem, Gilles told me to send the flute back so he will change that body part for a new one.
Anyways I’m taking care of it, like if it was a baby.
A lot of people (Asturian Players) have told me that Lehart’s flutes are “special” with the wood.
Mine has a great tone, and powerful volume, I love it, but I really don’t know which treatment will be the best one, having as an experience the first crack when I recieved it !
A crack such as you describe in a brand new flute will be due either to an undetectable fault in the wood or it receiving a bad knock or perhaps extreme temperature fluctuations in transit (if properly packed that shouldn’t happen barring serious disasters!) or possibly both - especially in a section with no metal linings. That is doubtless why Gilles is replacing it, quite properly. It cannot have anything to do with your treatment of it or lack of oiling! Even if it were a second-hand instrument, I’d doubt oiling would have prevented the circumstance you describe. 
You are right Jem..
But Gilles is a very professional maker, and he respond in very little time.
I had a new right-hand body part in less than 2 weeks!! .. hehe including the Fnat key, that sounds like a record for me !! hahaha ..
I never oil my flutes. Well, I did oil them once or twice a month when they were new, but not after the first year. I’ve never had any cracks or other problems in 20 years of playing wooden flutes. Two of my flutes are blackwood, the other is boxwood. I keep them in a sealed Rubbermaid container and maintain the humidity between 45 and 60 percent, and I try to avoid exposing them to sudden changes in temperature and humidity. And I play them a lot, which seems to keep them happy. 
Me neither. If I need to clean the outer surface of the flute I rub it with almond oil.
Otherwise I never use oil.
normally once a month, I use ballistol oil, which is stuff used for gun maitenance that can be used for a million purposes (even on your skin…)
I like the smell too …
berti
