Last December I was lucky enough to buy a really great Sam Murray flute from a fellow chiff and fippler. On Murrays website, which appears to have been down for the last few weeks, he says that because of how they treat the wood there is no need for any further oiling of the flute. This does make me a tad nervous and I was wondering what other Murray owners do. Will oiling harm this flute or should I carry on without oiling? The flute is just over three years old.
Sam told me, when I collected a flute in Galway, to neglect it sensibly or words to that effect. I oil maybe twice a year, or when the wood starts looking dull and dead. That’s blackwood, box is a different story.
Thanks very much for that Mr.Gumby. It is a blackwood flute and I’ll follow that recommendation.
If it seems like condensation isn’t beading at all, I give my boxwood Murray a schwipe. But often, I like to let it get a bit soaked with moisture, boxwood being so spongy and reactive …
Basically I think Sam’s trying to say not to over-oil. Too much sometimes seems to build up and dull a flute’s tone, and Sam’s flutes sound so wonderful and bright and lively.
I find that the silk rag I use to swab mine out has accumulated a tiny bit of the oil over the years, and that seems to strike a pretty ideal balance most of the time.
More generally, there are some makers who don’t think oiling has any good effect on blackwood flutes, except
possibly in some extraordinary circumstances. Told me so. This is one of The Great Controversies in flute lore, I believe.
Less is definately more.
I used to oil with flaxseed oil very sparingly and not too frequently but recently switched to olive oil for my new flute. i could’nt understand before why someone would want to use a non-polymerizing oil like olive or almond because it seemed you would just have to oil more frequently but now i’m liking the idea that what I’m adding will protect the wood and not have any potential to build up a film and I don’t mind the monthly (at the moment weekly) oilings. oiling twice a year with oilve oil would be great but i’m not that brave. I can’t imagine never oiling.
Indeed. It’s a flute, not a deck. No need to go crazy.
I do the same thing, Peter.
I hardly ever oil my flutes, black wood and Cocus don’t seem to need much attention. I have seen more damage to flutes by over oiling then not oiling, especially with keyed flutes. People seem to think you have to oil the keys too! 
That’s what Sam (Murray) said too. Most of the “problem” flutes he got was totally gunked up and ridiculously over-oiled. He also told me the same as he told MrGumby, that ‘careful neglect’ is the way to go.
My own Murray was made in spring of 2011 and hasn’t been oiled yet..
I’m with Jon all the way on this. Didn’t Terry (or someone - can’t check right now) do some experiments on oil absorption/penetration and conclude that take-up was minimal in waxy tropical hardwoods? (Box is a different matter!) Surface dressing with oil or wax probably does affect the passage of moisture in and out of the wood, even the waxy hardwoods, but don’t expect/believe the oil to penetrate significantly or to somehow replace water in the structure of the wood and thus prevent water coming and going. As is currently being discussed in another thread, humidification/prevention of dessication is probably more important to the health of a wooden flute than oiling, though appropriate surface use of oil or wax is a helpful control tool for that as well as to try to guard against excessive water absorption.
Keys and tone holes and key slots all gunged up with caked, old, excessively (and pointlessly) applied linseed oil are a pet hate of mine when overhauling flutes, just like Jon.
Thanks folks, very interesting and helpful comments, I’ll check out that other thread.
I believe this is the thread
https://forums.chiffandfipple.com/t/how-much-oil-does-a-new-flute-absorb/35897/1
Below is a quote from an article by Terry Simmonds called “The Good Oil”
“The appearance of woods is determined by its grain, its texture and its figure (which generally arises through irregular patterns of pigment). The texture of wood is determined by its cellular construction. This can be thought of as consisting of tiny cells of cellulose “glued together” by a substance called lignin. This is a bit like a brick wall, which consists of lumps of clay “glued together” by mortar, with the important difference that the wall is only twodimensional whereas the wood is three-dimensional. As a generalisation, the cellulose loves water but hates oil, whereas lignin likes oil but hates water. When oil is applied, it is ignored by the cellulose but attaches itself to the lignin, by a process of wetting rather than chemical bonding. This means the attachment is quite weak. It is important to realise that the attachment between oil and lignin occurs only at the outer layer of cells. There is no real question of the oil being “absorbed” to any real extent. Any impression that the oil has penetrated or that it has been absorbed by the wood is merely an illusion resulting from the oil drying.”
So what kind of oil is the best to use?
If dealing with cocus or grenadilla and a flute in regular use and not in a maker-directed playing-in phase, mostly none IMO. It can’t hurt to very lightly oil the bore occasionally with whatever oil you fancy - I’d go for a commercial bore oil - and flutes often sound better for a while after a little TLC, but don’t use linseed for routine oiling and whatever you do use, don’t do it more than every 2-3 months. Boxwood or fruitwoods may need waterproofing more frequently.