Bill, Ted et al,
Discovered a crack in my bass drone slider.
It turns out Chris Langan was one of the few makers that made this part out of wood, so if you use too much hemp looking for an airtight seal, crack!
So I’ve sealed it and ended up having to sand it down to bare wood.
Put some boiled linseed oil on it, and it looks fine, but should I go any further, so I get a uniformity of finish (it doesn’t quite have the shine…)?
If so, what would you recommend?
Thanks.
Do you have a drill?
You could get a cotton polishing attacment for a regular drill at your local hardware shop and with your choice of oil, wax, etc. and 20 seconds it will look brand new.
Tommy
Thanks Tommy,
sure I can do the work, it’s just that my choice of oil, wax, etc is uninformed, and I’m looking for recommendations.
As you have resealed it with linseed oil, once it has hardened, you could use a carnuba based wax (floor wax) or Renaissance Wax Polish to put a shine back on it.
I use Danish oil on some woods, Rosewoods, Cocobola, Mopane. But I don’t know how that would sit on Linseed oil.
With very dense oily woods like Ebony, Lignum Vitae, etc I just run the buffing wheel at a very high speed and use the woods natural oils to make a nice bright finish.
Tommy
Thanks guys.
Having just polished every piece of brass on the set so I can see my nose in it,
I now have to resist the temptation to refinish every piece of wood.
The Renaissance Wax Polish will not only put a shine on your wood, it can be applied to the just-polished metal work and buffed, which will leave a much longer lasting shine and retard tarnishing. Even the smallest can is expensive, but it will last for years.
Just to be sure I understand, are you talking about having sanded the outside of the drone slide?
The best finish will depend a bit on the timber used, and the finish that was on it originally. But I tend to agree that for an exterior repair, a light rub of linseed oil and a subsequent wax-based finish seem like a reasonable choice.
‘0000’ grade wire wool can help in getting the finish right before the final treatment.
By the way, how did you repair the crack and restore a fine cylindrical bore to the inside of the slide? (This is an altogether too common issue with wooden slides nowadays, as lots of players are used to metal slide sockets and the dreaded ‘plumbers’ tape’ - a very dangerous substance if applied to drones with wooden sockets; dry hemp only, please! Readers, take warning…) 
best regards,
- Bill
Dry hemp only, please!
As in not waxed?
Hi Bill, yes, the outside of the drone slide.
Prepare to grit your teeth, o professional makers, but I filled the crack with superglue. I pushed the slide back on the overhemped tenon to open the crack a hair to make sure the glue got right in, then took it off and clamped the crack shut. When that was dry I did it again, minus the opening the crack part. So that left me with excess glue to scrape off, which left the finish rather patchy, hence the ultimate decision to take down the outside to bare wood. I put a thin coat of superglue on the inside to (I had no idea that stuff smoked when used on cotton swab!), but I didn’t sand the inside, so I can’t swear to a “fine” bore.
Before you cringe (too late!) at the idea of refinishing a set, remember I’ve been playing this set for 30 years, and the drones and regs are pretty dinged and chipped and grotty in places. I’m sure Chris wouldn’t have minded.
As far as the wax goes, I have some JC Johnson paste wax on hand. Would this be ok, or should I avoid products with petroleum distillates in them?
Replies appreciated once you’ve all unclenched your teeth.
Paste wax should be fine.
For what it’s worth, I don’t see a problem with anything you did, given the context. I probably would have done the same thing. If you had the tools, it might be a good idea to ream the repaired inside slide with a custom reamer, but you may already be as good as the socket’s original fit.
I agree with Ted, as far as I know paste wax should be OK.