Ok, the next time there are more than 10 posts about oiling on the wooden flute list in one day, I’m going to have to unsubscribe.
I needed to get that off my chest.
Thanks!
(Raw linseed oil, in case you’re wondering. 30 years and no cracks).
Me too, raw linseed oil, or no oil.
Bill
yet another question about oil (sorry)–someone told me that flaxseed oil and linseed oil are the same thing: that so?
kind thoughts:
chandl
Yes, flaxseed and linseed oil are the same. (It took me forever to figure that out!)
thanks for clearing that up for me, dhigbee. Instead of canvassing the local woodworking shops, where I could only find boiled linseed, I’ll just head to the nearest health food grocery and get the flaxseed.
-Just make sure the linseed oil chosen has no oxidizer added, as rags/towels used with the oxidizer version may combust spontaneously.
-The labelling can be confusing. A local art supply sells their regular linseed oil as “Refined Linseed Oil”, and their oxidizer-treated linseed oil as "Cold Pressed Linseed Oil ". The “Cold Pressed” oil bears a warning label describing its potential hazard. This could surprise people associating “Cold Pressed XXXX Oil” with organic, natural or health foods, common on grocery shelves.
-Another tack is using almond oil instead of linseed. Casey Burns recommends
addition of vitamin E to it to prevent rancidity, but almond oil can also be refrigerated to prevent rancidity.
Brian O.
[ This Message was edited by: brianormond on 2003-01-30 02:57 ]
The easiest way to avoid this confusion, boiled vs. raw linseed, added ingredients, etc., is to buy the linseed at a health food store, not an art store or hardware store. In the states, it will be called flaxseed oil, and it will proudly say it is 100% organic, cold-pressed flaxseed, also extremely healthy for you to use as a food oil. It will (should be) in a refridgerated section, and that’s also where you should store it.
Okay, since Gordon mentioned it, I’m going to ask a question?
A couple of years ago, I purchased a Folkers & Powell flute. Raw linseed oil must be used for their warranty. I couldn’t find it anywhere, at least in a small amount. I asked about flaxseed oil as an alternative, and was told not to use it. F&P sent me a jar of the raw linseed oil. I still have it, stored at room temperature, and it looks, smells, and works as expected. If they are the same, why does one need to be refrigerated and the other not, and what about F&Ps reply?
Maybe the answer is that the flaxseed oil is for human consumption, and needs to be refrigerated. I don’t think anyone ingests raw linseed oil.
Anyway, I like the idea of using flaxseed oil. Olwell recommends flaxseed or olive oil.
Bill
[ This Message was edited by: SuiZen on 2003-01-30 11:08 ]
Now I have to say I am a little confussed. I have been using “Selmer Bore Oil” on the fret board of my guitar for about 30 years. This stuff is sold to protect a wooden flute from cracking. As it turns out it is mineral oil. Now I have my first wooden flute coming next month. It`s a Dixon in rosewood. What I need to know is who is right. I have read every post I could find on this subject and few of you agree. I do not want to be the cause of this flutes demise. What can I feel safe in using???
Tom
Tom,
Use what the maker recommends.
Bill
On 2003-01-30 10:45, Gordon wrote:
The easiest way to avoid this confusion, boiled vs. raw linseed, added ingredients, etc., is to buy the linseed at a health food store, not an art store or hardware store. In the states, it will be called flaxseed oil, and it will proudly say it is 100% organic, cold-pressed flaxseed, also extremely healthy for you to use as a food oil. It will (should be) in a refridgerated section, and that’s also where you should store it.
The oil I bought at a US hardware store several years ago, clearly labeled on the can as Raw Linseed Oil, is not something I would ever consider ingesting or cooking in. I don’t care how healthy it is. (And I eat both black and white puddings, so I wouldn’t call my palate sensitive…)
Only 5 so far today, but there are over 7 hours to go…
On 2003-01-30 16:38, jim_mc wrote:
Only 5 so far today, but there are over 7 hours to go…
Yeah, but you started it, you’ve only yourself to blame.
No Brad, you misunderstand. Only 5 posts on woodenflute so far today, not this board. I have the woodenflute posts come in as e-mail. Some recent days have seen upwards of 10 oil related posts.
It happens every so often on all the wooden instrument boards.
I can sum up some recent days e-mail like this: 3-linseed, 4-bore oil, 1-almond/vitamin E, 1-dry, 1-10W-40.
Ok, I’m kidding about the 10W-40.
Okay, this is my take on all this.
Flaxseed and linseed are the same seed, and they should be the same oil. What might have been bought in a hardware store, though “raw”, as in un-boiled, still may have contained additives in it, thinned perhaps for easier penetration into the wood (Terry McGee does this with linseed, thins it a bit with some turp-or-other, in his initial treatment of his flutes, and applies several coats.). In any case, the added petroleum product would now make it non-consumable.
Folkers may have wanted their instrument to have some diluted version as well, and/or a) were unaware, like most Americans, that flaxseed and linseed are the same and b) didn’t want their customers to use pure, undilute flax/linseed.
I was using Selmers Bore oil as well – a non-toxic (no smell, no taste) mineral oil, then switched to almond on almost everyone’s advice, then back to Selmer’s, as several makers saw the never-drying oil as mostly useless, and now I’m about to try Flaxseed.
The reason? My main flute is a Hamilton, and that’s what Hammy recommends, with many other makers’ blessings as well.
In general, stick with the maker’s advice, if for no other reason than not to void their warranty. On antique flutes, frankly, it probably will take anything you throw at it.
The thing to keep in mind with all this is that our flutes all leave their respective shops with some measure of deeply penetrated oil protection; some use tung, linseed, etc., but they have all been “treated”. All we’re doing, then, is some extra and temperary stop-gap while we humidify our flutes by playing constantly (right? 
). So, stick with the maker’s advice, but don’t sweat this all so much. Keep the flutes/fifes humidified and keep playing them.