I have two whistles with all-wood heads (well, I guess it’s three, but I don’t have the original care instructions for the Sweet). In the care instructions, Michael Grinter suggests soaking the head in oil, while Phil Bleazey says to be very careful not to ever get any oil in the windway.
The Bleazey is boxwood (the Grinter is cocobolo, both have cedar plugs), which really loves oil – when I oil my whistles inside and out, it’s the only one that I don’t have to wipe off a couple of hours later. I suspect it might really benefit from oiling the windway, OTOH, maybe I’d destroy it.
That being said, I have played wooden recorders for many years. When oiling a recorder, it is considered a Bad Thing if oil gets in the windway, or even anywhere on the block at all, or on the blade. Also you are never supposed to touch the blade.
Since a wooden whistle is basically a recorder with a different fingering system, I would think it would apply to wooden whistles as well.
We seem to be at the same point with to oil or not to oil wooden flutes. I have a friend who plays recorder with a local group and he advised me to soak my recorders in oil for half hour or so, bring them out, let them drip and then wipe the outside and run a clear cloth through the inside. “Don’t worry about the block”. Well, I did and still play them fine. Not as much as flute and whistles though.
I would NOT oil the windway. This causes the water to bead up in little droplets like water on an oily spot on your driveway. A major cause of clogging. This is why the soap-in-the-windway is so useful. The soap breaks up those droplets, or inhibits their formation in the first place. Oil everything else.
Paul, you’re suggesting to soap the windway of wood whistles same way as metal ones ? I.e. dip the head in soapy water, let it dry at room temperature ?
On 2003-01-05 12:20, Zubivka wrote:
Paul, you’re suggesting to soap the windway of wood whistles same way as metal ones ? I.e. dip the head in soapy water, let it dry at room temperature ?
No, not that drastic. Just swab some into the windway with a slip of paper, a feather, etc. You don’t need a lot.
I’m not Paul Busman, and I don’t play him on TV, but if you really want something that’ll convince water droplets to simply not form, go to your local darkroom supply and get a bottle of wetting agent for film. It’s a very pure liquid soap that is used to keep film from developing waterstains and streaks while drying.
And James, shame on you!!! The whistle predates the recorder by centuries, if not millenia. A recorder is merely an ill-conceived nightmare of a bastardized whistle with a complicated construction and fingering system! Not the other way round!
I’m not Serpent, and I don’t play him playing me on TV either…
I don’t know about film wetting agent, but it sounds pretty good. I’ve used a couple of drops of Dawn dishwashing soap to an ounce or so of water with good results. You don’t want a lot, or you’ll end up blowing bubbles. There is a commercial product called Duponol which is sold at recorder shops etc for this purpose too. It costs several dollars for a small bottle, but it has the advantage of coming in a convenient squeeze bottle which you can easily carry with you. You can put your finger over the end of the mouthpiece, hold the whistle vertically with the fipple down, and drip some of the stuff into the windway through the window. Let it sit there a couple of sec, remove your finger, shake out the excess and go to town. Try http://www.courtlymusic.com for Duponol
OK, in recap…
You seal the entire wooden instrument with oil… except at the point where humidity enters the wood. You then coat that area with a soapy product to keep the moisture from beading up in the windway.
Two questions then…
Does the soap inhibit the moisture from penetrating the wood?
Does this have any adverse affect to the wood with long term usage? (as in rood rot, fungus or bacteria buildup, or warping)
Do yourself a favor and follow the manufacturer’s suggestions for each instrument in question - If you have a problem down the road, you’re going to feel like an idiot when you try to explain to Michael Grinter, or whoever, why you took the advice of someone on this message board over his…
Do yourself a favor and follow the manufacturer’s suggestions for each instrument in question - If you have a problem down the road, you’re going to feel like an idiot when you try to explain to Michael Grinter, or whoever, why you took the advice of someone on this message board over his…
Trust me on this one, seriously.
Loren
I am 100% in agreement with Loren on this one. Follow the maker’s recommendations if they are available to you.
I don’t disagree w/ Loren… if a maker has a specific care instruction and you don’t follow it, then it’s your fault.
But… why do makers have such different recommendations? Often it’s for the same wood!
I too welcome back and agree with Loren. But, I also share Tony’s wonder as to why there are opposing “camps” on a seemingly simple issue like whether to oil, where, how much etc. For example, in a music shop a while back I was speaking to a counter guy (portraying himself as knowledgeable)about bore oil (I generally use almond), and he emphatically stated that all of his hotshot player customers never oil the bores of their woods; just swab out the moisture after playing.
Now some of you makers recommend occasional (once a month or so) light oiling of the bore. I basically stay away from that and have oiled outside (including the heads, which I guess I may re-examine)lightly after each prolonged session and swabbed out the moisture after every session.
African blackwoods and cocobolo seem to need less oil than red lancewood as they are denser and more stable. I guess if things are working out right for you and a particular whistle, you should stick with what you’re doing and vice versa. OTOH, by the time you realize there’s a problem, damage may have been done (albeit likely no major unreversibles?); see, it’s complicated already.
Could someone be kind enough to post here the care advice he got with a new Grinter whistle ? I got mine second-hand. I’m more than happy with it, but would appreciate to stay such…
PS: I’d like the idea of curing its windway in some way, too : I tend to take short breaths by “sucking” through the windway. Some dust (raw cedar?) seems to get back and tends to irritate my throat.
[ This Message was edited by: Zubivka on 2003-01-07 19:30 ]
is real tin the same “tin” used in cans, i.e. does it rusts ?
For rust prevention, I’d use WD40 (thinnest coating lubricant I can think of) but, sucking on that… Yuck! Now maybe, if you carefully avoided it getting in the windway?
On 2003-01-07 19:25, Zubivka wrote:
Could someone be kind enough to post here the care advice he got with a new Grinter whistle ? I got mine second-hand. I’m more than happy with it, but would appreciate to stay such…
I don’t have the instructions right now, but from what I remember, he recommended soaking the head in oil once, and that this was optional. Other than that, it was standard – breaking it in (limited playing for the first week or so), swabbing it out after playing, and occasional oiling as needed. I’ll see if I can dig up the sheet. Mail me if you don’t see it in a couple of days.
Serpie-Pie
s.