Just like brass, there are plenty of times that any woodwind instrument is going to need to know about oil. The difference is in the type and frequency of application. No matter what, though, all woodwinds will need oiling, no matter the material.
All woodwinds, just like brass instruments, have parts that are metal on metal contact. If you look at the posts that hold the keys on, the rod is held between the posts. It's held either by steel screws at each end or it is a long steel hinge rod with threads at one end and a screwdriver slot at the other. The key is either held by the screws or is floating on the rod like a hinge. If it's a hinge rod and tube, it takes a small amount of oil to reduce wear on the parts. Steel is harder than brass, and will eventually wear it down, thus widening the hole and introducing wobble. This wobble would affect how well the pad seals the tone hole, which means leaks.
There is another, more serious problem here, though. The rod is steel, but rarely is it stainless steel. This means moisture is a factor. Without the oil to displace the water, the rods or screws will rust, and rust takes up more space than un-oxidized steel. The tolerances between the hing rod and the tube are extremely close, and the steel rusting will easily cause the two surfaces to bind together due to lack of space. Now the keys don't move
This is a very very easy fix. Most music stores that cater to wind instruments sell a product called key oil commercially. It is thicker than brass valve oil, which is a good thing. For one thing, the amount of movement is far less than brass, which means the oil doesn't move around as much. Also, you aren't breathing on the surfaces that have the oil when you play, so you aren't pushing it off the instrument. For hinge rods, it only takes a drop to completely coat the hinge rod. Maybe a second drop on a longer one for say a saxophone.
Look closely at the hinge tubes, especially when there are multiple keys on it, like the upper or lower stack. Move a key and see where one section of tube moves against another. This is the spot where a very small amount of oil can be intruduced. Take something small, like the tip of a pencil, and get a small bead of oil on the end. Enough so that it is rounding the end of the pencil, but not enough that it could drop off due to gravity. Touch the oiled tip to the tube joint, so that the bead of oil is now sitting on the joint. After that, move all keys, one at a time, over and over to get it to work itself into the joint. With how close the tolerances are, it will move it's way through the entire section due to capillary action. Once you've moved everything for a few moments, get a q-tip and swab the excess oil that didn't go into the joint. Screw joints are even easier, as you just put a drop in the same way at each end of the rod where the key rod meets the post. If it's got screws at both ends, it's not a hinge rod.
Beyond that, the rest of the post deals with one particular part of the woodwind family. That's those actually made of wood. Clarinets, oboes, and even some flute or piccolos, this means you. There is a need for a different type of additional oil in your case.
The wood used for this is known in the instrument world as Grenadilla. It's also known as African Blackwood, or scientifically it's called Dalbergia Melanoxylon. It is an extremely dense, oily wood from the parts of South Africa. It has been used to make musical instruments for over a hundred years, including Scottish bagpipes. This is due to the high density and oil content. It is so dense that it will not float in water. It is oily enough that people can set a very seasoned piece of wood in a double boiler and it will still sweat out the natural oils.
That being said, it is wood, and it does something that all wood does. The oils will dissipate over time, which will leave the wood vulnerable. Once the cells are empty of oil, the wood wants to soak up whatever moisture it can. This is usually introduced to the instrument through the bore by the players breath. Once the moisture is there, it soaks in and causes the wood to try to swell. But, the saturation levels aren't balanced, meaning the exterior isn't as wet as the bore, so the bore is trying to expand against an exterior that isn't. This creates stress in the wood, and the more times this happens, the greater the likelyhood the exterior will crack to relieve the pressure. If this happens through a tone hole, or goes all the way to the bore, there is little to nothing a repair tech can do to fix it.
The way to innoculate the instrument is to swab out the bores. This can be done at home, but with a few precautions. Firstly, the type of oil is very important. Any oil you would normally use in the kitchen is a no. These can go rancid, and if it does this in the wood, it will never come out. It would become impossible to breathe around the instrument, let alone want to put your mouth on it. Just like key oil, it is easy enough to get dedicated bore oil from companies. Usually I go to the health food store and get a bottle of almond oil. It doesn't go rancid like other oils, is usually the same price as the bore oil for 20 times the same amount, and has little to no odor when used. If you have any nut allergy, you'll know if you have an issue with this and just use the regular bore oil.
Also, it doesn't take much oil to protect the instrument. This is one of the rare times I actually use pad savers. I use one for a flute, as the narrow diameter means I can control where its touching at all times. Control is very important, as you don't want any on the pad surfaces. Put a drop or two on the end of the bore, then use the pad saver to mop the oil around on the surfaces. the one drop should do halfway through the section of a clarinet. Once the bore of the joint has been covered half it's length, I turn the joint around and do the same from the other end. Then, I walk away for at least an hour.
This hour gives the wood time to soak up the small amouth of oil. Due to the density, it will take this long to penetrate even a fraction of a millimeter, but that's all we need for now. After that, I take another pad saver, one without oil, and any excess off the bore. There's rarely anything on it, but it's still a good idea. At this point, the layer of oil is just below the surface, and any moisture can't pass through it to soak into the wood. If the surface looks just dry like no oil was applied, wait a day or two and maybe, if it still looks dry, apply another thin coat. No matter what, until the oil is completely soaked in or wiped off, don't try to play the instrument. It will sound off, and could push the excess oil off the surfaces
In dry climates, this probably would need to be done every 4-6 months. In damper climates, the oil will dissipate more slowly, and should only need to be reapplied annually. If in doubt, take it to a tech to do this. They will likely take the keys off when they do this, because they'll first clean the body with oil soaps to remove any dirt or oils from your body, then apply oil. Like cleaning your teeth, regardless of how well you brush you still need to go to the dentist for a thorough cleaning.
This is also true for oiling the mechanisms of all woodwinds. It shouldn't need this more than once every 6 months, and when you take it to a tech, they'll clean then old oil off start fresh.
Doing this for your woodwind will protect the instrument from moisture, both in the mechanisms and in the materials that make up the bore. It's a lot cheaper than when a technician has to wrestle with frozen keys or try to prevent cracks from getting worse.
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