[Harp-L] Oil for wooden covers

[jon kip]

The main reason wooden instruments, like clarinet, oboe, and recorders, crack is that they have small inside diameters and, obviously, bigger outside diameters of the tubes, and when we blow hot air into them the inside can, at times, expand faster than the outside can deal with....so things tend to crack...mostly along the grains.

For Oboes, the legend is that only GREAT oboes crack....a theory probably promulgated by oboe makers who haven't remembered to set aside lots of wood many years ago for aging.....all my oboes have cracked, and, as I remember, in the right hands, sound just fine....if you like that kind of thing.

Probably isn't a reason to oil wooden covers for harmonicas, but I can't see it hurting as long as the oil used smells better than whatever you ate last. (Soy Turkey, Brussels Sprouts and paleo-stuffing)

jk
> On Dec 24, 2017, at 3:11 AM, harp-l-request at xxxxx wrote:
> 
> I have a Suzuki G. Maret G48W harmonica with the rosewood cover plates 
> that I love. The look and feel of the wood is great. Here's the 
> question: Should I oil the covers occasionally or not? Fine wooden 
> musical instruments such as clarinets and recorders have to be oiled to 
> prevent them from cracking. So why not these covers? Have these been 
> specially treated at the factory to eliminate this need or not? This 
> question would also apply to Suzuki's Pure Harp diatonics with their 
> wooden covers.



jon kip
jon at xxxxx