[Harp-L] Oil for wooden covers

[David McCurry]

I play this model regularly (and love it also, really wish Suzuki would
make a 16 hole version of this, a G64W.. I'd be first in line). I'd think
the natural oils in your hand would be plenty for the wood if you play it
fairly often. Additional oiling will also make the wood more dense and
deaden the transmission of sound vibrations to some small degree. That's
one of the reasons guitars and other tone-wood sound box instruments
(xylophones and pianos included) either have no finish, or a hard, brittle
finish like lacquer or shellac. Personally, I don't think it would make a
whole lot of difference. The gold stamped hole numbers wear off anyway. The
oil would likely accelerate that.

D.

On Mon, Dec 25, 2017 at 6:55 PM, jon kip <jon at xxxxx> wrote:

> 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
>
>
>
>


-- 
David S McCurry, EdD

DS McCurry Fine Arts Studio
www.davidmccurry.net
Jacaranda Educational Development, LLC
www.jacarandaeducation.net