I have been breaking in my new oboe, and the information I recieved with it said I should oil the bore during the break in time. I currently only have some commercial bore oil at my house, but I have heard that it isn't the best stuff to use. Where can I find some good bore oil, and what kind should I use? Thanks!
There are as many answers to this as there are bore oils - every body has his/her own idea. I would suggest the best idea is to contact the maker or supplier to advise on this otherwise if there is trouble with the instrument cracking you might find the guarantee has been invalidated by not using a recommended oil.
I didn't use bore oil for breaking in my oboe, I used it to get rid of the tonnes of water in my octave keys. The oil creates a path down the back of your oboe and the water should follow the path of the oil later on.
I used some sweet almond oil that I bought at my natural food store. I go my top joint and put about 5 drops of the oil in the reed well. I propped my oboe's top joint up over night until I could see oil coming out of the bottom. 5 drops of oil may not be enough. After letting the oil sit for a few hours i got an old swab and got out the extra oil.
I doubt that it would take a chemist to tell what bore oil was used. One good sniff is probably enough.
I have broken in three oboes and one English horn over some 58 years. I have used olive oil, almond oil and a commercial bore oil I got from Forrests. All worked. My chief complaint about the olive and almond oil is that then tend to have a gooey residue. They all have strong and distinctive odors.
None of the instruments ever cracked.
Good grief! Have I been playing oboe now for 59 years?
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