The idea wood should be oiled on a wind instrument might seem unusual at first but it is rooted in the understanding that wood changes size depending on many forces. Temperature, and moisture are the two most pronounced ways wood changes in size. Moisture offers the threat of cracking wooden wind instruments far more then temperature does (and the opposite is true for string instruments). The idea of oiling wood then comes down to the ability to block moisture from absorbing into that wood and keeping the wood in a permanently swollen state which aids in preventing cracks or stresses in the wood while being stored and played.

This is where things become increasingly confusing, as oiling wood is not equal with all oils

Almond oil-

Peanut oil-

MCT (Coconut Oil)-

Walnut oil-

Olive oil-

Mink Oil-

Tung oil-

Linseed oil-

Bore oil- Is a synthetic oil typically made of various mixes of mineral oils that have a favorable consistency for being absorbed into the pores of wood. Various manufacturers have different recipes that vary widely, and that also have different effective amounts of time that it protects the instruments.

Paraffin Wax- Unique to recorders many instruments are soaked in hot paraffin wax, often in pressure pots in order to facilitate impregnating wax into the wood and removing any air that remains. Recorders are most commonly made of maple wood, which has many large and open pores as compared to tropical hardwoods and the maple readily takes in this kind of wax impregnation. This is known to be a highly effective way to stabilize the wood and produce an instrument that will never need to be oiled at any time in its usable life.

Dalbergia melanoxylon ¹⁾

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