Professional Technician Tells You Why You Shouldn't Oil Your Saxophone Yourself
As the saxophone becomes a popular choice for many music lovers, the importance of instrument maintenance is increasingly apparent. However, some people may want to try oiling their instruments themselves (key oil, lubricant) to avoid the hassle of finding a professional technician. But this practice can damage your precious instrument. Let's look at why you shouldn't oil your saxophone yourself and the potential consequences.
The Necessity of Instrument Oiling (Key Oil, Lubricant) We often hear teachers or repair technicians tell us that we need to regularly maintain and repair instruments. Why do instruments need maintenance and oiling? Readers who ride motorcycles or cars are certainly aware that they need regular maintenance and oil changes every year. Instruments, like cars and motorcycles, have screws, keys, key tubes, keyposts, etc., all made of metal, just like cars and motorcycles. When metal screws operate within metal key tubes, without an intermediary medium, rapid wear between the metal parts occurs, much like engine oil in cars and motorcycles. Adding key oil to the key tubes of musical instruments protects the metal parts during performance, ensuring smooth operation and preventing excessive wear due to friction.
How a Repair Technician Oils an Instrument
As mentioned earlier, can we oil instruments ourselves? Many shops sell instrument oils (e.g., key oil, needle oil), which you've likely seen frequently, and some may even purchase and attempt to oil them themselves.
Before introducing how repair technicians oil instruments, let's look at some photos:
As you can see in the photos, the pads and instrument bodies are covered in dust and dirt due to excessive key oil. Furthermore, much of the cork and felt is also contaminated with too much key oil. The main reason for such severe oil contamination in the consumables of this instrument is that the user applied the oil themselves from the outside of the instrument.
Why does applying oil from the outside cause such serious contamination?
Have any readers heard the following explanation: "Self-oiling" involves dripping instrument oil, such as key oil, onto the gaps mentioned earlier, and then quickly pressing the keys, allowing the oil to flow into the instrument's body.
As you can see in the photos provided above, although there are gaps between the key tubes and key posts, they are not large. Due to advancements in manufacturing technology and high-standard production management, the gaps in the key tubes and key posts of modern musical instruments have gradually become smaller and more precise. Because of these technological advancements, the commonly used "self-oiling" method is ineffective at replenishing oil; in fact, it may even cause the oil to flow onto the outside of the instrument instead of entering the body.
How do repair technicians oil instruments?
Since "self-oiling" is not possible, how do repair technicians oil each instrument? To ensure that lubricants such as key oil reach the inside of the key tubes smoothly, repair technicians will disassemble the keys to apply or re-lubricate them from the inside. Applying lubricant from the inside of the instrument prevents the oil from spreading to the outside and ensures that the oil works correctly within the key tubes.
Entrust your beloved saxophone to a professional repair technician for careful maintenance!
In conclusion, to ensure that instrument lubricants such as key oil perform at their best and to ensure that you achieve twice the results with half the effort when practicing, the maintenance and re-lubrication of your instrument should not be taken lightly. Let a professional repair technician handle this important task related to the performance of your instrument! This will not only keep your beloved instrument in top condition but also save you time and energy, allowing you to focus on learning your instrument and exploring techniques to further improve your playing skills.