Gear Oil?

[Ed]

I've been using a heavyweight Gear oil on my saxes for the last six months and am pretty happy with the results. Previously I used Hetman's heavy oil but sometimes I think it is just too thick. Gear oil is available for pretty cheap and a bottle may very well last me the rest of my life. So far I'm not seeing any adverse affects like the build up of varnish or anything nasty like that. The action seems nice and smooth for a long time after oiling.

I'm curious to hear other people's opinions and what they use to oil horns.

 

[Steve]

A longtime ago I was impressed with the silky smooth action of an 875 tenor. So I took the bell keys off and they had long drill rods (the metal rod inside the key) in them (versus pivot screws on the top and bottom). And they used a grease on the rod which made it silky smooth.

Since then i'm more of an advocate for thicker lubes in certain spots. I think it really smooths out keywork without slowing it down. Sometimes it feels like keywork just works and doesn't have that nice feel that I'm always looking for.

 

[Gandalfe]

Geesch now I wonder if thats how they get the Selmer Privilege bass clarinet and Ref series saxes keyworks so smooth. It is really like butta!

 

[pete]

I dunno if it's just oil. I was very impressed with the action on my Buffet Dynaction alto and I know it didn't have the heavy grease. I did use some good key oil on it every now and then (and, 20+ years later, I still have the bottle of oil, so that tells you how much I used).

I wonder what percentage of that feel is how the keywork is mounted.

 

[Steve]

that feel has alot to do with the length of the springs too. The longer then the smoother the keywork (such as on mk VIs) - the shorter and the 'quicker' the keywork. but grease seems to help smooth out the keywork response too

 

[Groovekiller]

This is a really old thread, but here's my 2 cents:

Really thick oil doesn't slow down the mechanism on saxophones. When I vivited the Yanagisawa factory in 1982, they were using a very thick lubricant on the final assembly of their saxes - even on the long hinge rods. It had the viscosity of honey, it made the keys deathly quiet, and it lasted for a long time.

Automotive oils probably include additives that aren't necessary on musical instruments, but I have had success with STP, or Selmer tuning slide & cork grease. They are especially good on noisy Mark VI side Bb and C linkages. Thicker oil lasts much longer than thin oil.

However, on oboes and English horns, you are pushing your luck with the thick stuff.

 

[Ed]

Thanks for the further insights.

I have found that the gear oil stays around a long time and does a good job. Probably a better job at lubricating than the Hetman's I also use.