View Full Version : Oiling the neck of a mandolin
RJ Rummie
Jun-29-2005, 1:02pm
Does this help with upkeep or play of a mandolin? I've heard people in guitar shops say it does, but, I dont know to trust them or not, thinking they might just be trying to sell some product.
Any suggestions or comments, because I'm thinking about getting some because I'm getting ready to change my strings, and it would be a good time to do so.
Eric F.
Jun-29-2005, 4:43pm
RJ, I've been told that a LITTLE (that's the key word) olive oil rubbed into the fretboard about once a year is a good idea. But there should be no need to do it often.
mikeomando
Jun-29-2005, 5:23pm
Are you talking about the neck (where your thumbs pushes), or the fretboard?
Paul Hostetter
Jun-29-2005, 5:27pm
Eric's advice about a little olive oil maybe once a year is fine. It looks nice and the oil's not toxic. My usual routine with instruments is to simply clean and burnish the board and frets with 0000 steel wool, no oil. Oil doesn't help the wood, it doesn't nourish it or any of that blather propounded by the folks who want you to buy their products. I've been repairing instruments full-time for more than 40 years and see the messes that result from oiling or gooping up boards with one thing and another. Keep it clean and you'll be fine.
In fact, you don't even have to keep it clean unless you want to or it starts to smell or something. I have a 40's Gibson guitar in the shop right now that has only been played and encrusted since the day it came from Kalamazoo. 100% original Grime City. You can't see the wood on the board, the dots are dark gray, it stinks like an ashtray. However it sounds great, but is about to get an urgently needed new set of frets.
Philip Halcomb
Jun-30-2005, 7:54am
Paul, what's the real scoop on lemon oil? I use a drop or so of that every 6mos. to a year to clean it. It it harmful, not harmful, or just not that helpful?
Eric F.
Jun-30-2005, 9:45am
Mikeomando makes a good point. We all assumed RJ was talking about the fretboard since he mentioned changing strings. But he did say neck.
RJ: There's no reason to oil the neck. And it sounds like maybe you're going to remove all the strings at once when you change them. Forgive me if you know this, but in case you haven't changed strings before, you should do it one at a time. If you take them all off, you'll have to figure out where the bridge goes, because it will move.
Paul Hostetter
Jun-30-2005, 10:52am
I remember when Canada banned Pledge lemon oil after kids drank it and died. I think the operative description was that it had turned their lungs to India rubber. I think lemon oil is a vague term. I know it has nothing to do with lemons except a synthetic smell, and probably not all of it is toxic anymore, but I generally think the only oil you should use is one you'd put in your mouth. I guess this could include pharmacy-grade mineral oil, but salad oil and the like work just as well. You put some on, it makes everything look nice and dark, and you wipe off as much as you possibly can.
I've heard olive oil leaves a gunky residue. Maybe linseed oil is better, or something sold especially for fretboards.
I respectfully wonder if, as Paul says, oil does nothing beneficial for fretboards. I do know that after several years the wooden handles of my garden tools will dry out and be prone to splintering, and a yearly wipe-down with linseed oil prevents this. Maybe ebony/rosewood is different.
Paul Hostetter
Jun-30-2005, 1:34pm
They is. Any oil - 3-in-1, linseed, whale, trumpet valve, 30-WT, Wesson, WD-40 - will leave a gunky residue if you leave it there. The whole point is to get all of it off the surface, if you apply any in the first place, before it polymerizes into a crust.
I and a few others just got torched on another thread here for having no experience, simply because we didn't agree with this one belligerent guy. Au contraire, I have had over 40 years of continuous professional experience working on string instruments in climates as different and extreme as Colorado, Michigan and California. I have paid a lot of attention to this issue over all those years. Colleagues such as Frank Ford, Rick Turner, Charlie Hoffman and others, including the entire violin community, are completely with me on this issue. Oil does nothing except a cosmetic tweak, at best. Its downside is oil-drenched unglueable boards and layers of gunk. Some folks don't know when to stop. That's why we don't recommend it.
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RJ Rummie
Jun-30-2005, 2:07pm
Sorry for the confusion, I meant the fretboard. The guy trying to sell the fret oil said that it would improve the life of the fretboard, frets, and also ease play. I did not argue with him, but I really do not see how it could ease play at all.
OK Paul. You sold me.
The bacon fat goes back in the fridge. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif