Oiling the mechanism does a couple of important things for your bassoon. It quiets the mechanism and it prevents moisture, dust and grit from getting into the mechanism and corroding the screws.

To oil the mechanism one needs very few tools:

• A small screwdriver
• A large plastic syringe
• A small bench oiler

All of these can be purchased at a hobby shop or hardware store.

*click on pictures to see larger pictures*

The plastic syringe should be packed with heavy, thick grease. Grease such as white lithium grease will work fine but is the thinnest grease I would use. Do NOT use Vaseline!!!

The bench oiler should be filled with as heavy an oil as you can find. Try to find an oil without solvents in it. Avoid light oils such as sewing machine oil as these are useless for quieting the mechanism, evaporate quickly and will run all over the pads and wood.

Most of the time, one drop of oil at the point where the post and key meet once every few weeks is sufficient to maintain the mechanism.

It is not necessary to remove keys (such as the G key) that utilize a long screw instead of a pivot screw in order to lubricate the length of the screw. Just a drop of oil at each post and capillary action will do the rest.

If you are feeling adventurous and want to use grease on the keys that utilize pivot screws, make sure you put each screw back into the post from which it is taken when you remove each key. It is important to keep the same screws in the same posts. Partially fill the hole at the end of the key with grease. It is not necessary to fill the hole completely as the pivot screw will spread the grease around when the key is reinstalled. Be sure to clean any excess grease from the post and key with a Q-Tip after the key is reinstalled.

                                             

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