Stevelegh
536 posts
Jun 15, 2012
5:27 AM
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Hi Everyone,
I just I'd share. May be obvious to some of you US guys and engineering types, but I just saved myself a stack of postage charges by not ordering online.
I'm setting up to make my first serious attempt at embossing. I've got my Ultimate Sizing Tool and I've bought a light table in order to minimise any mistakes. One thing missing is mineral oil. Searching online, I found some with horrendous delivery charges.
I then remembered back to a thread about Blu Tack that Brendan made. US guys were searching for it by name when it is in fact Poster Putty, so I started searching for alternative names. Turns out that mineral oil is the same as Gun Oil. I have a gun shop across the street from my shop.
3 minutes later, I'm in possession of a can of mineral oil.
May the embossing commence!
Last Edited by on Jun 15, 2012 5:31 AM
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arzajac
806 posts
Jun 15, 2012
6:17 AM
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I have a bottle of mineral oil I bought at the pharmacy to clean the wax out of my youngest daughter's ears years ago. But I have tried using vegetable oil (Edit: for embossing) and it works well.
I made my own embossing tool and I tend to use a generous amount of oil. If you use enough oil (dip it before each slot) vegetable oil works just as well as mineral oil. I plink them right after embossing and then throw them into the ultrasonic cleaner. Soap and water would work just as well. If I clean them before plinking, it makes the job harder. I now realize that the oil makes the work of the reed clearing the slot smoother and therefore less work.
I hope this helps.
Also, oil (any kind) makes tapping holes (when converting from nails to screws) a *lot* easier. Just dip the tap in and go!
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Last Edited by on Jun 15, 2012 8:35 AM
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Stevelegh
537 posts
Jun 15, 2012
6:34 AM
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@Arzajac:
'I have a bottle of mineral oil I bought at the pharmacy to clean the wax out of my youngest daughter's ears years ago. But I have tried using vegetable oil and it works well.'
Vegetable oil in her ears? Wasn't your daughter upset?
Heh...
I appreciate the advice. thanks. Like the Blu Tack thing, obviously there's always a concern that I'll screw up my precious harps and with oil, there's always the added concern that one could be using something toxic to breathe.
Although I'm now going to have to Google what an ultrasonic cleaner is.
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barbequebob
1937 posts
Jun 15, 2012
7:15 AM
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One thing I should mention is that the term mineral oil, just like parrafin oil, is going to be different from one country to another. Why? They may share a name, but the label has been used for different oils, so I'd try to be careful when you mention that.
I know for a fact that on the Hering 1923 Vintage Harps, the wood combs are partially sealed (sealed only along the outer edges, (the same as the way the MB Deluxe was until recently), and on Harp-L, one one the posters called it parrafin oil and a harp tech from New Zealand gave a comepletely different definition of what his country considedered parafin oil that the original poster, who I believe was from Germany, had described.
One thing to remember is that certain woods take better to certain types of sealant than others, meaning that what's good with one type of wood can be horrible for another and that's advice that I got from a professional carpenter I met many years ago.
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Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
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pharpo
691 posts
Jun 15, 2012
8:19 AM
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Olive oil tastes MUCH better !
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Procrastinator Emeritus
Last Edited by on Jun 15, 2012 8:20 AM
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MrVerylongusername
2384 posts
Jun 15, 2012
9:14 AM
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Better clean those plates well after using vegetable or olive oil - once those vegetable oils go rancid... eughhhh! stinky!
Mineral oil is non-toxic, odourless and does not decompose (mildly laxative, but on the reedplates and in the quantities we're talking about that's not a problem).
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mr_so&so
568 posts
Jun 15, 2012
9:25 AM
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As arzajac said, the best place to source stuff like "mineral oil" is the pharmacy. It should be a standard item for ear wax removal, etc. I.e., it should be safe to ingest. Your local gun shop (a notion that I personally find a little disconcerting) might not be sourcing stuff that is safe to take internally. Vegetable oils can go rancid, if you leave them exposed to air and on your harp.
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Stevelegh
539 posts
Jun 15, 2012
10:42 AM
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Thanks Mr V,
OK, I've spent the shipping money I've saved, the upshot is there's a pharmacists on the next block.
I used to be constipated as a kid. By dad used to feed me liquid paraffin. That's going to bring back happy memories for me. Heh.
Thanks for jumping in and saving me from myself Mr V.
Cheers
Steve
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