iDIDJ Australia Didgeridoo Cultural Hub

Hello,

Do some of you guys prepare your Didj-Oil yourself rather than buying it "all done" ?
What is your recipe ?

Linseed oil + ...? + ... ? + ... + Essential oil ?


Thanks for the tips.

I don't prepare my own oils for the simple reason that it is easy to get it wrong. One should know about compatibility between different chemicals and oils, how they might react with each other, etc. Also, from what I have been told, mixing oils should be done at certain temperatures... chemical engineers can tell you more about that. The worse case scenario when people mix their own oils is cross-reaction and a rancid smell like the oils have gone off.

It is safer to use a pure oil, for example, just linseed oil, or just tung oil, when oiling a didj. Or get a product that is commercially prepared that is non-toxic. Myself, I prefer not to oil mainly because I don't need to... all my instruments are crack-free still

Guan

Hi Guys I love this topic it keeps re apearing in forums all the time so Ahaw have a search here and on other forums.....

Personally I LOVE and will now only use good old simple Danish oil as it goes of dead quick in hours rather than days for say Tung oil wich is good but needs loads of coats over many days where as danidh you can be done in a few hours and playing HA HA love it

Thanks for the advice Stockie, but believe it or not I HAVE been searching on different topics of different forums already.
As a matter of fact, I also have posted on an existing topic on the "S.Sticks"-forum and got a rapid and clear answer from Angel.
As well as on the French Didj forum, though most French players play "Wakatou-style" and tend to varnish their instruments.
I've searched on iDidj and found out this question had not yet been asked here, hence this post.
Thing is each and every player has its own recipe, and often are in contradiction with one another. And depending where you live, it's also impossible to acquire some components others use in other parts of the world.
Finally, this topic has already been usefull for me as Guan tells oiling is unecessary in temperate regions and with moderate playing, and you have brought up a component I've never heard of on other similar topics : the Danish Oil ! (which by the way seems to be either linseed or tung oil...)

Now, to picture the contradictions between oiling techniques :
Guan says it's better to use oil alone, whereas elsewhere it is said to add a solvant (citrus solvant or turpentine) in 1:2 proportions (1solvant : 2oil) to get the oil going inside the wood.
The proportion of answers to that oiling question evoquing the use of linseed oil is also quite high, even though linseed oil is apparently less siccative and thicker than tung oil. Making tung oil better than linseed oil to use.

I guess no one has THE PERFECT answer, each answer brings a new clue, a new perspective.
This is why I'm asking the "oilers" to post their method and eventually talk about it here, even though it may have already been talked about elsewhere.

Thanks for the answer Guan & Stockie.
Hoping that other methods will be posted too

Hey Francis,

It wasn't so much that I advice people to stick to pure oils, rather that if one were to start mixing things at home, it could be problematic. Turpentine (from wood not from crude oil) and citrus oil are both good as solvents and as a carrier for penetration into wood. I've never added either turpentine or citrus oil to my oil mixtures though, they already come with these components in them.

Though I'm not a proponent of oiling didgeridoos, I have experimented with different things over the years. Pure linseed oil tends to be sticky and tacky, and too thick for my liking. The yidaki I oiled with linseed oil sounds different now, not necessarily better. The traditional acoustics are somewhat diminished, in particular the 'elasticity' in the air column. The stick sounded better before oiling.

Guan

In fact, I think I'll stick to your advice of NOT oiling my didj :-) Keeping it raw.
This sounds by far the easiest way to treat the bore :-)))
Then I'll just have to watch out for temperature and hygrometric variations ... and pray ;-)

Though I'm still curious to hear advices from other "oilers".

I keep my 100% termite-hollowed, non-chiseled, mago-style didge unoiled. I've not had a single problem in over a year, and I'm very happy with its sound. I bought a Djalu from Ben Hicks who had oiled it with pure tung oil and recommended that I do the same about once/year; I've also had no problems with it. I have yet to do my first annual re-oiling. I don't do anything special like maintaining a climate-controlled closet, but neither do I risk exposing them to rapid and dramatric changes in temperature or humidity.

I've used a number of oils for various woodworking projects. I've seen Danish oil supplied as pure solids with no solvent, as well as with with additional petroleum distillates including a warning to the effect of: harmful or fatal if swallowed, may cause dizzyness or brain damage. I would never use the latter on a didge. One thing to note about some of these oils, including Danish oil, is the recommended application is a thin coat, and wiping off any excess. It seems to me that this kind of recommended application would be difficult to achieve on the inside of a didge.

I have never oiled any instrument I have had so far and I have never got a single problem with the cracks or so. It might sound a little restrictive but if you have enough didges you can avoid playing the same instrument excessively.

Yep, thanks DS & Mahoran... This conforts me even more in the choice Guan has evoqued to me (keep it raw).

Another question though : you're all talking about real termite-hollowed sticks, and I plan to "not-oil" a split'n'hollowed chiselled home-made one (euca too, though).
I guess you don't have much experience with the latter, but when its raw wood... its RAW.
'cuz I think that termites depose a thin coat of "stuff" that makes the wood harder in the bore, don't they ?

You mean termite poop?

I don't know about that, but given that sticks are often soaked for some period of time to "season" them, I'd think that all such detritus or coating would be washed away. WRT to split & hollow, my concern would be the oil and/or solvent carrier dissolving the glue that bonds the two halves together -- especially when experimenting with different "blends."

Just curious, doesn't eucalyptus wood have a pretty high natural oil content to begin with? Has anyone ever considered or tried eucalyptus oil as a treatment?

Hi
I oil all of my Yidaki and Mago with PURE Tung oil mixed with a little Eucalyptus oil mainly because it makes them smell nice. Here in the UK with our Central heating in the winter you are asking for trouble leaving an instrument unoiled in my opinion. I don't think oiling has changed the sound in any noticeable way(no more than a wet bore) and I would rather not have an expensive instrument crack if I can help it. I have not had any problems and none of the instruments have been oiled more than twice. Having said that I keep my use of heating to minimum and use an hygrometer to keep an eye on the humidity levels. For example at the moment in my front room where my didges are the temperature is 20 deg C and the humidity 74%, pretty high but I find the cooler winter weather more humid in real terms, the only reason we experience dry air is because of the overuse of artificial heating. If the humidity level drops to below 50% which it often does in summer, surprisingly enough, then I use many methods to raise it namely running a bath of hot water and leaving the door open for the humidity to circulate around the flat or do your cooking leaving the doors open. If all else fails then I have a small humidifier but to be honest I don't really need to use it much. Reasonable humidity levels are not only good for didges but also beneficial for us humans.

If my sticks come pre-oiled then I'm not bothered, but I don't oil any of mine and, living in the UK like you do Paul I've not had many problems with sticks cracking. I never play one instrument for a long period and I think that's the best way to approach the problem.

Kyle

Thanks for all your tips !

As for termites' poop... errr... I think its not poop but more ... errr, how may I say this... you know when you keep touching for a long time the same bit of a wooden stick or even a stone sculpture or a brass door handle, it becomes sheen and shiny and smooth and hard... well that's the kind of phenomenon I talking about... except it may not be with hand-grease, but... termites'legs grease ??? or whatever... hehe