On Sun, 8 Jan 2012 09:03:28 -0600, Michael Dobony wrote:

On Sat, 7 Jan 2012 20:01:08 -0800, sam bruno wrote:

School starts Monday after a long recess and my kid's trumpet valves are
stuck in place. We can't find the valve oil.

It's not a life-or-death 'emergency' - but it got me thinking (not being a
musician) what I could use that I had around the house to lubricate the
valves.

Unfortunately, I don't have 'sewing machine oil' at home (which googling
says works ok). But I do have '3-in-1 household oil'.

The MSDS says 3-in-1 is "Severely Hydrotreated Heavy Naphthenic Oil" ( 97%
with 2% Naptha). PDF = http://tinyurl.com/6wlw2vs

That sounds horrid. The music store will be closed until the kid goes to
school

Googling some more, I see some people say that 'mineral oil' works (which I
can probably get at a drug store, right?) but before I go farther, I wonder
if anyone here has advice for an easily found substitute for trumpet oil on
a Sunday (i.e., hardware or drug store chemical)?

BTW, this ehow article says to use "lamp oil" and "essential oil" in
addition to "scent oil" and "sewing machine oil". Is it just me or are most
of these oils (with the exception of sewing machine oil) exotic or what?
http://www.ehow.com/how_6201749_home...valve-oil.html

I would stick to the mineral oil. Kerosene based products smell and I doubt
they are harmless. WD40 is good for cleaning things up, but dries out
quickly. Sewing machine oil would also be a good substitute.

Also try posting to alt.audio.pro.live-sound. They are mostly sound techs,
but many are also musicians and can give a better answer.