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

Use anything that's handy (nose lube, chicken fat, axle grease, etc.). When
you can get the right stuff, clean out the replacement. Trumpet players know
how to clean their instrument.