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Cake day: June 12th, 2023

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  • TXL@sopuli.xyztoguitars@lemmy.worldHave you ever oiled your fretboard?
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    2 days ago

    They will be absolutely fine with strings off. If you couldn’t remove strings, it would be impossible to level, polish, or change frets. Or clean and oil the fretboard. Regular maintenance on any stringed instrument shy of a piano or concert harp or something. Actually you couldn’t even adjust the truss rod or intonation on some guitars without taking off all string tension.

    One string at a time is gentler, of course, and you’re less likely to drop nuts or bridges or other hardware when there’s always a string on.


  • Linseed oil is tricky and comes in many forms. I’d say avoid it or read up. Also on the dangers of its handling and disposal.

    Many food oils can go rancid. Some will be fine. I’d say avoid it or read up.

    Many furniture products are irritant and many contain silicone oil, which ruins everything that it contaminates. Which is everything. Avoid silicone oil like the plague.

    Plain mineral (paraffin) oil is usually the go to for wood including utensils and cutting boards. Absorbs pretty well and doesn’t gum up or go rancid. Should not be allergenic. Most guitar products are just paraffin oil with an added scent and branding.

    Some people also use beeswax or other paste wax instead of a runnier oil.

    But YMMV. I’d say see what’s available and read up. Good oil should be available dirt cheap. Of course you only need a few drops, so cost hardly matters that much if all you ever oil is a fretboard.

    Oh, don’t oil lacquered (maple) or probably synthetic fretboards. Just in case that’s not obvious to some reader. :)












  • I’ve mostly only worn “barefoot” shoes for a decade or two. Vibram and Vivo, mostly. Used to use kind of zero drop shoes even before that. I hate clompy soles and ankle twisting heels and wear the minimum that I can get away with.

    The only exception has been kind of combat boots or such that I wear for dirty work or places where there’s particularly hazardous stuff on the ground or high probability of sinking in mud or water or slush (forest).

    And formal dress shoes once in a blue moon. There seems to be some options for that these days, but it’ll be a long time before I need a new pair.