linseed oil ????

[arcdawg]

i need to find out about the uses of linseed oil. i am rebuiling a work bench thati use for general house work (no welding) and i was talking to my father about treating the wood, and he said use some linseed oil. so i got the wood from home d hole and i had some linseed oil at the house and i just put on the first coat.

what should i expect from the linseed oil? will it keep the wood from cracking?

and it says that it has MANY OTHER USES ??????

THANKS brian

[DaveD]

google is your friend.... here are some examples on a search for 'boiled linseed oil furniture'

http://www.recochem.com/english/prod...nseed_oil.html
http://www.allprocorp.com/techbuls/S...BldLnsdOil.cfm
http://www.naturalhandyman.com/iip/infxtra/inflin.shtm

I made some walnut end tables, coffee table and a stereo cabinet that I treated this way over 35 years ago and they still look great. You need to rub in several (3 or 4?) coats if I remember right. After that it was the wife with her 'pledge' furniture polish over the years taht kept it looking nice

[arcdawg]

thanks,dave................... let the search begin

[JoeHobart]

as far as metal goes, in a recent art project, i needed a way to seal up a ferric patina. I tested with tung, linseed and urathane. The tung oil went on great, but the linseed was a close second. Reading around, you can also bake coated parts and get an interesting satin black finish. Havent tried that yet.

[bomberz1qr20]

Linseed oil works great as a spoke lubricant when building a bicycle wheel.

It decreases spoke wind-up in the tensioning and trueing proccess, and acts as a thread locker when it sets up after building.

Now you know.

[pepster]

A word of caution on using linseed oil. Rags soaked with linseed oil can pose a potential fire hazard. If these rags are thrown into a wastebasket or kept in a poorly ventilated corner of your shop, spontaneous combustion can occur. Please be careful when using this material. Allow linseed soaked rags to dry thoroughly while stretched out flat, preferably outside.
Pepster

[jniolon]

I've used linseed oil for years on tool handles...perserves them in the weather and prevents blisters.... really !!

after you install a new handle (or even on an old one) sand off the varnish/clear coat and brush on the linseed oil liberally.. let it soak in... repeat two or three times to get a good soaking... I've done hammer/hatchet handles in a tray or 5 gallon bucket tilted down nearly on its side (need less oil that way and you have the length you need...) a wall paper tray works well also..

john

[Royal Fe]

Cut the oil with turpentine and it will work into the wood better. I use a linseed oil based finish for steel furniture and it looks fantastic. I also finished an old tube radio cabnet with linseed oil and turpentine, the finish still looks great.

[arcdawg]

so it good for yard tool, handles and metal parts....

used as a natural finish for wood ....

and a finish for metal ?

thanks for all of the input, even though its only a repair on a old workbench but i dont EVER WANT TO CLEAN OUT MY WORK SHOP TO REPALCE ANOTHER BOARD, brian

[dee]

While on the general subject of linseed oil,
Whatever was the name of the sculptor (father/son team) comissioned to do the MtRushmore sculptures? In any event the various faults, cracks, and fissures in the live rock were filled against the elements with a mixture of linseed oil and rock dust. I doubt they had any shortage of rock dust.

[Dave Haak]

Just a little more on linseed oil from one of DaveD's links above:

"Is linseed oil a "green" alternative to typical wood preservative products?

I have received many inquiries from people who are interested in using "environmentally friendly" products to seal their decks, and want to use linseed oil instead of branded products. Let me quote the warning label from a can of Ace Hardware brand boiled linseed oil...

"Use of this product will expose you to arsenic, beryllium, chromium, cadmium and nickel, which are known to cause cancer; and lead which is known to cause birth defects and other reproductive harm."

My take on the above is: DON'T USE IT ON ANYTHING THAT WILL COME IN CONTACT WITH FOOD.

I know someone who didn't realize this about fifteen years ago when he made a nice big wooden bread box.

Dave

[dee]

Originally posted by Dave Haak
Just a little more on linseed oil from one of DaveD's links above:

"Is linseed oil a "green" alternative to typical wood preservative products?... ...Let me quote the warning label from a can of Ace Hardware brand boiled linseed oil...

"Use of this product will expose you to arsenic, beryllium, chromium, cadmium and nickel, which are known to cause cancer; and lead which is known to cause birth defects and other reproductive harm."

My take on the above is: DON'T USE IT ON ANYTHING THAT FOOD WILL COME IN CONTACT WITH FOOD.

I know someone who didn't realize this about fifteen years ago when he made a nice big wooden bread box.

Dave

Dave,
Are you saying my resemblence to a frog is not genetic?

I believe linseed is obtained from the flax plant; the source of fiber for linnen fabric.

I doubt the oil from that seed comes from mother nature with those toxins but it's possible. Permit me to say "I dont know" in 500 words or more....

These toxins you mentioned are all common to pigments, and (I speculate) liability concerns would cause manufacturers to warn about possible impurities... usig the same equipment and similar labels for various paint they probably manufacture.

Pure linseed oil can be had I'm sure. I doubt that was the pure stuff, but the point was excellent; READ THE LABEL!
those toxins may have to be put in to keep it from rotting or souring due to bacterial growth once it's applied. Heck, those toxins could serve as the active ingredient in the preservation- they sound like ingredients of an Osmose bath.