Linseed oil

[john brenton]

Does anyone here use linseed oil to protect their steel/iron tools? I was oiling up a project yesterday and happened to look at the can and noticed that this was listed as one of the uses for the oil.

Unless anyone here has any objection to it, I am really thankful that I noticed that. I live in coastal GA and work in an unconditioned garage and I've have been concerned about the issue of rust for a while...but I certainly don't want to oil up my woodworking tools with oils that will stain the wood and muck up my projects.

Any objections to using linseed oil on your iron/steel woodworking tools?

[Prashun Patel]

Interesting. I've never done it. My instinct is that raw linseed oil might be ok, but Boiled Linseed oil would polymerize and get gummy. I'm partial to wax or wd40.

[Jon van der Linden]

I use camelia oil. Linseed oil, whether the cheap junk you buy as BLO or high quality raw linseed oil, it is a drying oil. Not what you want if you're using it on metal.

[Jim Koepke]

A common practice for people who do a lot of gardening type chores is to oil the handles of their shovels, rakes and other tools with linseed oil or boiled linseed oil to protect them during the winter months. They often also coat the metal parts. That may be why that is mentioned.

I also live in a humid climate. I did worry a lot about rust. I have found that if something is wrapped up, it is more likely to get affected by moisture than tools left in a drawer or on a bench so air can circulate freely around them. My planes sit with a scrap of wood under their toes to keep the blade elevated.

I also wipe most of my tools with an oil & wax saturated rag. I would have to check to see if the bottle mentions the type of oil used. It is just a furniture polish type product. So far it has not had any effect on any of my work. Some has been stained after rubbing with the rag.

jim

[Prashun Patel]

"My planes sit with a scrap of wood under their toes to keep the blade elevated."

I used to do that until I left some 'dry lumber' on my tablesawtop to store for the weekend. I came back to find a nice little band of rust under the wood.

[george wilson]

Boiled or raw,the linseed oil will dry,leaving a very gummy film that will be a job to remove from metal. Suggest you use Boeshield.

[Christian Castillo]

George is a great source of wisdom, and as usual, gives very good advice. I recently started using Boeshield on my saw plates, goes on easy, and dries to a smooth film on my saw plates, which helps the sawing action. I am normally opposed to using chemicals over natural methods, but Boeshield is so good that it is one of the few products that I make an exception for. As for another product shout out, Starrett M1 oil is great.

[Jim Koepke]

"My planes sit with a scrap of wood under their toes to keep the blade elevated."


I used to do that until I left some 'dry lumber' on my tablesawtop to store for the weekend. I came back to find a nice little band of rust under the wood.

I will have to go check. Most of my planes are resting on a dowel or old scrap. I guess the wood should be sealed. I think the type of wood matters also. I know oak has a chemistry that can react with iron.

jim

[george wilson]

Starrett oil is just high grade mineral oil. You can buy it at your pharmacy,if you want to get it cheaper. You can ask for Pharmaceutical grade if you wish. Raw linseed oil dries too,like boiled,just more slowly.

[Stephen Shepherd]

Warm your metal woodworking tools up and put on a thin coat of linseed oil, boiled or raw, wait 10 minutes and wipe off all the excess. The last point is the most important one.

This has been a traditional method of protecting metal objects from rust for centuries.

Also dispose of oily rags properly.

Stephen

[george wilson]

True,linseed oil mixed with asphaltum and a few other ingredients were used for protecting cannon in shore batteries in the 19th.C..

I still don't want to get a tough,gummy residue on my tools. What is the matter with using a properly engineered product like Boeshield? To save a few bucks? I don't need the headache of trying to get linseed off my tools.

You are aware that both kinds of linseed oil have long been used as finishes?

We stopped using linseed oil on the wooden tools we made for the Historic Area in Wmsbg.,because it allows mold to grow on it. We went to tung oil,but it also dries. We used it on wooden planes,etc.,not metal.

Boeshield has paraffin in it,which doesn't make a mess,or allow mold to grow(if you have a really humid shop).

[Jon van der Linden]

It seems like people are missing the point of what a drying oil is. As George says it's used in finishes. It's also used to make oil paint. Just ground pigments and linseed oil, nothing more. That's what has been used by artists for centuries. If you want to paint your tools then there are better things to use.

If you want to keep an unfinished metal in good condition, there are other things to use. There are many modern synthetics of which Boeshield is one. I use camelia oil because it's non toxic and has been used for this purpose for centuries in Japan. I've seen some threads where it's mentioned that it has cosmetic uses as well, but I know nothing about that.

[Christian Castillo]

Starrett oil is just high grade mineral oil. You can buy it at your pharmacy,if you want to get it cheaper. You can ask for Pharmaceutical grade if you wish. Raw linseed oil dries too,like boiled,just more slowly.

George, that bit of advice is going to save me a bundle over time, thanks for the tip.

[Adam Cherubini]

My advice is to keep your tools stored away in wooden boxes/tool chests in racks that limit contact to the wood. My chisels for example are stored on edge.

I think shop dust and saw dust are significant contributors to wood shop rust. Certain oil coatings attract and trap dust, which I think is the chief cause of rust as dust is hygroscopic.

Keep your tools clean, use them frequently, and store them in enclosed boxes and I think you'll be better off than slathering them with stuff. I thought a tool chest would promote rust, what with all the wood and lack of air circulation. That sounds reasonable, but its not been my experience in unheated/cooled shops near the water (Pennsbury Manor). You can also add some "do not eats" that come with your running shoes in your box to help control the internal humidity.

Adam

[Roger Benton]

I have used BLO on cold roller steel to darken and even out the color. wiped on, wiped off after 2 hours. I was incredibly skeptical when told it would work. That was six months ago and it still looks fine, no gummyness.

[Sandy Stanford]

Does anyone here use linseed oil to protect their steel/iron tools? I was oiling up a project yesterday and happened to look at the can and noticed that this was listed as one of the uses for the oil.

Unless anyone here has any objection to it, I am really thankful that I noticed that. I live in coastal GA and work in an unconditioned garage and I've have been concerned about the issue of rust for a while...but I certainly don't want to oil up my woodworking tools with oils that will stain the wood and muck up my projects.

Any objections to using linseed oil on your iron/steel woodworking tools?

Well, Boeshield certainly forms a film - it's aerosolized paraffin (candle wax). If you wipe a plane cutter down with linseed oil and it forms a film then so what? That part won't rust. Whatever films up at the cutting edge will be a distant memory halfway through the first pass on stock or when honed. That tiny amount of linseed oil won't hurt your stones either.

Just make sure you don't burn your shop down by leaving linseed oil soaked rags or paper towels lying around.

[Prashun Patel]

If you wipe a plane cutter down with linseed oil and it forms a film then so what?

It's the nature of that film that makes the difference. Wax is a nice, slippery film. Linseed oil forms a gummy, boogery film. that would be a nuissance more than a protectant (although it would be great to stick on the end of yr finger and chase yr baby sister around the house with).

Incidentally, don't correlate linseed oil's water repellancy with being a vapor barrier. Linseed oil is a poor moisture barrier. It makes a good choice for wood tool handles where the main concern is mold and rot, which are only encouraged by excessive soaking. It doesn't take much moisture at all to cause rust to form on iron, and I'd bet the BLO isn't great for that.

[Jeff Johnson]

Linseed oil is good at protecting metal, but as previously stated, it gets gummy. Except, if you bake it on, at a high enough heat to bond it on solid and polymerize it all hard-n-shiney. Kinda like seasoning a skillet with fat. It works great on metal fittings, lockplates, and the like, but I wouldn't use it on anything precision or heat-treated - like sharp tools.

[george wilson]

The part I don't like is that if you put linseed on a saw,or other cutting tool,it will wear away where it rubs the work,leaving a ragged,gummy line where it stays on. The Boeshield will not leave a gummy line.

[David Weaver]

Also not a fan of the linseed oil due to a basement/garage shop. Any moulding plane that's left in the garage for a short period of time grows mold.

For wood, I have been using BLO to bring planes back from the dead, but making sure to put two coats of wax on the parts that don't secure anything to prevent mold.

for metal, mineral oil or camelia oil for short term, and wax for longer term. If a tool sits around long enough such that wax doesn't protect it from rust, I sell the tool.

[David Weaver]

George, that bit of advice is going to save me a bundle over time, thanks for the tip.

Christian, if you're ever close to a kitchen supply place, you can find light mineral oil for $12 for a gallon, high enough quality that it's food safe.

Even if you use it on everything you can find, a gallon lasts a very long time. Before I knew you could get it that cheaply, I was buying cutting board / salad bowl oil for $7 a pint. It's not like that's terribly expensive, but compared to $12 for a gallon (and in a much more durable container)...

Beats paying $10 for 8 ounces of camelia oil.

[Sandy Stanford]

Does anyone here use linseed oil to protect their steel/iron tools? I was oiling up a project yesterday and happened to look at the can and noticed that this was listed as one of the uses for the oil.

Unless anyone here has any objection to it, I am really thankful that I noticed that. I live in coastal GA and work in an unconditioned garage and I've have been concerned about the issue of rust for a while...but I certainly don't want to oil up my woodworking tools with oils that will stain the wood and muck up my projects.

Any objections to using linseed oil on your iron/steel woodworking tools?

Boeshield leaves a surface film. That's how it works. It is aerosolized paraffin wax. Light oils, machine, vegetable, or otherwise leave a film as well - sometimes a drying film, sometimes not. Again, the film formed is what makes these products work. To assert that a film is bad is absurd. Without it, the particular product being used would be totally ineffective.

So, use a little linseed oil if you like. I have. It works fine. Wipe down the plane tote and chisel handle, too, while you're at it. Just be aware of the danger of spontaneous combustion with linseed oil soaked rags or paper towels.

[george wilson]

My point is that Boeshield does not leave a sticky,obnoxious film like linseed does. Yes,all of the anti rust products use a film. they would not work if they didn't.

The Boeshield film is slippery and "
dry" being paraffin based.

[Jim Koepke]

Checked the label on the furniture oil bottle that is used on my tools.

It consists of bee's wax, carnauba wax and orange oil.

I have used BLO on some turnings and Tung oil on others.

They are all different, but they all have their uses.

jim

[Jonathan McCullough]

Boeshield is great for a quick rubdown. I've been using paraffin wax on just about everything though. It has a low melting point--about 130 degrees--which makes it ideal for coating using heat. When I clean old saws, I rub the cleaned-up plates down very thoroughly with paraffin, then carefully heat up the plate till the paraffin --just-- melts, and wipe it down with a clean rag. It fills all the little micropores and chases out any water. Paraffin is something everyone should also have on the bench for saw plates and plane soles.

I wouldn't use linseed oil unless to refinish the wood handles on tools. It does gum up; not exactly what you want on friction type surfaces that are likely to heat up.

Mineral oil and paraffin are related--they're both long-string hydrocarbons. I think paraffin has a longer string, which makes it a solid in room temperature.

[bridger berdel]

I like the look of linseed oil over rust, as a decorative finish. for a working surface, like the faces of a saw plate or the belly of a chisel, I don't think I'd want something like linseed oil on there.

[Sandy Stanford]

My point is that Boeshield does not leave a sticky,obnoxious film like linseed does. Yes,all of the anti rust products use a film. they would not work if they didn't.

The Boeshield film is slippery and "
dry" being paraffin based.

I think we are talking matters of degrees George. Boeshield, sprayed on and left, forms a helluva thick tough film - great for long term storage. Lightly applied and buffed it leaves a very thin film that's almost not noticeable.

Same with linseed oil, in my experience. I like products that can do double duty. And anyway, one is constantly (daily) wiping tools down with the LO. I find in this scenario it does not gum up as old oil and grime is removed by the fresh wipe down. I like the way it smells too.

[Jon van der Linden]

A few further notes on linseed oil itself. BLO typically will have metal driers and so on. What these driers are is generally not stated on labels, but as a rule, they are toxic (lead used to be common, and cobalt is one of the stronger driers in current use). Pure linseed oil is significantly more expensive and much better for any application on a tool because it is thinner and won't dry out as fast.

Simply put, you want a thin film for things like saws, planes and chisels. If it's for storage, a thick film is better, but then you also probably want something that doesn't dry out like linseed does. Having to remove a dried out film so you can use something is going to be really annoying.

As to the issue of cost with something like camelia vs mineral oil, I can't imagine how long it would take me to go through a gallon of mineral oil, it takes me over a year to go through a small container of camelia oil since I'm only using a drop or two at a time. Although "food grade" mineral oil may be considered safe, I really like using as few petroleum products as possible. I simply believe in limiting my chemical exposure as much as possible in areas where it's really not needed - and yes, I do know that "natural" does not equal "safe."

[Sandy Stanford]

A few further notes on linseed oil itself. BLO typically will have metal driers and so on. What these driers are is generally not stated on labels, but as a rule, they are toxic (lead used to be common, and cobalt is one of the stronger driers in current use). Pure linseed oil is significantly more expensive and much better for any application on a tool because it is thinner and won't dry out as fast.

Simply put, you want a thin film for things like saws, planes and chisels. If it's for storage, a thick film is better, but then you also probably want something that doesn't dry out like linseed does. Having to remove a dried out film so you can use something is going to be really annoying.

As to the issue of cost with something like camelia vs mineral oil, I can't imagine how long it would take me to go through a gallon of mineral oil, it takes me over a year to go through a small container of camelia oil since I'm only using a drop or two at a time. Although "food grade" mineral oil may be considered safe, I really like using as few petroleum products as possible. I simply believe in limiting my chemical exposure as much as possible in areas where it's really not needed - and yes, I do know that "natural" does not equal "safe."

And let's not forget tung oil either, another very commonly found oil in a busy shop.

[Jon van der Linden]

And let's not forget tung oil either, another very commonly found oil in a busy shop.

Yep, tung oil is great stuff. For the purposes of use on tools though it's way out of the budget and has the same drying issues as linseed.

[Stephen Shepherd]

consider using 30 weight motor oil, even cheaper still used motor oil and if you are on a real budget and live near the Gulf, just dip them in the ocean.

Stephen

[Dan Andrews]

Nice Stephen, real nice!:rolleyes: :D

I use motor oil on wood blocks I store my many various sets of drill bit in. I find motor oil too thick and messy to handle on tools such as hand drills and planes though. I use past wax on planes and saws, and light machine oil on hand drills. I also use BLO or teak oil on wooden tool handles that are not varnished. Works well for me, though I am always hoping to learn new and better ways of doing things.

[Wes Harper]

As Mr. Shepherd said, the important thing is to wipe off all of the excess.
Another factor you might consider is how often you expect to handle/use the tool. For longer term storage, I would consider Boeshield or even a cosmoline type product. When I have used 3n1 oil or a light machine oil (10w-20w), I have found traces of rust that found its way through the oil.
If you will be using the tool once a week-once a month, I think BLO is fine. Consider using Penetrol, it's a paint additive for oil paint (not unlike BLO used to be recommended for).

[John alder]

Try using Rem Oil by Remington its sold in sporting goods or gun shops.Comes in a spray can.When I used to shoot I used it to coat my rifles keeping them moisture free.Not too cheap but goes a long way.John

[george wilson]

I'd never want to have non drying oil soaked into my wooden tools,so that every time I used them I'd get oil on my hands and on my wood. Used motor oil is absolutely filthy.

[David Weaver]

yeah, I made the blog somehow :rolleyes:

Mineral oil being referred to as a joke because it's used in some laxatives? Really? Someone should tell the Japanese folks using it on extremely expensive handmade swords that it should be laughed off. I recall the first time I asked why more people weren't using light mineral oil, and a couple of people told me it was hygroscopic and would encourage rust :confused:

30 wt oil is about the same price as mineral oil. mineral oil can also be wiped off - without a requirement that you eat it along the way. Presumably anyone even using camelia oil does before they use a tool that has been oiled for storage.

The only acceptable use I've seen for motor oil is long-term storage in an environment where there will be no protection from rust. Knowing what we know now about absorbption, i'm not sure why anyone would want to have their hands on it more than they need to, especially if it is used.

[george wilson]

Probably not the best thing for arthritis,either. That oil will sink all the way down to your bones. The same way that hair dye is found on the brains of women who dye their hair. who knows if that's good for you. At least when linseed oil is dried on your wooden planes,it won't get into your skin each time you use the plane.

I'll save the non drying oil for my metal working machinery where I don't get it on my hands.

[Frank Drew]

My advice is to keep your tools stored away in wooden boxes/tool chests ...


This has given me the best results, too; the one time I had significant rust issues in my shop, the tools isolated in drawers and cabinets were basically unaffected.

[george wilson]

Machinists used to put lumps of camphor in their closed tool boxes. The lumps slowly disappeared,leaving the air in the toolbox full of camphor. The tools never rusted as long as the camphor was in the box.

I don't know if you can still get lumps of camphor. So many useful things have vanished from the drug store's offerings. Maybe they could get it for you.