BLO... ideal drying environment?

[Chris Studley]

I have applied BLO to many turnings and, given I really only have time on the weekend to turn, usually end up leaving the finish over the week to dry/cure. My shop is in the basement, and it is fairly humid, given the week to cure, there is no problem.

However, I am working on walnut bowl and just re-applied more BLO. As I applied to the inside (while holding from the outside I found it to be much more oily to the touch than expected. I finished applying the BLO, but wonder where I should move it in order to be sure that it is cured enough to start layers of WOP.

My wife is sensitive to the smells of finish so between that my cat, my options are the basement for my attic. it gets fairly hot in the attic, but I'm not sure how much less humid it is. is this even any better than a basement?

I guess ultimately, I would have the same questions with regards to wipe on poly.

thanks in advance for your help ...

[John Keeton]

Chris, in my experience, relative humidity has as much to do with BLO drying as temperature - perhaps much more. I would not put it in the attic to dry as I would be afraid of possible cracks in the bowl with rapid drying of whatever moisture might remain in the wood. Can't you put it outside under ventilated cover for lower humidity? I haven't checked your weather there, but I would assume you still have low humidity.

[Chris Studley]

thanks john, it happens to be kiln dried walnut, so wood moisture would be less of a factor. I assume warm and dry is the best? does the same go for WOP?

[Steve Busey]

Chris, you said you've applied BLO to "many" turnings - is it possible your can has gone bad?

Also, heat is a good catalyst for BLO. While the attic may be too extreme, maybe you can make a small "kiln" with a 40W appliance bulb to move the drying process along.

[Harry Robinette]

Chris
I put my pieces up in the floor joist. Heat rises and the humidity I believe is a little lower from the extra heat up there. I'm in the basement also and it seams to help the drying process. My shop stays around 53% and 68* year around here in Ohio.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Chris I was going to ask the same thing as Chris. I had some BLO that would seem to dry. I went down and got a new can. I wiped the piece down with mineral spirits and reapplied with the new can. Seemed to be ok after that. WOP doesn't like humidity either.

[Chris Studley]

Thanks All,

It is actually a brand new Can of BLO... it must be the humidity. I think Steve's suggestion of a "kiln" is a good Idea and given the nature of my issue I presume I would get enough use out of it to make it worth my time. I assume that one could use the same "kiln for drying bowl blanks?

Anybody have any plans/pics of their "kiln". I suppose a new Thread is in order?

[Prashun Patel]

IMHO, the best solution is not to use BLO if you want something fast drying. Use shellac, lacquer, or even GF's Wood Turner's Finish (I've not used it yet).

If you are using BLO as a grain enhancer - even if yr using it as a finish, honestly, you don't need much. BLO is best applied sparingly and wiping it on/rubbing it in. There's no benefit from 'flooding' a surface with BLO in terms of protection or appearance. Doing that will only increase yr drying time. At least, this is my experience.

I still apply BLO sometimes as a color enhancer to some pieces. By applying it thin, I've been able to topcoat within hours.

[Chris Studley]

Hey Prashun, I realize that the drying time is what it is with BLO, and as you noted its is best for Grain/color enhancement. I am more looking for it to dry in roughly the expected time frame as opposed to seemingly never in my basement shop.

I will, however, keep in mind to not have too heavy of a hand w/ the BLO.

Thanks again all...

[Prashun Patel]

Gotcha! Didn't mean to be on the soapbox about it ;)

[James Roberts]

If high humidity is an issue in your basement shop (notice any light surface rust on tools or mildew/mold around the shop?) then I would suggest investing in a dehumidifier with a humidistat that turns it on when relative humidity starts climbing. With a relative humidity gauge you can keep track of the humidity and fine tune the dehumidifiers' settings to bring RH into an acceptable range. Hope this helps.

[Chris Studley]

Not so much moisture that I've seen rust, but did have an issue w/ some maple logs I had getting moldy...

[Michael Menzli]

If high humidity is an issue in your basement shop (notice any light surface rust on tools or mildew/mold around the shop?) then I would suggest investing in a dehumidifier with a humidistat that turns it on when relative humidity starts climbing. With a relative humidity gauge you can keep track of the humidity and fine tune the dehumidifiers' settings to bring RH into an acceptable range. Hope this helps.

This +1 .. I use a small closet in the basement with this exact setup. I find it works phenomenally well... I keep it around 38-43 RH ..sometimes ill bump it up to 50% . My only gripe is hearing the dehumidifier cutting on at night ..otherwise works great. I also use this to speed my green turned wood projects..has cut my time down quite a bit.

[Chuck Stone]

What about putting the oiled piece in a large plastic container with a lid? The BLO
needs enough air to oxidize, but a container 2-3 times the size of the piece should
be sufficient. (I would think) The local dollar stores are a good place to get containers
inexpensively. That should keep the fumes contained. I also do that with polyester
resins, which have very strong fumes. I can pour outside, put the lid on it and bring
it inside without worrying about the fumes.