Warning turners--spontaneous combustion is real!

[Curtis O. Seebeck]

I know the risks of spontaneous combustion gets posted here on occasion but I want to remind fellow turners specifically. Spontaneous combustion is real!

I was turning some pens last night and used CA with BLO to set the ca. I had a number of paper towels with just small areas wet with BLO. I threw them on the floor and went to bed. This morning, my helper came in and cleaned up the shop while he was waiting for me to leave for the job site.

When I got back this afternoon and hit the button for the overhead door all I saw was smoke. I totally freaked out. I ran into the shop looking for the fully engulfed fire but found none. The smoke was quite thick but no fire. Over by my lathe I found a small pile of ashes and the solidified remains of my melted plastic garbage container. It was right next to my workbench and the leg for my workbench is charred but did ignite.

I was very fortunate today and only have a smelly shop and puddle of plastic. I will definately have to let my helper know about the risks and will probably invest in some type of metal container with a metal lid.

Just thought I would share in case some of you have not thought about it in a while. I am real carefull when using oil soaked rags like when I am applying BLO to a piece of furniture but would not have thought about the small quantity used for pens.

[Dick Parr]

Curtis, I am glad to hear that all was not lost.:eek: Years ago while in the Navy I learned the same lesson when a fellow shipmate did almost the same thing. One of the first things I did when I build my shop was to invest in a metal container and lid with a foot flip. That way I had no excuse not to use it.

Again I am glad to hear it was wasn't any worse then it was.:)

[Andy Hoyt]

Geez, you're lucky Curtis. I don't have a fireproof can, so my practice is to drape those oily rags on sawhorses til they stiffen up.

[John Miliunas]

Thanks for the valuable reminder, Curtis! Really glad it was not any worse and yes, you were indeed fortunate that it wasn't! :) Most of my shop is covered in those foam type pads but, there are a number of areas with the exposed concrete floor. Oil applicators get unfolded and spread out in one of those areas until dry. However, I have been meaning to get one of those lidded cans, which Dick speaks of. A good investment, me thinks!:) :cool:

[Curtis O. Seebeck]

Andy,

That is what I do with my rags used for really applying BLO but I really didn't think a paper towel with only a corner wet with BLO would be enough heat to combust. Boy was I wrong.

Dick,

Where do you get the cans that you speak of?

[Ernie Nyvall]

Thanks for the heads up Curtis.

Ernie

[Andy Hoyt]

Just thought of another thing.

Ever get a bunch of CA on your hands - especially the thin stuff? Burns like the dickens, and stings the eyes. I actually saw smoke rise once when I flooded a piece with Thin and then spritzed it with Accelerator. So I wonder if - in your instance - the CA just got slowed down by the BLO. I'm no chemist, so this is nothing more than an uneducated observation.

[John Hart]

Well...I think you pushed me over the edge Curtis. I saw your post yesterday and spent some quality time thinking about how I do things. I think I'll go get a fire can today after work. Too many horror stories like this to ignore. Thanks for the jab in the ribs!!!!:) :) :)

[Carole Valentine]

I have a galvanized trash can with a lid that sits on the gravel outside my shop. All finishing rags and paper towels go in that. I use paper towels for most applications and have actually wadded them up tight and tried to get them to combust with no success. I have seen smoke (vapor?) when using CA though.

[tod evans]

hey folks, how about posting this in the general forum also? stain contains boiled linseed oil and i`m sure there`s sombody whos shop would be saved? .02 tod

[Harry Goodwin]

I simply take that one cloth used for finishing pens with me when I leave the shop. I hang them outside on a saw horse or the fence. The outside is reassuring. Not very high tech. Harry

[John D Watson]

You got her Harry. Outside is the only safe place for a used rag. Be Safe.:D

[Mario Brissette]

I bought at home depot an empty metal paint can, one gallon size. It is enough to store my oily towel safely before I trow them to my big canister outside of the house. It is cheap and safe.

[Jack Savona]

I use some old holiday cookie tins for my BLO/MS/DNA paper towels. So maybe here's your reason to eat some extra cookies tonight.

Thanks, Carol, for mentioning the galvanized trash can. I have an extra, but never made the connection to use it.

BTY does everyone have a smoke detector above the lathe and an extinguisher nearby? Tell Santa if you don't.