Oil sanding fear

[Wayne Bitting]

I tried oil sanding this weekend for the first time after seeing the thread about it a couple of weeks ago. Outside of clogging a lot of sandpaper, I liked the results. I had one fear though about the process – fire. I was using Deft oil which warns, like all oil finishes, of spontaneous combustion. Lets see, I’ve got oil, heat from sanding friction, hot oil soaked dust and a room full of fine dust particles, its not to hard to figure out that’s a bad combination (not just because of fire, but explosion hazard too). Anyone else worry about that?

[Bonnie Campbell]

Very good question! I'll be interested in others thoughts on it too.

I know after trying CA finish and seeing 'smoke' I started having a empty metal trashcan by the lathe to toss the CA'd paper towel pieces in.

[Eric Gustafson]

The danger from oil-soaked rags occurs because the oil oxidizes when exposed to air. The rags help retain the heat of the oxidation, which speeds the chemical reaction. Enough heat can be generated to reach the flashpoint of the oil, which is 431 deg F. If, while sanding, you got anyway near this temp, you would not hang on to the sandpaper!

When you discard the oil-soaked paper or rags, however, be careful to do so in a self-closing metal container, or allow them to dry outside in an open metal container.

[Frank Kobilsek]

Wayne,

Eric is correct. It is safe behavior to store oily rags in a sealed metal can. I use a 5 gallon paint pail with an over-center locking band. All my paper towels go into the can at the even of each turning session. To the burn pile when full.

I think the chance of explosion is extremely small. If you had concentration of dust and oil in the air high enough to explode I doubt you could breath.

Frank

[Dennis Peacock]

Wayne,

If you're sanding by hand with the lathe running at it's slowest speed, then your hand is a good way to tell with things are "heating up". I've found that sanding at a lathe speed of less than 200 RPM is a nice speed in which to sand by hand and even a slower lathe speed when power sanding.

Here's something else to try...and is what I do when I want to "wet sand". I dampen a shop towel with mineral spirits and lightly hold it on the "back side" or just behind of exactly where I'm sanding. This not only wets the wood, but also catches the sanding dust before much of it has a chance to get airborne or back around to the sandpaper. Once you get to the 600 grit range of sanding (I usually start wet sanding on the 2nd round of sanding with 400 grit) then you can switch over to sanding with the oil of your choice as this will only be lite sanding and smoothing of the wood surface. Lite pressure is all that's needed allowing the sandpaper and oil to do its job properly.

Once done, spin the lathe at a nice slow speed and wipe down the wood surface with a clean rag and let the surface dry.

Make sense??

[glenn bradley]

I keep a metal lidded bucket with about 2" of water in it when I am working with finishes that heat as they dry (BLO for example). As rags get used they go into the bucket. The lid is nearby if I have to pop it on. No problems yet. These finishes mostly call for good ventilation. For me that is shop doors open and air scrubbers on. I rarely perform finishing when I have a lot of dust in the air.

[Wayne Bitting]

Dennis - I was power sanding with the lathe at its slowest speed (750 rpm) a 15" box elder platter and the dust that hit my hand felt fairly warm. It wasn't hot but there was a nice pile that was forming on the bench which was starting to worry me, if I forgot to clean it up. I'll keep working on learning it though.

Can't wait until the platter is done so I can show it off. Biggest thing I've ever done, which I am in the process of chiseling it out for an inlay of my company's logo.

[Dennis Peacock]

Can't wait until the platter is done so I can show it off. Biggest thing I've ever done, which I am in the process of chiseling it out for an inlay of my company's logo.

How about posting some pics of your inlay process on this piece? I, for one, would like to see your inlay process so I can learn something more for my turnings. :D