WARNING: Linseed oil and rags..

[Ole Anderson]

I just spread mine out on the floor (concrete) or hang them to dry in a manner that there is plenty of circulation. They don't go in the waste basket until they are completely dry.

[robert raess]

Being a Hardwood Floor Contractor, I have had a couple of close calls...smoke but no fire.Lots of stains have linseed oil in them,i don't know if i could point the finger at specifically BLO, Tung oil will do the same i'm sure.Whenever i work with stains[oil based]mineral spirits,tung oil,varnish or oil based urethane,i take rags put in a plastic bag and pour water on top of them.From the outside of the bag i squish the water into the rags. I twist bag tight so little air is inside.I also store brushes and pads in a metal ammo box. Rob

[Kyle Iwamoto]

I'm with Bob. I had a near fire, and it can happen much faster than you may think. I was still "working", bundled up the rags and (luckily) tossed them down on the ground. They started smoking shortly after.

Im my OPINION, no finish is worth the risk of burning your shop and/or house down. BLO does make a good finish, I choose to not use it. I used to use it.
If your shop has only 1 entry/exit, I'd really be mindful of spontaneous fires.

[Jacob Reverb]

Anything that is evaporating but not allowing the heat of evaporation to release will have this effect.

"Heat of evaporation"? And here I thought evaporation was an endothermic process!

Seriously, I think BLO soaked rags in a pile ignite because of a feedback loop in which the oil oxidizes, creating heat, raising the temperature, accelerating the oxidation, creating more heat...

Let's be careful out there ... oily rags in a pile is a no-no!

[Tom Esh]

"Heat of evaporation"? And here I thought evaporation was an endothermic process!

You're correct. A bunched up rag soaked with shellac or alcohol just dries & cools more slowly. OTOH when you confine an exothermic reaction like BLO curing, you increase the temperature rise, which is the real danger.

[Dave Zellers]

Same with a pile of coal.

Seriously?

I heat my home with coal and now you've got me worried about my coal bin (which is outside)

Going on 24 years now without any problems. Hard to imagine coal self igniting.

[Kent A Bathurst]

AFAIK, same safety concerns with any oil-based reactive-cure material. BLO, tung oil, Wlox, Behlens, the list goes on and on.

Me - I have a door out of the shop that leads to the driveway. I toss 'em out there, let 'em dry, and its a short walk to the trash bin when that's done.

[ray hampton]

AFAIK, same safety concerns with any oil-based reactive-cure material. BLO, tung oil, Wlox, Behlens, the list goes on and on.

Me - I have a door out of the shop that leads to the driveway. I toss 'em out there, let 'em dry, and its a short walk to the trash bin when that's done.

Kent, I do not remember the state that this happen in but someone toss a cigarette out that were still burning and a bird pick the butt up and took it to the nest, the nest caught on fire and the building also caught on fire , WHAT IF SOMEONE or a pet tame or wild move the rags close to a pile of straw that were next to a car

[Steve Griffin]

Sawdust isn't that safe either.

Had a close call in my shop a couple weeks ago, in the table saw dust collection bag, luckily we hadn't left for the day.
Burn't a hole in the bag and filled the shop with smoke. The contents of the bag were 100% melamine sheetgoods dust, and I have no idea what caused this.

[Joe Kieve]

Guys,
Thanks so much for your comments. Fortunately this incident only had some smoke damage but it could have been tragic.
Thanks again for your comments and......Stay safe!

Joe

[Jason Neal]

Sawdust isn't that safe either.

Had a close call in my shop a couple weeks ago, in the table saw dust collection bag, luckily we hadn't left for the day.
Burn't a hole in the bag and filled the shop with smoke. The contents of the bag were 100% melamine sheetgoods dust, and I have no idea what caused this.

Steve, I really hope there is a good explanation for that, maybe something specific to the material. Otherwise every dust collector and shopvac with sawdust in it is a combustion hazard. Can that be? I've never heard of it.

[Fred Belknap]

Seriously?

I heat my home with coal and now you've got me worried about my coal bin (which is outside)

Going on 24 years now without any problems. Hard to imagine coal self igniting.

I think it has to be a pretty large pile of coal to self ignite. At the coal fired power plant where my wife works they have large dozer constantly turning the pile of coal to keep it from overheating, winter and summer.

[John Coloccia]

Sawdust isn't that safe either.

Had a close call in my shop a couple weeks ago, in the table saw dust collection bag, luckily we hadn't left for the day.
Burn't a hole in the bag and filled the shop with smoke. The contents of the bag were 100% melamine sheetgoods dust, and I have no idea what caused this.

It's often a spark from something. Maybe you cut through a nail/staple or something like that.

[Dave Zellers]

It's often a spark from something. Maybe you cut through a nail/staple or something like that.

Yes- that has to be from a spark or an ember formed by an over heated sanding belt or drum.

[Steve Griffin]

It's often a spark from something. Maybe you cut through a nail/staple or something like that.

That's my best guess too. This small dust collector only serves the table saw, and I cleaned it out before cutting a few sheets of almond melamine. No sign of blade damage or any problems with the saw, and the short hose is grounded so it's really a mystery.

We're trying to empty the dust collection bags at the end of the day and take them out, but man is that a pain to remember and do...