Uses for linseed oil (Not boiled)

[Docgp]

I recently had a dear widowed lady give me the remnants of her departed husbands black powder paraphernalia. Just random stuff that he had accumulate, but there is a one gallon amber glass jar of linseed oil that is at least 15 yrs old. #1 would it be any good, and 2, what for? I have only used a bit of boiled linseed oil, not regular. Any help appreciated.

Doc

 

[Elnathan]

Only uses I can think of might be making paints or varnish. Don't know what is involved in making paints. Making varnish would involve boiling it, which is in fact not just boiling it but cooking lead oxide and some other things into it to make it dry better. Instructions here: http://www.muzzleblasts.com/archives/vol5no2/articles/mbo52-1.shtml

 

[Docgp]

Thanks, interesting link! I think that answers my question. Looks like I will be disposing of this. Too much work and toxic materials for me.

Doc

 

[coloradoclyde]

You could pour it on wood fence post tops or use it to treat shovel blades plow boards etc....

Raw linseed oil is the same as boiled, it just takes forever to dry...This can be beneficial for exterior wood applications.

Just remember that rags soaked in linseed oil can spontaneously ignite if left in a pile.

 

[bubba.50]

my Grampaw called it "hard oil" & used it on all the hammer, hatchet, axe, and mattock handles he whittled out of white oak or hickory while settin' around the stove in the wintertime.

 

[Tinker2]

I recently had a dear widowed lady give me the remnants of her departed husbands black powder paraphernalia. Just random stuff that he had accumulate, but there is a one gallon amber glass jar of linseed oil that is at least 15 yrs old. #1 would it be any good, and 2, what for? I have only used a bit of boiled linseed oil, not regular. Any help appreciated.

Doc

I mix 50/50 linseed oil and thinner with some japan drier.


William

 

[crockett]

Are you in a humid area?

 

[Docgp]

Yes sir, as humid as it gets. SE Texas.

Doc

 

[crockett]

Probably best not to use as a finish. I'm in Florida and tried Tung Oil- never dried out. I can use boiled linseed oil if I put on thin coats.
Question to the Nabobs....
We all assume linseed oil is the period correct finish but when I read old documents it seems varnish is mentioned. Is there documentation on a linseed oil finish or are we just assuming it was used?

 

[Artificer]

Probably best not to use as a finish. I'm in Florida and tried Tung Oil- never dried out. I can use boiled linseed oil if I put on thin coats.
Question to the Nabobs....
We all assume linseed oil is the period correct finish but when I read old documents it seems varnish is mentioned. Is there documentation on a linseed oil finish or are we just assuming it was used?

It all depends on the gunsmith, where he worked and especially how much the gun cost.

Probably THE most basic/cheap gun finish was just rubbing in melted beeswax.

Next up from the bottom basic/cheap finish probably was asphaltum first and followed by beeswax. Here is an example of that finish by the late Gary Brumfield who was the Master of the Gun Shop at Colonial Williamsburg after Wallace Gusler.
http://flintriflesmith.com/GunsSince1990/2002_rifle.htm

Now, when they used linseed oil, they did not leave it raw and actually added driers and resins to it to make it into varnish. This of course was more expensive, though it gave both a more pleasing look and was better protection than just beeswax. Eric Kettenburg has done the most research on it, so I am posting a linl to his article.
http://www.muzzleblasts.com/archives/vol5no2/articles/mbo52-1.shtml

Capt. Cuthbertson mentions using varnish on British Brown Bess Gun stocks and even dying them brown, yellow and red - before it, to give them a more military look. This was published first just after the French and Indian War and before the AWI.

Now, CONTRARY to the belief of some folks, the best quality guns got many coats of this varnish and could look like shiny glass over the surface. Many people would think this too shiny, but it surely was done in the 18th and 19th centuries.

BTW, the chemical compounds in Birchwood Casey's Tru Oil are VERY close to period varnish, though it doesn't have lead like many of the old finishes have. One can use that and have shiny finish or knock it back with different types of Scotch Brite pads for a softer/mellower look.

Gus

Edited to add: Well, IF they could not get beeswax and they wanted to stay cheap, they may have used real raw/plain linseed oil alone, but I doubt they used it much as it takes so long to dry.

 

[crockett]

Well, I must admit I do a lot of boiled linseed oil finises. One reason is if you scratch it you can coat over pretty easy.
Is there any formula for a pc varnish? (ex: linseed oil plus xyz) and what would be the benefit? More durable? More waterproof?

 

[Artificer]

You may use raw or boiled linseed oil in the "Brown Oil Varnish" recipe in the second link above.

If your question is can you add things to the oil without heating the oil in a pot in the sand bath or similar heat source, then no, not to my knowledge. The other things won't mix properly to make a varnish unless you heat the oil.

Now you can make a PC finish that is not as weather resistant as varnish (but still better than linseed oil alone) from raw or boiled linseed oil and that was also mentioned in the second link, but Eric did not describe how to make it very well. To make that you will only need raw or boiled linseed oil, bees wax and REAL Turpentine. NOT TURPENOL or any substitute for Turpentine, but the real thing. It is easy to find the real thing at Home Depot, Lowes, etc. Buy the smallest size can they have which could be a half pint of a pint. You will only need a very small amount, but you can save the rest to clean paint brushes and other things.

The mixture is on a ratio of 1 to 1 to 1 by volume (not by weight) of each ingredient. One tablespoonful of each is all you need to do one long gun.

Now, you need a heat source BUT this one is easy. You use your microwave to melt JUST THE WAX ALONE AND WITH NOTHING ELSE IN IT. I bought a cheap pyrodex glass measuring cup that I heated my batches in. Put the beeswax pieces or shavings into the pyrodex glass cup and run the microwave for only a minute at a time, two to four times, until the beeswax is thoroughly melted. Clean off the dross and any bee's wings or legs in the melted wax with an old teaspoon.

Then pour your oil and turpentine in and stir it with a split wood stick until it is well mixed and as consistent as possible. The consistency is that of a loose crème or something like gloopy hand lotion. (This is the family friendly definition.) Allow time for it to cool and you can begin using it right away after cooling. Heck, it will probably be cool by the time or shortly after you get it mixed.

You rub it into the stock in small overlapping circles about three inches in diameter and rub it HARD in each area till it is as dry as possible. When done, rub the dickens out of it with a rag piece of terrycloth towel.

Now whatever amount is left over, I recommend you put it in a baby food type jar or something similar. It will harden in about three to six months and then you microwave it again to liquid and add a few drops of turpentine till it is "loose and gloopy" again. The turpentine is just a solvent to keep it from hardening while you work with it.

Though this is a PC mixture, there were still NM shooters who used this into the 1960's on the stocks and handguards of their match rifles.

Now, of course the easiest thing to do to get a "Brown Oil Varnish" mentioned in the text is just buy Birchwood Casey's Tru Oil, as it already has the cooked linseed oil and varnish in it. It is a true Oil Varnish finish. You can add inert coloring agents if you wish to make it "browner."

Gus