Thread: Fire warning and linseed oil!!!!

It is well known that linseed oil has exothermic properties and I am careful to dispose of rags correctly. But there are a lot of people around that have a carefree attitude with them.

Pretty well any finish on cloths bunched together can spontaneously combust.

The same goes for wet hay bales stacked in a shed.

And wet wool if it is pressed into a bale.

An occasional reminder is always well placed. Thanks Rod.

Well I'll admit I hadn't heard that before. So thanks for the heads up.

Like says pretty much any finish.
Once I spilled a good amount of pure tung oil on my legs without knowing it was there.
At bed time I found the spot and tried to ignore it until morning...
I did not get much sleep that night due to worrying that my pants might ignite,
ended up getting out of bed with many choice expletives and taking my clothing outside at dawn.
Another unlikely tinder material is steel wool, it is often included in wilderness survival kits
because it ignites easily with a few sparks from a flint.
I keep all oily rags or paper towels in a covered metal can immediately after using them
and at the end of the session the can is taken out of the shop.
If King Tut was here today what kind of lathe do you reckon he would use?

It's something that I've been rightly paranoid about for some time. I usually spread the rag out flat or hang it on the clothes line to dry. I'd be interested to know how others dispose of, or dry out their rags so they can be reused.

What amased me was how little the amount of Linseed Oil he put on the linen to make the experiment. Then the linen was only lightly wrapped. But after an hour it was away.....our sheds could go up in flames!!!! What a thought!!!

If I am really honest with myself.....I have only had a casual approach to oily rags. It was graffic enough for me to now be more vigilant.

I am shocked at how many people didn't know this. There are warnings on the containers of most wood finishing oils. it gets mentioned in lots of magazines and has been brought up on this forum often.
It ranks with my amazement at the novice cook on a Jamie Oliver show who did not know that water bubbles when it boils.
It just goes to show, just because you seem to have been born with the knowledge, you've known so long, it still pays to mention it in case some one else has missed it.
Keep your fire extinguisher handy
Regards

Originally Posted by groeneaj

It's something that I've been rightly paranoid about for some time. I usually spread the rag out flat or hang it on the clothes line to dry. I'd be interested to know how others dispose of, or dry out their rags so they can be reused.

I tend to throw mine out the door onto the driveway. My wife hates it...

I usualy use facial tissues to apply the finish and have a bucket in the workshop with about 50mm of water in it that I throw the used tissues in to.
Ted

I've got a big metal ice cream tin and throw all rags/cloths in it and leave it outside unless there is a total fire ban! then it's watered down and bagged on bin night!

hi rod,
i must be one of the dumb ones
cos....i didn't know that,thanks for the heads up ,
now i must go check the sheds not on fire
cheers smiife

Originally Posted by smiife

hi rod,
i must be one of the dumb ones
......

No longer the case.