Thread: Tool handles for outside use

Spotted Gum with several coats of boiled linseed oil.
Spotty is tough and the BLO finish is easy to touch up or redo.

cheers, excuse my ignorance but can you buy it as boiled linseed oil or do you boil it yourself as I can't recally ever seeing it before?

I have seen and purchased Linseed Oil, Tung Oil, Danish Oil etc but never boiled linseed oil.

cheers

Linseed oil (from hardware shops) comes in two basic varieties , Raw or Boiled. Raw is, well, raw (probably), Boiled linseed oil contains 'driers' so after you apply it to tool-handles it will eventually dry and the handles will stop being sticky.

Standard warning whenever posting about linseed oil.......be careful with the rags used with linseed oil.....I rinse or soak them in water before I dispose of them as they can catch on fire.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linseed...ous_combustion

You can buy BOILED LINSEED at any hardware, Tung is also suitable, as for timber any AUST HARDWOOD , cypress Pine , any timber with a high natural oil content is a good option.

Jeff
vk4

cheers guys

I have been using Boiled Linseed oil.

Hello Arry. Have a look at this web page

Products | Diggers Pale Boiled Linseed Oil | Recochem - Australia

which gives both a description and how to apply boiled linseed oil. Note that it is used 50/50 with mineral turpentine to aid penetration.

Gary

I'm wondering if a very old saying I was taught by my first mentor still applies for using linseed oil on outdoor handtools.
I was taught to apply it once a day for a week.
Once a week for a month.
Once a month for a year.
And once a year for the rest of its life.

I've tried to do that several times. I'm good up to the once a year bit. I'll notice my shovel handle is looking sad and realise its been maybe 3 years since I oiled it.
Jim

We were taught the same.

Cheers for the help guys.

I just had a thought though..

How on earth will I remove the existing handles?

Any ideas?

Got a pic?

I haven't even seen them yet, will see if I can get one.

Most of the time, short tool handles are posted with long rivets. Grind off one end and pound the sucker out with a pin punch.

So, I broke a short shank shovel handle. Drilled and punched out the two rivets. Bought a replacement handle at the local hardware store. Planned to drill 2 holes for new rivets. No big deal. The new handle has an iron/steel rod up the middle! Plan B was to put in #8 x 3" Robertson head screws and prune off the tips with a Dremel cutoff. It worked but for heaven's sake what was wrong with an ordinary, wooden shovel handle?

Photo attached of 30 year old German Made Clippers