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Thread: Fire warning and linseed oil!!!!
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15th July 2013, 12:48 AM #1
Fire warning and linseed oil!!!!
I have just finished watching, on Austar, a program on King Tut. The program dealt with the findings of recent times and answered some questions that Howard Carter eluded to but never followed up.
Anyway, there was charring on King Tuts mumified body and they found out that the oil they used in the embalming process,Linseed Oil, can spontaneously combust, hense the charing of the mummy.
They went to a facility in England that specialised in forensic fire analysis. They did an experiment with a small amount of Linseed oil on some linen, they used a small amount, maybe an egg cup full on a piece of linen just a little larger than a man's handkerchief. They then "wrapped" the oily handkerchief in some clean linen making a parcel about the size of a man's fist. They then inserted thermometer probes and left the parcel alone. First nothing happened....but after a bit more than an hour the temperature started to rise slowly then accelerated and made the oily parcels smoulder into flame!!!
I would never have believed it if I hadn't seen it!!!
So you chaps that use linseed oil on your lathe make sure your rags are stored in a place that won't matter if they catch alightJust do it!
Kind regards Rod
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15th July 2013 12:48 AM # ADSGoogle Adsense Advertisement
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15th July 2013, 07:51 AM #2SENIOR MEMBER
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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.
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15th July 2013, 08:17 AM #3Retired
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Pretty well any finish on cloths bunched together can spontaneously combust.
The same goes for wet hay bales stacked in a shed.
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15th July 2013, 09:29 AM #4
And wet wool if it is pressed into a bale.
Cliff.
If you find a post of mine that is missing a pic that you'd like to see, let me know & I'll see if I can find a copy.
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15th July 2013, 10:08 AM #5Jim
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An occasional reminder is always well placed. Thanks Rod.
Cheers,
Jim
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15th July 2013, 10:45 AM #6
Well I'll admit I hadn't heard that before. So thanks for the heads up.
…..Live a Quiet Life & Work with your Hands
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15th July 2013, 10:49 AM #7Senior Member
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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?
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15th July 2013, 11:27 AM #8GOLD MEMBER
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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.
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15th July 2013, 11:32 AM #9
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.Just do it!
Kind regards Rod
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15th July 2013, 11:58 AM #10
Absolutely amazing.
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
RegardsHugh
Enough is enough, more than enough is too much.
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15th July 2013, 12:17 PM #11I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.
My Other Toys
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15th July 2013, 06:12 PM #12GOLD MEMBER
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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
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15th July 2013, 06:25 PM #13GOLD MEMBER
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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!
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15th July 2013, 08:22 PM #14
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
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15th July 2013, 09:05 PM #15
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