Originally Posted by
Brian Dick
I don't grind it up. I just place some cut alkanet roots in a quart jar and fill it up with raw linseed oil. I've never cut the RLO with turps as it's not necessary IMHO. If you're in a hurry, use boiled linseed oil as it has chemical driers in it to speed up the process. It doesn't penetrate as well and is more like varnish when dry. It's also not the original finish which is a put off for me. The raw linseed oil turns red overnight when you add the cut roots. I just keep topping off the jar as I use it. Being in Texas, you ought not need to cut it with turps to get it to dry. Just use Mother Nature like I do here in boiling hot South Carolina. Peter L. told me many years ago that they added a powder to the big tanks of warmed raw linseed oil at the big workshops in the UK and Far East. They never knew the composition of the powder but my guess is alkanet. It's been used in the British gun trade for hundreds of years.