My new 1911 BSA SMLE

[22SqnRAE]

[QUOTE=Florey55;455162]Now I have a question about linseed oil. Why would you use a 50/50 oil and turps mix as opposed to just oil. Or the quick drying linseed oil? The one with the drying additives. Im really curious about this.[COLOR="black"]


F55,

A good question. When Service Rifle furniture is made, it's rough finished with medium/coarse belt sanding to keep the splinters to minimum. Consequently, most timber is fairly open grained. The usual method of treatment for furniture is being immersed in warm linseed oil for about half an hour, give or take, then drip draining above the warm tanks while the next batch are dipped. The linseed oil is warm to reduce viscosity and aid penetration in the timber to beyond the base of pores.

The cutting of BLO with turps is simply like paint thinner. A less viscous oil will penetrate deeper and the turps is volatile so will evaporate off. It makes application quicker and easier. You'll note that around the neck of a BLO bottle, there will be a build up of crusty gunk, or dried BLO. Raw linseed oil will dry out, not as quick and won't crystallise the same. Turps helps with this thickening and gets the BLO to 'go further, quicker.' A stock that's been properly stripped and dried out will take about 4-6 coats of BLO. It can be more, depending on your timber. If using neat oil, then this will require warmth and time. You need to leave the timber in the sun to warm up and allow the oil to both seep in and 'dry' off. This takes several days to complete. Turps helps this process by allowing the oil to go deeper first and dry off quicker. The 4-6 coats of BLO and turps can be done in two days in the warmer months, no problems. That's better than a week or two.

Boiled linseed oil has the additives and modified molecular structure that allows it to dry quicker. It's not instantaneous, but far shorter than raw linseed. A pure traditionalist will poo-hah the "cheat's" way of using BLO, and good on them. The end result, when done repetitiously and carefully, is the same. and when it comes to maintenance that one needs to do every quarter, then a gentle light wipe of BLO and turps sinks in quickly where it needs to, pools where it doesn't and dries off much quicker than raw.

Each to their own, but I like the speed and control of cut BLO.

I've tried Tung Oil that the Garand boys like, and find this OK for the initial coat or two, but finish with BLO. Again, choice. Tung is easier to work with when the timber is bare and dry, but I like the more viscous BLO to "fill up" the pores in the timber to water/dust/particle proof the timber.