A Devastating Shop Fire
We are leading Safety Week 2009 off with a story of a devastating shop fire. Really, this is one of my worst nightmares. If you haven’t thought about fire safety in your shop, you sure as heck will after you hear this story and see the images. Thanks to Mike Mies for sharing his story so that others may benefit from it. Take it away Mike:
A few weeks ago my woodworking shop caught fire and burned to the ground. Ironically, it appears that the boiled linseed oil may have been the culprit. Yes, I did in fact view and took heed of your safety podcasts and comments on boiled linseed oil. You did your best to warn me. The enclosed photos pretty much tell the whole story. 
Although I’m struggling with the loss of my trusted tools and shop, the loss of my “crown jewel” (my newest project) impacts me the most. Likewise, my wife (who actually had a vested interest in the vanity since it was the first time that she helped me apply the topcoat on a project), is really taking it hard. Not to mention that we now face the prospect of not having a functional master bathroom for the foreseeable future.
As I sit here this morning trying to assemble my thoughts and begin to fill out the insurance companies “personal property inventory” my first entry is my Powermatic 66 table saw… my baby – less than two years in my shop. My Google search for the saw’s replacement cost takes to me to Amazon – I immediately think of the Wood Whisperer and hear your “the gold standard…” voiceover in my head. My brain (or what’s left of it after 30 years of spending my evenings and weekends in a woodworking shop) goes into hyper-speed as I envision a few interesting concept. 
First, I think that it would only be fair and appropriate that I go through your Amazon store for all my online purchases (especially since I’ve only been lurking on your site and haven’t yet joined or actively participated). Secondly, I start thinking what a unique opportunity I have to design a new shop from the ground up and include the Wood Whisperer community.
Fortunately, I have very good insurance and have no pressure to immediately rebuild my shop. Several woodworking friends have stepped up to meet my immediate needs and keep the wife off my back on the bathroom renovation. Consistent with my affliction to the woodworking bug, the “clean-slate” concept of starting a new project is rapidly breathing life back into my Craftsman spirit. What an emotional ride I’ve had these past few weeks! I’ve been rummaging through the debris pile trying to prod my memory of what I’ve collected these past 30 years and thinking about the possibilities of a clean slate.
Neither the Fire Marshall nor the Insurance Adjuster’s expert could conclusively determine the actual origin of ignition but all factors lead to the boiled linseed oil. The fire started at the rear door of my shop, nowhere near any electrical wire, outlet, equipment etc. There were only three things at the door (which was cracked open to help facilitate the evacuation of fumes from the prior days’ finishing operations); 1) all the partially used cans of oil-based stain, sealing (shellac/denatured alcohol) and BLO that were staged to be transported to my outside storage shed, 2) a heap of scrapped cut-offs destined to the fire pit and 3) approximately 50 paper rags saturated with the previously mentioned solutions. 
The spent towels (Scotts “Rags in a Box”) were scattered on the ground just outside the door earlier that morning to dry-out in an area that never receives direct sunlight (like I’ve done hundreds of times in the past… albeit this was the first time using BLO). Worst-case, the rags may have been laying four (4) or five (5) sheets deep. Even considering that some of them may have been folded once or twice over, I doubt that the paper towels were “stacked” thicker than 1/2″. Not the conditions conducive to generating sufficient heat that you would think necessary to start a fire.
My brother, who has a cabinet shop in Indiana, told me yesterday that he once experienced a similar “unexplained” incident several years ago… He had replaced his spray booth filters and scattered the dirty filters out on the concrete floor in an attached garage/storage area to air-out since they were still “wet”. The next morning when he opened his shop doors, he noticed a particular smell and haze in the air. He traced the fumes down to the air filters… which were hot to the touch and actually producing some smoke! He claims that had he not found them when he did that they would likely have caught fire. For what it’s worth, he only shoots a small amount of oil-based stains and a lot of lacquer and related thinners.
Bottom-line… the jury is still out on what actually happened. Ironically, I’ve been in the disaster recovery business for the past 24 years and am supposed to be THE expert on fires (my only out is that my specialty is actually what happens AFTER the fire… not what started it!).
Another Fool Proof Finish? – Question of the Week
This week’s question comes from Craig, The Ham Handed Wood Savage, who writes:
I’m trying this “fool proof” oil and wax finish that I learned from the Fine Woodworking site. I think I might have managed to mess it up. The boiled linseed oil seems tacky to the touch, and it doesn’t look so good. Any idea what might have gone wrong? I flooded the surface, waited approximately one hour and wiped the excess off just like FW said, but it just doesn’t look right.
The wood is mahogany, I was just doing a sample piece so I’m not committed yet. I think I know what your recommendation for a finish will be…an oil varnish blend? I’m not completely against this solution but I would probably prefer to go with 3 coats of Gen Finishes seal-a-cell wiped on and leave it at that. What do you think about this approach? I think it might just work being that the wood is mahogany and as such has its own natural beauty.
And this is my response:
Hey Craig. While oil and wax is indeed a very easy to apply finish, I don’t typically recommend it. Sure it makes the wood “look” finished for a time, but the reality is that the wood has very little protection at all. In my opinion, oil and wax is really just one small step above using nothing at all. And because the wax will eventually look dull, it will need some maintenance to keep things looking fresh. To make matters worse, the reapplication of wax can lead to wax buildup. And what do you get for all this extra effort? A finish that has no abrasion resistance and very little moisture resistance. A raw deal if you ask me. I’d rather go naked.
Now to specifically answer your question. Boiled linseed oil will remain tacky for quite some time and requires you to revisit the piece every few hours to wipe off any standing oil. Sometimes it likes to seep out of the pores in open-pored woods like oak and ash, so these woods require even more attention. Also, if you are working with a naturally oily wood like padauk, teak, rosewood, bloodwood, among others, the boiled linseed oil will have some serious curing issues.
I would guess that you are looking for a decent level of protection and durability, yes? But you obviously want things to be as simple as possible. You mentioned Seal-a-Cell and I would honestly say skip it. My recommendation would be to go right to the more durable big brother, Arm-R-Seal. Seal-a-Cell really isn’t going to bring anything extra to the party. If you wipe on a few light coats, you can still manage to get that close-to-the-wood natural look, while having more protection than you would ever get from an oil, wax, or even an oil/varnish blend. Not to mention it requires one product and a simple wiping application method. And best of all, no long-term maintenance.
*** A commercial from me :) *** Emails just like this one from Craig are what inspired me create my DVD, A Simple Varnish Finish. My goal was to demystify finishing by simplifying the process and showing you details that are typically glossed over in other videos. So if you are interested, check it out in our store.
47 – Turning Water into Oil
High Resolution Version
I get quite a few questions about water-based finishes and how to make them look more like oil-based. Its a common problem since water-based finishes are “water-white”, which means they don’t impart any color to the wood. This can be great in certain situations, but not so great when you want your project to have that warm glow to it. In this episode, I use dye, shellac, and boiled linseed oil to try to spice up our water-based finish. I also packed in a bunch of related tips and tricks as I went through each process.
Related Links:
Hock Shellac Flakes
Charles Neil’s Shellac Video
As requested, here is a hi-res photo of the test boards:
Natural Looking Bartop Finish? – Viewer Question
This week’s question comes from Doug. He writes:
“I am building a bar top from 8/4 Walnut for my son’s new home, and he wants to have a very natural finish on it – no film finish allowed. My first thought was to use BLO, but some research has led me to think that Pure Tung Oil might provide better protection. Is Pure Tung Oil a better option than BLO for an open grained wood like Walnut?”
And here was my reply:
Hello Doug Sounds like one beautiful bartop!! When it comes to protection, BLO and pure tung oil are pretty similar. One thing they have in common is that neither one offers a great deal of protection. If you had to choose, I would say to go for the BLO, since the pure tung oil will take longer to cure. BLO does have a tendency to “yellow” a wood over time, but that is a non-issue with walnut.
Now obviously your son is the boss here. But indulge me while I make a small suggestion. I can totally understand why he doesn’t want a film finish. I can’t stand the way they layer those thick finishes on bar tops. They should have just used something made of plastic, instead of wood. But there is a compromise between the plastic look, and the natural (unprotected) look. Just to clarify, BLO will certainly be better than nothing at all. But for a bartop, your son might regret this decision after the first few spills.
So my suggestion would be to try to achieve the best of both worlds. Give the bar top a very natural-looking finish, while imparting a great deal more protection than an oil alone. There are a few products on the market today that contain oil and varnish together, like Watco Danish Oil. Because there is so much oil in the mix, you would have to put on about 5 or 6 coats before you really start to get an appreciable film. But applying 2-3 coats will give you a really nice and natural look, while protecting the surface with a little varnish at the same time. And if you go with matte or satin formulas, I think your son will be even happier with the results. The great part about it is, you can look at the surface after each coat and determine whether or not you want to add another. Dilute the mix with mineral spirits if you want even more control. And also keep in mind you can simply make your own oil/varnish blend by mixing 1/3 mineral spirits, 1/3 BLO, and 1/3 polyurethane.
Either way, make sure you sand lightly between coats to keep the finish nice and smooth. After the final coat, either sand with 1200 grit paper or buff with 0000 steel wool. The wood will not only look natural, but will easily repel the occasional spill.
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