So, we discovered what Linseed oil does when left alone - Quite a few pictures.

[Rabu Rabu]

So, for a bit of back story, my dad just bought an M1 carbine that had been poorly refinished and he wanted to re-militarize it by re-finishing in boiled linseed.

That's all fine, so he was doing it well and it was all coming along great, unbeknownst to me he had thrown the rags covered in BLO into a trashcan with wood and other combustibles, and left them overnight. The next morning we woke up to smoke billowing out of the garage. He and I called the fire department and took up garden hoses and sprayed the fire down ourselves using respirators. This was the aftermath.

This used to be 3 50 gallon trash cans.

The garage door a good 7 feet from the trashcans, note the insulation.

The fluorescent lights 10 feet away from the fire.

Formerly an air conditioner.

All of his tools.

And of course [And most tragically, in my opinion.] His trophy bucks.

I suppose I'm making this as a message to anyone using BLO. Make sure to read the instructions on the can and store the waste somewhere that won't catch fire. As for us, we've got a lot of cleaning in our future, and luckily, we've got fire insurance. Just a heads up to you guys that refinish using this stuff. Be careful.

 

[Old Salty Dog]

Sorry about the damage to your place, but VERY glad no one got hurt!

 

[K31]

Yup, been mentioned here many times.

 

[todbiker]

WOW! That sucks, glad everyone is ok.
Thanks for the heads-up and cautionary tale.
So was there some sort of chemical reaction or was there some source of spark?

 

[Rabu Rabu]

The rags just combusted from the BLO heating up as it dried, must have caught all the wood in the cans on fire. Could have been worse I suppose. Lucky for us this garage isn't conjoined to our house.

 

[Winterborn]

Holy crap, good post and a good message. Glad no one was hurt except for the deer heads.

 

[VWTurbo]

glad no one got hurt. Costly learning experience but at least no one paid the ultimate price.
What is the suggested use and disposal of BLO?

 

[Rabu Rabu]

I'm going to guess a galvanized steel trashcan with no other combustibles, the can doesn't exactly list good methods now that I'm reading it.

 

[Indiana Jones]

Glad everyone is ok.

 

[EL1227]

Having been through a house fire, I feel for you. As long as there was no injuries, feel blessed. Things can be replaced, but it still hurts.

Prayers sent ...

 

[eddiek2000]

Wet the rags, then lay them flat outside to dry. You do not want them in a confined space all lumped up.

 

[bbrown]

I put things like that in a cast iron pot by themselves out on our back patio and let everything evaporate for at least several days.

Bryan

 

[lx1x]

WOW... good thing nobody was hurt..

sucks though.. those mounts are f'd..

 

[Rabu Rabu]

We can probably salvage the horns and get those re-mounted I figure, so it's not a complete loss, thanks for the concern guys.

 

[Threeband]

Wow! You really are lucky it wasn't a lot worse.

I've often posted about stock finishing with tung oil or linseed oil, and I always warn people about this. From now on I'm going to link to this thread everytime the subject comes up

...
What is the suggested use and disposal of BLO?

Put rags in an old paint can or something full of water. (To be doubly safe, throw them in your neighbor's trash on a dark and moonless night.)

And/Or

Spread the rags out flat and separated from each other outside away from anything that might catch fire. (Then throw them in your neighbor's trash on a dark and moonless night,)

Or

What I do is use paper towels, which I tear up in little bits and flush down the toilet.

 

[Gummy]

Glad nobody got hurt. I work on my firearms in a spare bedroom in the house. When I get done cleaning, refinishing or oiling firearms I take all the garbage out and burn it in a burn barrel. I live in the sticks so I can get away with it. Spontaneous combustion has always scared me. My wife and I have been through a house fire also and it ain't any fun.

 

[BlackBart]

Yuck, major mess.......sorry to see that!

 

[hvymax]

I remember when every shop had a sealed metal can for oily rags and such.

 

[Chaunsey]

glad no one was hurt, and its an important lesson for everyone, it can be very easy to get complacent, i know ive probably tossed some BLO soaked rags in the past without thinking about it.

you should definitely either dispose of them wet, lay them out in the yard to let them dry safely in the open, or seal them in a metal can by themselves.


i never actually personally heard of a fire starting from BLO rags, ill definitely pay more attention in the future.

 

[j8064]

I know I speak for everyone here in saying Thank the Lord no one was hurt!

We experienced a fire episode last year and the aftermath isn't fun to deal with.

This is a reminder that just about all the stuff we deal with our toys - from reloading to refinishing - can be very dangerous!