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Boiled Linseed Oil alarm clock...

bingeebobbingeebob Member Posts: 1,185 ✭✭✭✭✭
edited December 2010 in General Discussion
Put the first coat of BLO on a stock set from Ironwood designs for my Bulgarian AK74 last night. Used paper towels to wipe off the excess oil and promptly wadded them up into balls and casually tossed them in the trash can in my bedroom.

I have used BLO before and thought I was aware of the heat produced by drying rags, but I didn't realize how few rags are needed for combustion.

at about 7:30 this morning, I thought I was peacefully dreaming of a campfire, I thought I could even feel it's heat. As I slipped into awareness I quickly became aware of the vigorously flaming trashcan and a billowing plume of acrid, black smoke rising towards my ceiling...

I managed to smoke out the whole house and destroy a patch of carpet, but I did snuff it out quick enough to avoid any serious damage.

Dumb. Dumb. Dumb.


Edit: Sentence wrenching.
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    coltpaxcoltpax Member Posts: 8,114
    edited November -1
    Well, atleast now I know what not to do. [:D]
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    SCOUT5SCOUT5 Member Posts: 16,182 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Dude!!!!!!!!!
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    SWAT 50SWAT 50 Member Posts: 4,074 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by coltpax
    Well, atleast now I know what not to do. [:D]


    Do you mean like not doing it in the bedroom for one thing, but it may have saved his life, house, and the rifle , of course.[V]
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    wundudneewundudnee Member Posts: 6,101 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    BTDT, I did the same thing years ago, with linseed oil and cheesecloth. I had oiled a stock and threw the rag into a trash can in the garage. A few hours later I walked past the can and smelled smoke. I saw the rag smoking and grabbed it up. It instantly burst into flames when it hit the air. It was a very graphic lesson that I have never forgotten. Now, any oily rags go instantly out to the outside trash container, or into a sealed metal can.

    You'll never do that trick again.[:0]
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    11b6r11b6r Member Posts: 16,588 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    +100. Lesson I learned also. I have a wood stove in my shop- oil finish rags or paper towels go straight into the woodstove. Self lighting!
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    Sav99Sav99 Member Posts: 16,037 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    When I finish a few stocks in the past, I wet down the rags with water and put them in an empty coffee can in the trash barrel outside.
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    fishkiller41fishkiller41 Member Posts: 50,608
    edited November -1
    Anyone know what actually causes this "spontaneous combustion"?
    FOUND this!

    What causes it? With linseed oil and other oils used to finish wood, including some exterior deck sealers and wood stains, heat is generated during the drying process. This is because these oils do not dry like paint (through the evaporation of a solvent or water). Instead, they dry through the same process that generates fire... oxidation.
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    btkbtk Member Posts: 2,298 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Wow I would have never thought about Linseed oil causing that reaction. Glad it turned out ok.
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    Bubba Jr.Bubba Jr. Member Posts: 8,191 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I managed to smoke out the whole house and destroy a patch of carpet, but I did snuff it out quick enough to avoid any serious damage.


    Did you use your "built in" fire extinguisher?[:D]
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