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How to make Linseed Oil

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How to make linseed oil? How you boil it, and apply it to drum shells?

I did not and with the Internet so close I looked it up.

First off definition seems to be needed, the Encarta encyclopedia
<http://encarta.msn.com/find/Concise.asp?z=1&pg=2&ti=04322000&hs=linseed+oil>
describes it as: "Linseed oil is an amber-colored oil extracted from linseed, the seed of the FLAX [Linum usitatissimum] plant. The oil obtained from hydraulically pressed seeds is pale in color and practically odorless and tasteless. Oil that has been boiled or extracted by application of heat and pressure is darker, with a bitter taste and unpleasant odor. Linseed oil is used as a drying oil in paints and varnishes and in making linoleum, oilcloth, and certain inks.

At < www.encyclopedia.com> they add to this: "Flax seed yields from 30 to 40
percent linseed oil by weight. ...The oil cake, or linseed meal, which remains after the oil has been expressed, contains 30 to 40 percent crude protein and is a valuable feed for livestock.

If you wish to get into the history of flax you may check the Flax Council of Canada <http://www.flaxcouncil.ca/hisindex.htm>.

From a post on The MadScientist Network
<http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/dec97/877614025.Ch.q.html>:
"There seems to be a chemical called cyclopentadiene which, when it reacts with linseed oil, makes the linseed oil dry more quickly on contact with air (oxygen)." And at <http://www.seatons-uk.co.uk/prod_boiled.htm> may be found clues to
additional additives.

T? äby pressen in Sweden <http://www.oilpress.com/skeppsta.html> seems to
be where you would want to go as the machines are small. The French Oil Mill Machinery Company in Ohio <http://www.frenchoil.com/OilSeed.html>
shows huge industrial strength presses.

This extraction and boiling process really seems to be something that is better left to the professionals and not tried at home, kids. In addition to gaining the raw material and the the machinery to press the oil there appears to be additives that improve it's properties and the boiling under pressure described above sounds wae risky as Bob Fulbright <bob@bongocentral.com> points up in his response to Clayton:

>If you have access to raw linseed oil you really shouldn't try to boil it yourself, it isn't that simple. The boiling point is higher than that of water and has to be closely controlled. If you don't pay attention for a moment you could have a truly catasrophic flash fire. The stuff explodes.

Back to the refined oil uses, should ya'll wish to stain the wood here is an excellent article on formulating your own, which also lines out some of the properties of Linseed oil.
<http://www.woodworking.com/magazine/nov96/oilstain.html>

Welcome To DJEMBE-L FAQ How to make Linseed Oil

Welcome To
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How to make Linseed Oil