Tried and true

[Tom Gibbons]

Beginner here and I was thinking tried and true original will be an easy thing to start with
I have a box I made and want to try tried and true original
Do I use it inside and out
And can I just rub it on by hand. all the videos I watched are turning it on a lathe and then rubbing it in

 

[GRJensen]

It is food safe, easy to repair, and makes for a nice finish. I have used it on all kinds of turnings. I have never applied it while the piece is on the lathe, but don't see any reason you could not ... just make sure your lathe is running SSSSLLLLOOOWWW!

 

[Tom Gibbons]

It is food safe, easy to repair, and makes for a nice finish. I have used it on all kinds of turnings. I have never applied it while the piece is on the lathe, but don't see any reason you could not ... just make sure your lathe is running SSSSLLLLOOOWWW!

I was more wonder if it was ok to rub in by hand rather than on the lathe
It seems that people do it on the lathe to make friction and if doing by hand will I get the same result thanks

 

[Vincent Vogel]

I've used quite a bit of tried and true. Yes you can rub it on by hand, the people using the lathe spinning are trying to create heat to burnish the finish and speed up the cure time. The big thing is not to get in a hurry for an instant finish with this stuff. I put one coat on, let is sit for about 1/2 hour and rub it off. Then wait about 3 or 4 days between coats usually 4 coats. It helps to let it sit in the sun after applying each coat, It takes about a month for this to fully cure. If you want more shine and more durability you can buff it and apply carnauba wax, I've done this on pepper mills and it holds up pretty well. If the wood you are using is dry then yes do inside and outside. I usually seal the inside of my pepper mills and salt shakers with 3 coats of shellac.

 

[Tom Gibbons]

Thanks that helps

 

[Brian Gustin]

Yep what Vincent said - I tried the burnishing thing by rubbing it in and polishing while it was on the lathe, and definitely want it at very slow RPM , under 60 I would say - my HF lathe only goes down to 625 RPM and that's way too fast - It's just as bad as going back to 220 grit sandpaper after getting sanded down to 600.... (unless you had a finer thread count of cotton than typical t-shirt rags) So, I would say follow directions on the can, rather than try to duplicate what you see on YouTube

Tried & True original is quite safe , it is just linseed oil and beeswax with no added driers or anything.. If you could stand the taste you could probably eat it (Indeed, Linseed oil is just a less refined version of the Flaxseed Oil supplenments you might buy at the pharmacy they come from the same Flax plant, which is also used to make linen) But I wouldn't really recommend it (Unless you also enjoy cod liver oil? ewww!)

 

[GRJensen]

I was more wonder if it was ok to rub in by hand rather than on the lathe
It seems that people do it on the lathe to make friction and if doing by hand will I get the same result thanks

There is absolutely no advantage in applying Tried & True with the lathe spinning.

 

[Doug Agee]

Hey Tom. Take a this video from Kent at Turn a Wood Bowl on using Tried and True finish. It helped my process in finishing bowls.

 

[Dean Center]

Tried & True original is quite safe , it is just linseed oil and beeswax with no added driers or anything.

If it's just linseed oil and beeswax, why not just use BLO at half the price? If you wanted beeswax too, that's easy to apply on top, and also cheap.

 

[Michael Anderson]

I believe that Tried and True is polymerized linseed oil, not BLO.

 

[robo hippy]

For a lidded box, I always use Bulls Eye spray lacquer. Main reason is that it dries instantly and there is no lingering smell to it. If I try a typical 'Danish' style oil, the smell never goes away. I have never used Tried and True.

robo hippy

 

[Brian Gustin]

If it's just linseed oil and beeswax, why not just use BLO at half the price? If you wanted beeswax too, that's easy to apply on top, and also cheap.

BLO as you might usually find it at hardware stores, etc is full of metallic driers and additives that are decidedly not food safe (They put it in so it dries and cures quickly , in as little as 18 hours)

Raw Linseed oil can take months to dry and longer to fully cure (I know, I still have a jar from grandpa's farm that has been laying around since the 1970's, if not older)

The Tried and True stuff is a polymerized linseed oil - That is; it is actually "boiled" - but not technically boiling - it is raw linseed heated to just below the boiling point - I think it was 175 degrees, I seem to remember reading - and maintained at that temperature for a set amount of time (I think an hour or maybe two, can't remember but details can be googled, I am sure), It dries and cures far faster than raw oil, but not as fast as BLO from the hardware store, but it is still pure linseed oil.
It is possible to make your own pure boiled linseed oil but I would not recommend trying it unless you have an outdoor location and you can get precise heat control (if it actually boils and gets exposed to open flame, you got a nice oily explosion plus burns on whatever body parts it comes in contact with as a result and If you don't get it hot enough, it won't polymerize)

So, given the purity of it (which you can just wipe on bare handed with no worries of "dangerous" chemical exposure) and the relative difficulty of making it from Raw Linseed, I think it is well worth the 40 bucks a pint or so. (and considering you need to use so little of it, a pint can last a year or two.. I'm still on my original pint can after a couple hundred wood bowls finished with it... ) I liked it so much I also got a can of their Varnish (Linseed oil & Pine Resin) and likely will get myself a can of their "Danish Oil" which is just plain polymerized linseed.

 

[Tom Gibbons]

Thanks everyone you been a big help

 

[Mark Jundanian]

Tried & True original sounds very much like it should be grouped with the other hard wax oils, e.g. Osmo Polyx-Oil. Any major difference in application or outcome?

 

[Brian Gustin]

Tried & True original sounds very much like it should be grouped with the other hard wax oils, e.g. Osmo Polyx-Oil. Any major difference in application or outcome?

Not really - Tried & True never results in a hard finish like any linseed oil finish it can degrade over time and need "renewal" or "Maintenance" (Rub in some fresh beeswax or linseed oil to rejuvenate the finish) nor does it really dry to a hard protective shell. (It can actually be washed out if you soak it in soap & water long enough) I haven't used Osmo, but as I understand it, it is not an all-natural product, but rather a chemically manufactured finish. (I could be wrong, I suppose?) Tried & True would be grouped in with Pure Tung oil finishes, for example...