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  • Adriana Knoufzeitkunst
    Apr 8, 2026, 11:34 AM

    I know this will likely be a very niche question, but I'm going to ask it anyway because in my quick searches I haven't found any answers.

    We all know the dangers of soaked boiled linseed oil rags, so the advice given today is to lay it flat, let it dry, and throw it away, and/or burn it. But this seems only "appropriate" when rags are cheap, as in our disposable society. When things were not so cheap, so, during the time of woodworking shops in the 17th-19th centuries, what did people do? Did they have a different way of reusing rags? Or did they have a "cheap" source of rags as well, as maybe from nearby fabric or paper mills?

    Maybe I'll have to dig into the primary literature of the time to find my answer.

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Replies

  • youenyouen@mastodon.gamedev.place
    Apr 8, 2026, 1:33 PM

    @zeitkunst I thought the only thing NOT to do was to pile multiple oil-soaked rags in a container, because linseed oil heats up while drying (due to exothermic oxidation reaction), and if the heat can't get away it can catch fire.

    I don't think it would be a problem to wash them right after use, lay them flat to let them dry, and re-use them later?

    Sorry I don't have any clue about historical facts though, but I'm interested if you find an answer!

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  • Adriana Knoufzeitkunst
    Apr 8, 2026, 2:40 PM

    @youen yeah, you're right about the exothermic reaction! They're very dangerous until the oil has dried out. If you wash them immediately you might delay that process of drying out, unless you washed with a lot of soap or immediately used mineral spirits. I've been reading that it's actually dangerous to store them in water in a glass jar because when you take them out of the water, and the water evaporates, they're still just as dangerous until the oil has polymerized.

    (I've also read horror stories of throwing wet oil-soaked rags in the washing machine and then into a dryer, and causing massive fires. So anyone reading this: don't do that!)

    When my rags are dry they're quite stiff, which is why I'm not sure how to potentially use them again. But maybe they loosen up with more oil? I guess I can give it a shot. But yeah, unclear on the historical practices.

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  • David H.dsh1705
    Apr 8, 2026, 2:34 PM

    @zeitkunst If you soak your rag in turpentine (or mineral spirits), you can ring it out and reuse it. No clue as to historical practices, and now you have me wondering!

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  • Adriana Knoufzeitkunst
    Apr 8, 2026, 2:42 PM

    @dsh1705 okay, sounds good, will give it a try the next time. I just hate the idea of throwing away so many shop rags, but of course only want to reuse them in a safe way.

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  • Andyandyinabox@mastodon.social
    Apr 8, 2026, 5:19 PM

    @zeitkunst this is a fascinating question. It also makes me wonder what they would have used for applying BLO before rags were available 🤔

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  • Hart of the Wudpraxeology
    Apr 9, 2026, 7:16 PM

    @zeitkunst Interesting question. I think historically they used raw linseed oil not the boiled kind (which usually has added modern chemical siccatives). But I guess I assumed that even in an era when textiles were more expensive, rags would not be so valuable that they would need to be reused. Perhaps the dried, stiff oil rags were used to make paper or some other recycled product. I know that was a major use for rags up to the end of the 19th century in many regions.

    I'm curious what you find out!

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  • Adriana Knoufzeitkunst
    Apr 10, 2026, 12:55 PM

    @praxeology interesting thoughts. I've seen some people make BLO without additives by heating it up to just below the flash point. Not sure if they did that in the past?

    Also, I imagine oil soaked rags would need a lot of processing before being made into paper...I think the oil would mess up with the hydrogen bonding needed for paper making, but maybe they just used a lot of harsh chemicals to clean the fibers before processing for papermaking? Those factories were quite toxic....

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  • Hart of the Wudpraxeology
    Apr 10, 2026, 3:14 PM

    @zeitkunst I think rag paper was usually scoured with soda ash or some kind of classical detergent to remove other stains and oils before being pulped. Surely some bad stuff in there but I think the really terrible stuff came with industrial wood pulp paper. But I'm honestly pretty ignorant about the details, especially the chemistry.

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