An old thread but this treasure trove deserves continuity. Thanks to Woodreaux for compiling all the info from various sources including the threads here that I've plowed through many times!! Some comments and some questions:
Dig's Red Oil. I had noted Dig mentioning "I find I get better colour from alkanet root steeped in raw linseed for several months - rather than using it in alcohol or turpentine, which dilutes it too much in my experience." So "raw" rather than the originally mentioned BLO.
Question: specifically for red oil, do people use raw, unfiltered edible flaxseed oil or refined linseed (flaxseed) oil? Refined is incredibly pale and steeping it with alkanet root produces a very low viscosity, bright red rather than red-brown oil. (At one point many years ago I purchased some red oil from Dig and it was markedly red-brown versus the bright red produced by the batch I did in 2016. I steeped 80g of alkanet root in 250mL each of food-grade flaxseed oil and walnut oil for a year. To this day it remains of very low viscosity - there's no way it would sit on the stock in the way the red oil does in the Purdey video - and bright red rather than red-brown. I'm actually afraid to try to use it. Damascus had suggested colouring it with Vandyke Brown Artist's oil paint.Thoughts?
Dig's Finishing Oil recipe:
Raw linseed oil – 16 oz
Spirits of turpentine (best you can find) – 2 oz (Diamond G Forest Products produces a highly recommended version)
Carnauba wax – 200 grains
Venice/venetian turpentine - 2 teaspoonfuls
Mix together and heat until it simmers. Simmer for ten minutes then allow to cool.
(A small measure of modern terebine / Japan driers)
Be careful it does not catch fire -!!!!
I changed BLO to raw and added the line in parentheses because Dig had noted later that he was experimenting with modern terebine and had later commented "The finish I am using at the moment with best results is with turpentine rather than terebine as a drier and raw rather than boiled linseed oil." ("Modern terebine" in the US would be something like Japan driers.) I was a little confused regarding the driers and what would be replaced with terebine given the two types of turpentine. The document clarifies this by having "2 Ounces Spirits of Turpentine or Terebine Drier." Thank you.
The Purdey formula provided by @Salopian doesn't contain any wax. When he posted the recipe he noted "You can leave out the Antimony if you don't want to darken the wood.
Leave out the Plaster if you don't need to fill the pores. That's what is in Slacum Oil." (See post above from Woodreaux.) Yet later he commented "Artist's linseed obviously is more refined and if you are making personal amounts it has to be the way to go because the cost is relatively small. If you want a filling oil use the carnaube and the plaster of Paris. If you just want a smoooooooth finish just use the modified oil finish less the wax and silica." I note the "carnaube and the plaster of Paris" but maybe he purely meant the canaube in Dig's formula and the PoP in the Purdey one. I'm wondering whether the formula ought to contain wax, particularly as the folks at Purdey mentioned in their IG video that “It has a drier and it has some wax, and that’s about as far as we’re prepared to go” (Tom.) Thoughts?
