[TheForge] Finish for repro antique hinges - history -Yak

Mon Sep 22 07:49:00 2003

It is interesting in this day and age of plastic and other finishes that we
forget how old some finishes and products are.  We have some close English
friends that live in the Lancaster area.  For many years in this area plants
used linseed oil to make water proof cloth -- i.e. "oil skins" and also
Linoleum. Real Linoleum was made from cloth and linseed oil using multi
thickness.  My friends business -- a large machine shop is located in an old
linoleum and oil skin plant  -- that is at least 250 years old, you can
still see were rollers where attached to the stone and brick ceiling.  It is
located next to the Loon river and was at one time water powered.

As to a finish I like linseed oil, tung oil, and bee's wax in turp.  In fact
we used a commercial product of this type "LandArk" to finish the timbers in
the new house.  Works great.

Dave Smucker

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Chuck Robinson" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, September 21, 2003 10:35 PM
Subject: Re: [TheForge] Finish for repro antique hinges

> This formula is very much older.
> It has been used by wood workers and black smith's for hundreds of years
> before Yellin was born.
> Chuck
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "H and P Foster" <[email protected]>
> To: <[email protected]>
> Sent: Sunday, September 21, 2003 8:00 PM
> Subject: RE: [TheForge] Finish for repro antique hinges
>
>
> > When doing the burnt oil for old black iron look, I use the Yellin
formula
> > but add powdered graphite.  Not sure how much the graphite contributes
to
> > the blackness but the end result is nice.
> >
> > I used to use old oil too, until a couple of wiser folk than I on this
> list
> > pointed out the dangers of toxic fumes in old oil.  Now I just use
> vegetable
> > oil or the Yellin formula which is just linseed oil, beeswax and
> turpentine.
> > Even so, I have a fan going near to blow the smoke away from myself.
> >
> > Harry Foster
> > Rusty Dog Forge
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: [email protected]
> > [mailto:[email protected]]On Behalf Of Reynolds
> > Sent: Saturday, September 20, 2003 5:33 PM
> > To: [email protected]
> > Subject: [TheForge] Finish for repro antique hinges
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > A recent commission job was reproducing 2 broken bean strap hinges for a
> > small chest.  When putting a finish on them, I ventured outside my usual
> > finish repertoire, and tried a new mixture and technique. Please feel
free
> > to tell me a better way to achieve the desired look of 100+ years on
> steel.
> >
> > I took a mixture of unnprocessed beeswax and linseed oil at about 1:3,
and
> > heated to liquid in a 2 oz cat food can. Each nail I heated to black,
> > dropped in the solution, left for 2 or 3 seconds, pulled them out and
let
> > the retained heat burn off the solution. This left a black residue
burned
> > into the nails. For some nails I had to repeat the above steps to attain
> the
> > uniform black finish.
> >
> > I then buffed the nails heads with a cotton cloth to remove the majority
> of
> > residue, while leaving the black finish.
> >
> > It all looked uniform and was better than tolerable for reproducing a
100+
> > year-old finish. Good looking stuff.
> >
> > This was very labor intensive. However, my motto is overdeliver. But how
> > should I have done this? I couldn't afford to put this kind of labor
into
> 12
> > nails and two hinges, for what I bid.  That brings up another question.
> What
> > should I have bid this at (2-symmetrical sided 9" strap hinges with 12,
1
> > and 1/2" nails whose heads needed to be ground/filed to give a low
> profile)?
> > I did it for $65. Not even close to paying myself a decent wage, but it
> was
> > another happy customer.
> >
> > Go ahead, tell me what an ignoramus I was.
> >
> >
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