linseed Oil on arrows?

[Tracker2]

Hello,

I heard that you can soak arrows in Linseed Oil and it will add quite a bit of weight to your arrows and get a really nice finish on them.

Has anybody had some experience with this? Do the Fletchings stick ok? Do i do a clear coat of varnish when i am done?

Thanks  

[Friends call me Pac]

I have heard of soaking in danish oil but not linseed oil.

[lithicchipper]

I have used it on dogwood shafts, especially the ones with the bark left intact, as a moisture barrier.

 

[reddogge]

Warning, linseed oil is not waterproof or much of a moisture barrier.  Anyone who collects old military rifles can attest.  The army nixed it during WW2 in favor of tung oil.  Smells great though.

Yes, you can coat over it with either poly when dry.

[Montanawidower]

I used teak oil once. It was more for display and a rustic look than a serious backcountry hunting arrow.  As far as weight, I don't know.  I never soaked them, I just rubbed on several coats.  Redogge is right, you need tung or teak to get much weather protection.

[durp]

it take forever to dry but it does bring out the grain of the wood rather well...ive used it on log furniture for a long time...you can finish over it just like stains.

[BowPlinker]

I think it will be a disaster from my experience with linseed oil.. never really dries, smells (deer dont like that) and I (think) it could mess up the spine of the arrow if it soaks up to much..
JMHO  

[cbCrow]

I don,t know where people get their idea's from. I have made alot of gun stocks and refinished many more and know that linseed oil is probably one of the best to protect from the elements. Tung oil was adapted by the military because it drys harder and quicker than linseed and with tung you can use less. It is main ingredient in Tru-oil. I would not use linseed to soak arrows unless cut with 30-40% denatured wood alcohol.

[Stumpkiller]

I'm with Crow on this.  Tru-Oil (a top notch gunstock finish) is mostly boiled linseed oil.  I have several rifles that I have finished using hand rubbed boiled linseed oil.  

I would caution you away from raw linseed oil or you'll likely have trouble getting the fletching cement to adhere.

[BowPlinker]

I agree with cbCrow and Stumpkiller..
Ive had most of the trouble with pure Linseed oil but i have alot of humidity to deal with down here also which causes more problems useing it.. cutting it with alcohol will help but the true oil is better,
I use bear oil and beeswax on most all my wood,, best stuff i ever used if you can get it.. I have a good source.

[reddogge]

Well, I will assure you linseed oil will let you down in wet weather.  I've built guns and used it 30+ years ago and have seen some really beautiful classic double stocks with it however there has been lot's of information on the internet about it since the information age.  Here's a small blurb from hundreds you can read on the internet about the subject.  I'll not debate the fact it is a classic finish and looks good intially but it darkens with age.

WHAT TYPE OF FINISH?
The strongest finish against bumps and bruises is a two-part epoxy like Fullerplast which was used on Weatherby guns. It is a one-coat finish but quite thick and not classy looking. The same is true of the plastic Urethane finishes. Wax is an adequate finish on exotic woods with extremely high oil content. Most finishes will not permanently stick to these finishes although Fullerplast seems to work well on them.  For oil finishes, the old standard was Linseed oil which is, frankly, a horrible product. It darkens with age and hides the beauty of finely figured wood. It does not adequately harden and does a very poor job of protecting the wood from moisture. It gives only 1/3 the moisture intrusion protection of Tru-Oil.  The age old advise is to apply a coat a day for a week, a coat a week for a month, a coat a month for a year, and a coat a year FOREVER! I hate Tung oil even worse than Linseed oil. It must be applied in extremely small amounts and let completely dry for a long time before any more is added over it. Otherwise, it will turn from a seemingly hard finish to a sticky mess when the weather warms up. My favorite is  Tru-Oil (the favorite of the Italian gunmakers). It is a  Tru-Oil (the favorite of the Italian gunmakers). It is a plastic with the properties of oil. .  It dries quickly, provides excellent moisture protection, gives a classic thin and beautiful finish, and can be finished either matte or satin. Please never use stain or filler. It looks like crap, ruins the look of fine wood, and is difficult to refinish.

[cbCrow]

Tru-Oil® is a polymerized linseed oil with other natural oils added.( Luthiers Mercantile)
This came from a site that I regulary use for reference on stains and finishes. I made a mistake about the tung oil just a small component, but the major component of tru-oil is what it states above. You gotta love Italians I do. Have a good day.  

I have used linssed oil cut with paint thinner for years.  I dip the feather end with water based poly, and use the linseed oil mix or watco oil on the rest of the shaft.  if it starts to wear it is easy to simply wipe on more. It has been used in this form for years to protect wood canvas canoes from soaking up water.  The canoes that rot from the inside out are the ones that did have all of the wood treated on all sides with the linssed oil blend.  There are other materials that are harder, but the use of linseed oil cut with paint thinner is an excellent rot and soaking preventative for many outdoor products.