Tung oil and Sander Belts

[Jim Rodman]

I have more questions for the members.

1 - I have made some children's Christmas puzzles using BB.
I used Tung Oil as a finish so it would be non toxic.
My problem is they have been finished for more than a week
and they still have an oily smell to them.
I have put them in the freezer to see if that would talk the smell
away no luck. How to get rid of the odder.
Any suggestions .

2 - I have a Delta 350 saw, a fiend gave me a Scroll Sander Belt to try.
I am having trouble getting the plastic end to hole in the blade clamp.
The top clamp will hold OK, I have to file a notch in the bottom plastic
to fit around the adjuster bolt so that it will clamp up. What a pain.
Are there some on the market that would have different shaped end.
Or are there add on clamps.
Any suggestions

Jim form Ontario

[Rivari]

Jim,

I don't have an answer to your first question but there are some really sharp folks in the finishing arena that will chime in I'm sure.

As for your second question...I've never heard of a sanding belt for a scroll saw. What does it look like?

You got my curiosity going....

[workin for wood]

I've never used one of those sanders, just seen them in magazines. Just going off memory, but I thought it said for pin end scroll saws only.

[Trout]

is this what your talking about in #2...

they don't work to good in my Craftsman eather...

the sanding file works a little better...


Trout
I should be in the shop..

[PeteB]

Just a thought on getting out the smell. How about putting them in the oven to see if that would speed evaporation? I'd start with ONE as a test.

Real tung oil is notoriously slow-curing. Another thing I'd try is washing with mineral spirits and applying a coat of fast-drying wiping varnish ("tung" or "Danish"). Again, I would test.

Pete

[sawdustus]

Jim,

Pete is correct in saying that pure Tung Oil is very slow curing and that you may be able to remove it with mineral spirits. I am not sure that I would want to stink up the house be heating the pieces in the oven. If you have wiped them with mineral spirits (highly flammable) please don't put them in the oven especially if it is gas fired. Pure Tung Oil does not provide decent protection against abrasion and takes 5 or 6 coats, each allowed to dry for several days, before it even begins to look nice. The polymerized versions are expensive, are generally called Tung Oil Finishes, but work better if built up. I would not use either of them, especially for kids toys which take a lot of abuse. Unfortunately, you may have to scrap the puzzles and start again with a different finish.

My preferred finishes for kids toys are a sealing coat of dewaxed shellac followed by two thinned coats of varnish. When fully cured, they are both non-toxic.

[utbva]

Jim

I have some like Trout shows in his post. They would not fit in my Dremel Saw with the pins on them, so I clipped the pins off and they would just fit in the jaws of my blade holder with a tight fit. I had to be careful not to tighten the screws too much or they would pinch right through the plastic. Also I had to reduce the tension on the arms. I was able to get it to work fairly well. I hope this helps.

[Mick Walker]

Jim, very simple to make your own scroll saw sanders. Cut a strip of emery cloth your choice of grit 1/2" wide and 5" long. Fold it in half lengthwise and you have a 1/4" sanding strip that you just clamp into your blade holders. You can make them any width you want.

[utbva]

Doing what Mick says will roughen up the clamps in the bladeholders so they should make it so the blades will not slip like I've seen in some of the threads in this forum.

[ChuckD]

Have you ever tried to cut emery boards to size and use them? You will be surprised