Safety
Safety drives our craft.
Beware of sharpen tools (I hope you knew that already).
If something doesn’t feel right, it’s not right.
When things look odd, don’t continue, stop and think. Protect your fingers and eyes (and other body parts).
Respect the tools and the materials. They only do what you command them to do. You’re in charge.
You don’t necessarily have to leave your planes “on the side”; they should be kept on “sole” position, on your woodwork bench (I know this is somewhat controversial, please refer to YouTube videos explaining this like this Paul Sellers video or this one or this other one both by StumpyNubs). Stop the nonsense.
Be responsible and mindful (feel the present moment).
Sharpen often and maintain your iron tools oiled.
Conker and I wish you an excellent handcraft session!
On the use of boiled linseed oil (BLO)
People don’t (usually) care about the fact that using boiled linseed oil without caring about it may cause harm and fire, especially in woodworking settings with lots of wood, if recommendations are not taken seriously.
For instance, you CANNOT take a cloth full of BLO and put it or let it near wood shavings or containers with other potentially inflammable materials. It may cause spontaneous combustion.
This is NOT a myth – it has happened a lot of times, because of of mishandling BLO altogether. So be careful.
And remember, you don’t necessarily have to make your own BLO at home – you could, but let this one go – buying on-line is surely the safest option here.
Imagine loosing all your equipment (and tonewood) just because you didn’t know how to handle BLO properly.
There’s a lot of on-line resources discussing this, for instance, this very good one by the homemade BLO lover woodworker extraordinaire Wood by Wright.
Tips:
- After use it, take the cloth, immerse it on water, wash it, and let it dry over a stone, opened, over time. It will reduce the chances of getting your place under uncontrollable fire.
- Learn about handling and using BLO altogether. You need this knowledge.