Lard Oil

[Video_man]

You are using turpentine!!!!!! I would NEVER EVER use that. It is just full of oxygen,and is really BAD to cause arthritis in your hands. Our paint department in Williamsburg discontinued its use years ago due to the health issues. I would not want to get it on my lathe,either. I don't know how it acts mixed with lard,but it can dry to a gummy mess as it turns into terpene resin from exposure to the air.

Now,there's the real stuff,which should be labeled "From the living pine" on the can. Then,there's the CRUD they distill out of ground up tree stumps. It does not smell like the real stuff. Who knows what its effects might be on the hands,or on metal. I don't even know if you can get the real stuff anymore,unless you buy it from an artist's supply,and pay big bucks for a little bottle.

Thanks for the warning, George, that's interesting information. Must say, it does the job on yellow metals, and since I just dab some on with a brush, there's not a lot of contact. Two parts lard oil, one part turpentine, so the amount is miniscule.:huh: PS: tapping brass it works a treat. Or lard oil mixed with beeswax, as I mentioned before. I have a half-dozen tapping fluids and by comparison, none of them is (in the words of a poster on another forum) worth warm spit.....I've tapped alloy steel with lard oil and mineral spirits where I broke taps with ---never mind the brand, but it's a common tapping fluid. And it's not Free for Tapping if you get my drift.