Cob: Cob failure problems

[jenniferponder at earthlink.net]

Shannon is correct.  If your friend is 
purchasing linseed oil meant to be used as artist oil, it is VERY 
toxic--unfortunately I no longer have the information on the contents.  I 
know I used to.  Sorry.  Something to note is that artists' supplies 
are not required by law to list any or all ingredients.  The only 
regulations that exist are those regarding the claim of a product being 
"non-toxic".  The manufacturer still doesn't have to list ingredients, but 
does have to fulfill a min. standard which changes depending on who 
certifies...AP non-toxic is one and there is also another regulating agency but 
the abbreviation escapes me at the moment.

 

What I can tell you is that from working with 
oils, I always thought that linseed oil made me sick.  It was the chemical 
"enhancers."  In my "Materials and Techniques of Painting" book, linseed 
preparations are discussed from the traditional homemade methods.  It still 
incorporates toxic ingredients to obtain the desired effects such as thickening 
the oil with lead.

 

I mentioned before that Bioshield made some good 
paints.  They also make a Hard oil seal which is mainly linseed oil w/o 
added ingredients.  However some of their products make me sick--those 
containing tung oil. (Not because tung oil is particullarly toxic--just 
that I'm sensitive to many things.) Plus, well there's the $$$ issue--it's not 
cheap and shouldn't be the source for large applications.  I do not have 
another source right now for additive free linseed oil.  If I were you, I 
would suggest looking for a food grade oil buy it in quanties and then process 
it yourself.  I would have to be more knowledgable before I could advise 
you how to do this.

 

My book says that linseed oil is the "most 
thorough-drying and durable of the natural drying oils.  It becomes 
touch-dry in three to five days.  Painters get the best result from 
alkali-refined linseed oil, which is crystal clear and has a pale to golden 
yellow color.....the thorough drying of linseed oil is a distinct advantage, as 
it reduces the likelihood of cracking later in the painting's 
life."

 

This book I have is by Jonathan Stephenson and is 
the best book for info on...well, what the title says..."The Materials and 
Techniques of Painting."

 

Jennifer


----- Original Message ----- 

From: Shannon C. Dealy  


To: coblist at deatech.com ;Laura Guldin 

Sent: 8/29/02 2:21:23 PM 

Subject: Re: Cob: Cob failure 
problems





On Thu, 29 Aug 2002, Laura Guldin wrote:

 

  Hi,

  A friend of mine was very disturbed by the toxicity of

  linseed oil. It really smelled.

  Nobody else is talking about this.

  Is hemp oil better? Or what else.

 

I would venture to guess that the problem your friend had was not with 
the

linseed oil, but with the thinners used in it.  There are some 
thinners

which are far less toxic than others, though I am not sure what is

available as far as commercial preparations of linseed oil with thinner 
in

it.

 

NOTE: Pure linseed oil is edible, many people use it in salads, etc., 
and

it is available at your local health food store, though in this form it 
is

probably not suitable for making floors.

 

  Also, the floor is pretty soft. When you drop a heavy

  object, it makes an impression on the floor. Things

  don't break, that's the good part.

  Any ideas for hardening the floor beyond beeswax

 

Done properly, it shouldn't dent unless you drop something pretty

serious (which would dent any other floor as well), it should be able 
to

take high heels, piano's, etc. without damage.  Some things that 
make a

difference include:

 

1 - Prep work, was the earth and gravel below the floor thoroughly

    compacted before starting the floor.

 

2 - Is the floor thick enough?  It is normally done in several 
layers,

    if it's not thick enough it is likely to have more 
problems handling

    point loads and impacts.

 

3 - Your cob mixes for the top layers should be a very high sand mix, 
sand

    is pretty incompressible and makes it much more 
resistant to point

    loads and impacts.

 

4 - Linseed oil treatments, it takes many coatings of linseed oil, 
mixed

    with progressively greater amounts of thinner, and 
it needs time to

    dry/harden.  So far as I know, the 
beeswax doesn't help with

    hardening, it just provides a final seal/finish 
once the linseed oil

    has dried.

 

It's been several years since I last worked on a floor, maybe someone 
else

on the list has more recent information or a better memory.

 

Shannon C. 
Dealy      |               
DeaTech Research Inc.

dealy at deatech.com      
|          - Custom Software 
Development -

                      |    Embedded 
Systems, Real-time, Device Drivers

Phone: (800) 467-5820 | Networking, Scientific   Engineering 
Applications

   or: (541) 451-5177 
|                  www.deatech.com 

 

 
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<DIV><FONT face=Verdana size=2>Shannon is correct.  If your friend is purchasing linseed oil meant to be used as artist oil, it is VERY toxic--unfortunately I no longer have the information on the contents.  I know I used to.  Sorry.  Something to note is that artists' supplies are not required by law to list any or all ingredients.  The only regulations that exist are those regarding the claim of a product being "non-toxic".  The manufacturer still doesn't have to list ingredients, but does have to fulfill a min. standard which changes depending on who certifies...AP non-toxic is one and there is also another regulating agency but the abbreviation escapes me at the moment.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Verdana size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Verdana size=2>What I can tell you is that from working with oils, I always thought that linseed oil made me sick.  It was the chemical "enhancers."  In my "Materials and Techniques of Painting" book, linseed preparations are discussed from the traditional homemade methods.  It still incorporates toxic ingredients to obtain the desired effects such as thickening the oil with lead.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Verdana size=2>I mentioned before that Bioshield made some good paints.  They also make a Hard oil seal which is mainly linseed oil w/o added ingredients.  However some of their products make me sick--those containing tung oil. (Not because tung oil is particullarly toxic--just that I'm sensitive to many things.) Plus, well there's the $$$ issue--it's not cheap and shouldn't be the source for large applications.  I do not have another source right now for additive free linseed oil.  If I were you, I would suggest looking for a food grade oil buy it in quanties and then process it yourself.  I would have to be more knowledgable before I could advise you how to do this.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Verdana size=2>My book says that linseed oil is the "most thorough-drying and durable of the natural drying oils.  It becomes touch-dry in three to five days.  Painters get the best result from alkali-refined linseed oil, which is crystal clear and has a pale to golden yellow color.....the thorough drying of linseed oil is a distinct advantage, as it reduces the likelihood of cracking later in the painting's life."</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Verdana size=2>This book I have is by Jonathan Stephenson and is the best book for info on...well, what the title says..."The Materials and Techniques of Painting."</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Verdana size=2>Jennifer</FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt Arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A href="mailto:dealy at deatech.com" title=dealy at deatech.com>Shannon C. Dealy</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To: </B><A href="mailto:dealy at deatech.com" title=dealy at deatech.com>coblist at deatech.com</A>;<A href="mailto:dealy at deatech.com" title=dealy at deatech.com>Laura Guldin</A></DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> 8/29/02 2:21:23 PM </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: Cob: Cob failure problems</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV><FONT size=2>
<P>
<DIV>On Thu, 29 Aug 2002, Laura Guldin wrote:</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>> Hi,</DIV>
<DIV>> A friend of mine was very disturbed by the toxicity of</DIV>
<DIV>> linseed oil. It really smelled.</DIV>
<DIV>> Nobody else is talking about this.</DIV>
<DIV>> Is hemp oil better? Or what else.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I would venture to guess that the problem your friend had was not with the</DIV>
<DIV>linseed oil, but with the thinners used in it.  There are some thinners</DIV>
<DIV>which are far less toxic than others, though I am not sure what is</DIV>
<DIV>available as far as commercial preparations of linseed oil with thinner in</DIV>
<DIV>it.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>NOTE: Pure linseed oil is edible, many people use it in salads, etc., and</DIV>
<DIV>it is available at your local health food store, though in this form it is</DIV>
<DIV>probably not suitable for making floors.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>> Also, the floor is pretty soft. When you drop a heavy</DIV>
<DIV>> object, it makes an impression on the floor. Things</DIV>
<DIV>> don't break, that's the good part.</DIV>
<DIV>> Any ideas for hardening the floor beyond beeswax</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Done properly, it shouldn't dent unless you drop something pretty</DIV>
<DIV>serious (which would dent any other floor as well), it should be able to</DIV>
<DIV>take high heels, piano's, etc. without damage.  Some things that make a</DIV>
<DIV>difference include:</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>1 - Prep work, was the earth and gravel below the floor thoroughly</DIV>
<DIV>    compacted before starting the floor.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>2 - Is the floor thick enough?  It is normally done in several layers,</DIV>
<DIV>    if it's not thick enough it is likely to have more problems handling</DIV>
<DIV>    point loads and impacts.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>3 - Your cob mixes for the top layers should be a very high sand mix, sand</DIV>
<DIV>    is pretty incompressible and makes it much more resistant to point</DIV>
<DIV>    loads and impacts.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>4 - Linseed oil treatments, it takes many coatings of linseed oil, mixed</DIV>
<DIV>    with progressively greater amounts of thinner, and it needs time to</DIV>
<DIV>    dry/harden.  So far as I know, the beeswax doesn't help with</DIV>
<DIV>    hardening, it just provides a final seal/finish once the linseed oil</DIV>
<DIV>    has dried.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>It's been several years since I last worked on a floor, maybe someone else</DIV>
<DIV>on the list has more recent information or a better memory.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Shannon C. Dealy      |               DeaTech Research Inc.</DIV>
<DIV><A href="mailto:dealy at deatech.com">dealy at deatech.com</A>     |          - Custom Software Development -</DIV>
<DIV>                      |    Embedded Systems, Real-time, Device Drivers</DIV>
<DIV>Phone: (800) 467-5820 | Networking, Scientific & Engineering Applications</DIV>
<DIV>   or: (541) 451-5177 |                  <A href="http://www.deatech.com">www.deatech.com</A></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
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