What is best to apply to wooden shovel and rake handles that stay outside all year? I just leave the extra tools in the mulch pile and they are always there when I need them but the weather takes it`s toll. I tried boiled linseed oil two weeks ago and it still isn`t dry. The best thing i`ve found so far is used motor oil. Thanks for any advice
What he said. Weather is the worst enemy. Freeze/thaw/UV sun rays. You can do everything you want to handles, and if you leave them out in the weather,24/7, you are wasting your time. At least put them in the shade. After that, boiled linseed oil, motor oil, and other things will help, but the weather is the biggest factor.
I get _so_ peeved at the missus who leaves stuff out... :( Nothing worse than to go get the hoe or a rake or whatever and the handle is rough as a cob... :(
BTDT, as I have described on here several times before. I could not get my mother and grandmother to put their toys away after playing in the garden, and the wood handles lasted 18-24 months tops. Finally said the hell with it (when I started getting a little cashflow), and as each new handle-break occurred, I replaced the tool with commercial-grade glass handle ones. Changing shovel handles is a tedious pain in the ass, and as cheap as the shovels are now (pretty much all made in China), it just ain't worth screwing with, IMHO. I only have so many years left, etc. Besides, you gotta find an old-timey country HW store to even FIND loose handles any more. None of the big-boxes near here carries them.
Herb, use the boiled linseed oil. Mix it about 3 parts paint thinner and 1 part BLO. Clean off what you have already applied with straight thinner to get rid of any sticky undried stuff. Apply a soaking of the new mix - a rag works well, but wear gloves unless you don't mind the smell of BLO. Next day, wipe off anything that is not dry with a clean cloth. Apply another flood coat, wipe off anything not dry the next day. Repeat, repeat, repeat.
One of the old axioms was:
Once an hour for a day Once a day for a week Once a week for a month Once a month for a year Once a year for life.
I've only got so many days/weeks/months/years left in my life, and a lot of more interesting and useful things to do. I'll stick with fiberglas handles, at least for any tools that get used outside.
I think you need to leave that last line off if the handles are going to be outside 24/7. The above gives a great finish to well cared for tools. But this will work better for the abuse the OPs tools are being put through;
Fiberglass handle- once until the head wears out. Done.
I feel the OP's pain- and have fiberglass on many of my tools now.
First, if shovels and rakes are kept outside *all year*, that would logically imply one of the following:
1) a climate that temperate or moderate year-round (ie - no winter). Because if you want your tools outside all year, it's because you do some work with them all year - right? Because if you lived where you have a real winter (snow, cold, etc) you'd put your tools away in a shed or garage, right?
2) you want your tools outside because you work with them relatively frequently. When you work with tools on a frequent basis, they tend not to suffer too much from weathering, the effects of sun, rain, humidity, etc, even when kept outside.
If you don't work with the tools that frequently, one would think it would be no skin off your back to put them in a shed when not in use.
And as well -> what good is the suggestion to spend all these hours rubbing linseed oil on these handles when that would take more effort to keep the tools out of the weather in the first place? What takes more effort or cost?
Do you really think that someone lazy or disinterested enough to keep these tools outside year-round would have enough motivation to break out the boiled linseed oil?
As for fiberglass handles, you'll pay more for tools with a fiberglass vs wood handle, and you'll pay more for just a fiberglass handle to retro-fit a wood handle vs just buying a new tool already with fiberglass handle. I've never seen a rake with a fiberglass handle anyways.
Lastly, I have some shovels and rakes with wood handles that are 10 to
15 years old, with various histories of being left outside for various time-frames here in the great-lakes area. I see absolutely no indication of weather-related deterioration of the handles / shafts.
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