: As far as smell goes, there is modern commercial turpentine and then there is
: old fashion pure tree sap turpentine. The later smells like a pine forest,
: quite nice. The former smells absolutely disgusting! I can't tell you a
: brand that is good, but it seems like most of what is at the hardware
: store these days is the disgusting stuff. I use the turps my wife uses in
: her oil paintings. This is very high grade stuff and expensive. I'd try a
: paint supply store and definitely smell it before you buy.

Yes, I find the once a week/month/year adage is pretty close to the truth. Eventually you can oil the paddles only every year or so, more for appearance than anything else.

Ace hardware carries "Pure Gum Turpentine", which is the good stuff. Keep in mind that although it does smell good and is a "natural" product, the fumes are said to be quite harmful. For oiling, my first coat is an equal mix of boiled linseed oil, linseed oil varnish (Zspar -- optional - I sometimes use it for just the very first coat to act as a sealer), and gum turpentine. Let the first coat soak in overnight. For subsequent oilings I use 50/50 oil and turps and gradually reduce the amount of turps until finally only oil is used. After the first coat, the oil must be removed before it dries or it can turn into a gummy mess. There are numerous other recipes and the exactness of the proportions is not very critical.

I find oiling the paddles to be a pleasant task. Be warned that many boiled linseed oils contain toxic heavy metal driers and you should not rub in the oil with your bare hand. I use a naturally polymerized linseed oil (from woodcraft) that doesn't require this precaution, but is rather expensive.

Greg Stamer