Boiled Linseed Oil Drying Time

[dkeller_nc]

Randy - I think many of us use BLO instead of a modern finish because modern finishes weren't available when the furniture we make was in-style, not because BLO isn't markedly inferior to the performance of these modern finishes.  An example is a two-part conversion varnish.  I've used this to finish "modern" bar tops, dining tables and many other articles that aren't "of the period".

But I wouldn't even consider using conversion varnish on an 18th century reproduction, for the same reason that I remove all evidence of power tools (if any were used) in the construction of such a piece.  To me, that utterly uniform, very hard, and perfectly flat satin finish simply looks wrong.