On 13 Jun 2005 16:20:04 -0700, wrote:

is linseed oil not better?

No it's terrible. It;s hard to apply without leaving stickiness behind,
it yellows like crazy (why most finishing oils are based on tung, not
linseed) and it has poor weather resistance unless you use the right
sort of dried (aka boiled) oil - which is no longer clear.