Boiled linseed oil is made from flax seeds. Its a drying oil. Over time the polymers cross link. Hence its use as the binder for paints and varnishes. Not a mineral oil.
Yeah, I was reading instructions before doing this that the paint thinner was needed not only to thin out the linseed, but to keep it from dissipating too quickly. Don't know much about polymer cross linking or anything like that. But I do know that it worked whatever it did. I'm going to keep an eye on it to see how it lasts. Most curious when I get it running and it's exposes to heat and other environmental things.