Galoots

I'd like to soak some wooden tools I'm making in linseed oil. I was
reading "Spons on Carpentry and Joinery" and it says:

"The wooden parts of tools, such as the stocks of planes and handles
or chisels, are often made to have a nice appearance by French
polishing; but this adds nothing to their durability. A much better
plan is to let them soak in linseed oil for a week, and rub them with
a cloth for a few minutes every day for a week or two. This produces a
beautiful surface, and at the same time exerts a solidifying and
preservative action on the wood"

Bob Flexner's book "Understanding wood finishing" says:

"You can put a straight grained piece of wood into a jar containing a
half-inch of oil finish and the finish will eventually work its way up
through the wood and come out the top. Only if the finish cures hard
in the wood, preventing further penetration, or if it hardens in the
jar, or if it evaporates will the penetration be stopped."

So I decided to try a piece of wood. I filled a jar with about 1" of
linseed oil, and put a 12" x 1" x 1/2" piece of red maple into it (so
11" were in air). Here are the results.

day 1: about 3" of penetration, and the 3" was fairly uniform over the width
day 2: about 1" more, but only in a narrow section (not uniform over the width)
day 3: the narrow section grew 1/8" in length
days 4 - 8: unchanged
day 9: the cats knocked over the jar and made a mess

The linseed oil was from a health food store, so it contained no
metallic driers, and it never hardened in the jar, but the viscosity
did seem to increase.

What am I doing wrong? Should I completely immerse the wood? Or should
some end grain be exposed to air?

Thank you for your responses in advance,
Chris