Jason, first of all remember that tru oil won't work well on exotics that don't like polyurethane and similar finishes (cocobolo, bocote, lignum vitae, padauk, etc). On most woods the first coat of tru oil penetrates the wood. So I give it a good day to dry indoors in low humidity. On subsequent coats in low humidity indoors I can usually re-coat in about 3 hours.
It is important to use 0000 steel wool on the surface between coats. Just to prevent oil on my fingers from contaminating the surface I always wear nitirle gloves.
Several coats will yield a really nice finish.
Another tip for open-grained woods that will look better/smoother with a grain fill. You can apply a ton of tru oil to the workpiece on the lathe with a cloth and then wet sand it with 600 grit wet/dry paper. Do it at very low speed and keep the paper wet with fresh tru oil. You'll see a slurry develop, and it'll harden right along with the tru oil, and it fills the grain. Always be sure to wet sand with the grain after sanding on the lathe. It will start to get tacky pretty quick too, so keep a lot of oil on the surface and wipe it off after sanding with the grain. Only do this one. The second coat should be applied conventionally with a clean cloth by hand.
Paper towels and tru oil don't get along. I use old t-shirt pieces, socks, etc.
