Care for hand tools in unheated garage shop

[Marc Miller]

I'm new here and generally new to woodworking. First, many thanks for a wonderful forum and a great resource. I've already learned a ton here by reading posts and such. Looking forward to joining this fine community.

I'm working on setting up a shop in my detached garage. I live in NJ and it's unheated/uninsulated. I want to set up a shop without power tools so that's not a concern, but I am worried about how to care for my hand tools. What do you recommend in terms of preventing rust and such? Temperatures here are 80s-90s in the summer with moderate to quite a bit of humidity and 20s-30s in the winter with low to moderate humidity. Should I just plan on taking my tools inside when I'm not using them or is there some good reasonable way to prevent this kind of thing.

Also, any other general suggestions about dealing with an outdoor garage shop like this would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

[Jim Koepke]

Howdy Marc,

And welcome to the Creek. I live all the way across the country from you, but likely in an area that is just as humid though not as warm in the summer.

My garage is also unheated, unattached and uninsulated. So far after close to two years there hasn't been much problem with rust. At most, tools are dried with a towel when a plane blade or chisel is sharpened. I also rub my planes fairly often with a rag coated with a furniture finish that is some kind of oil and wax mixture.

If you look in the 'Sticky' near the top of the Neanderthal Haven forum titled Neanderthal wisdom/FAQs there are a few posts by Bob Smalser about rust proofing tools. I haven't tried the blueing method on many tools yet, just a couple of screwdrivers so far. If I did more outside work, maybe it would be considered.

It seems to rain daily around here most of the time. I do keep an eye on the tools. Just keep them away from things that retain water like old newspapers and such.

jim

[Andrew Gibson]

I live in Florida I would say the winter lows hardly ever go below 45* the highs are already starting to touch the 90* mark and the humidity seems to never drop below 80/90%. That being said I have never known a shop that was climate controlled, and right now my shop is half outside (we will cal it a collapsible shop) I find that a quick wipe down of paste wax keeps the rust at bay.

There seems to have been a fair amount of discussion on this general subject recently and many like different products. The reason I like the paste wax is it is fairly inexpensive, I use it as a finish on some projects, it's easy to apply, I can put it on metal and wood without worry, and it does seem to help on things like saw blades and plane soles when in use.

A rag soaked in some form of oil however does sound more convenient for quickly wiping down a chisel after use.

[Frank Drew]

A ceiling fan has been recommended by some to keep the moisture moving rather than settling on the metal surfaces; also, isolation, and that can be keeping tools in drawers or cabinets, covering stationary tools with something (plastic sheet; piece of cardboard; whatever) to keep the moist air off, or any oil or wax or proprietary product designed for the purpose.

Ideally, you'd seal the place up a bit and run an air conditioner in the summer and heat in the winter, but I can understand if that's not an option at the moment. The ceiling fan wouldn't be a big deal to do, though.

[Matt Benton]

An enclosed tool cabinet with one of these:

http://www.goldenroddehumidifiers.com/

[Dominic Greco]

An enclosed tool cabinet with one of these:

http://www.goldenroddehumidifiers.com/

+1 on the Goldenrod. I put one in my tool cabinet and it pretty much eliminated any surface rust issues caused by condensation. Wiping the tools down before putting them away helped also.

[Karl Andersson]

Marc, I am new to the forum as well and live close to you in the mid-Atlantic area. I have a lot of experience with fighting rust in my detached shed.

Oiling and waxing tools seem to work to keep surface rust at bay and also keep your skin oils/ sweat from etching or rusting the metal. Blade edges and plane soles can't keep these protectants on long if used, though, and I don't always have time to wipe everything down after using. I use these but also set up my shop to keep water off the tools (using the same concepts as house insulation).

In an unheated room, the most rust seems to happen in spring and fall. Tools get cold at night, and if they're exposed to warm, moist air during the day, they get condensation on them like a cold ...soda can. This won't happen as much if there is a transitional buffer of medium-temperature air -so I keep my tools in closed wood boxes and cabinets. This also keeps shop dust off them, which in the warmer months will absorb moisture from humid air and "stick" the water against your tools. It keeps off airborne mists also -on really bad August days, I can have beads of dew all over the inside of the shop, but inside their boxes the tools are dry.

I also keep my tool storage away from direct sunlight - the bigger the temperature difference, the greater the condensation risk. If you take a closed toolbox from a cold shed into the sunlight and leave it there, the whole inside (and tools) will likely sweat unless it is airtight.

If you're not doing outdoor carpentry in the rain, you shouldn't have much rust on the tools you use regularly, as you'll dry and clean them through use- it's the special-purpose ones that are used only occasionally that seem to need the most attention. In storage, keep shavings out of planes, don't rest chisel blades on anything..that's about all I have.

Later,
Karl

[paul cottingham]

An enclosed tool cabinet with one of these:

http://www.goldenroddehumidifiers.com/

+1 on the goldenrod

[Johnny Kleso]

Buy a Gallon of WD-40 at Lowes or HD..
Last one I bought was less than $10.00 and wipe down your tools everytime you use them..
Just use a clean rag to wipe them down before use..

They best way to stop them from rusting is to use them often..

I have a webpage on rust here
http://www.rexmill.com/planes101/rust/rust.htm

[Adam Cherubini]

Marc,

My advice is to make some sort of enclosed storage box for your tool. A traditional hand tool chest or a modern variation based ona machinists chest might be a fun project. I think the single best thing you can do to prevent dust is buy a vacuum cleaner with a good filter and keep your shop clean and not too dusty.

Dust absorbs water and holds it on your tools. I would also avoid any oilly films which attract dust, including saw dust. A paste wax my be a better solution for you. Wipe down tools when you put them away, and ensure you don't leave plane shavings in planes' throats.

Adam

[Jim Koepke]

Karl said something about dust that reminded me of a potential problem.

A plane can pick up a sticky coat of wood resins and dust at the edge of the blade and the chip breaker. Over time, this can absorb moisture that can damage both the blade and the chip breaker. Also wood dust can collect under the blade and around the frog. Planes should be taken apart and cleaned out with a paint brush regularly. Disassemble the blade and chip breaker and remove the "wood scum" from this area.

jim

[Doug Shepard]

Also in a uninsulated and unheated (except for space heaters which just keep the wolves at bay) garage. I keep most all of my planes in plane socks, inside the original box, and inside storage cabinets, and use a bit of wax on them as well. I tend to keep just a few in the garage all the time (LN LA Jack and LN Block planes) and keep the rest in the basement (also in socks/box) unless I'm using them for a particular project then they might spend a couple weeks in the garage until I'm done. Most of my chisels are either in drawers or leather chisel rolls. I really haven't had any issues with the hand tools and corrosion but do need to keep after the cast iron surfaces on the power tools pretty religiously.

[Johnny Kleso]

Let me add instead of buying a GoldenRod you can use a 100W light bulb which would be on 24/7

This is what we used for a welding rod cabinet in a few places I worked..
If the rod coating picks up moisture it makes welding with them a bear..

Heat rised so place light at bottom.. Several smaller lights would also work..

[Ken Barton]

You can use shotgun sacks as plane socks. I bought a couple at a sporting goods store, about $6 a piece, cut them to length, sew the ends and instant plane sock. They are made out of the same material and work well for my planes.

Also in a uninsulated and unheated (except for space heaters which just keep the wolves at bay) garage. I keep most all of my planes in plane socks, inside the original box, and inside storage cabinets, and use a bit of wax on them as well. I tend to keep just a few in the garage all the time (LN LA Jack and LN Block planes) and keep the rest in the basement (also in socks/box) unless I'm using them for a particular project then they might spend a couple weeks in the garage until I'm done. Most of my chisels are either in drawers or leather chisel rolls. I really haven't had any issues with the hand tools and corrosion but do need to keep after the cast iron surfaces on the power tools pretty religiously.

[Marc Miller]

Thanks all for the great responses. As usual, this forum is a wealth of information. I predict a tool chest project at some point in the future...