Buy a couple of throw blankets at Walmart/Kmart and drape them over your cast iron tool tops. This will prevent the condensation of the high humidity from forming on the table tops.
Member
Buy a couple of throw blankets at Walmart/Kmart and drape them over your cast iron tool tops. This will prevent the condensation of the high humidity from forming on the table tops.
Howie.........
Member
Originally Posted by Myk Rian
That's what I was thinking. Believe me, that stuff can create havoc. I bought a plastic shed to store anything acidic out of the garage.
[OP]
Member
No, nothing acidic. It has been so damp here this season. I have had the shop for 2 1/2 years and thisnis the first time I have had trouble with rust.
Member
The problem lies with the equipment cooling overnight and the warm moist air of day contacting the cool surface of the equipment.
If you set your heater to come on at night when it is getting cold you will avoid the rust problem to a great degree.
Dehumidifying makes sense but as others point out it is a bit wasteful when you throw the doors open during the day. On the other hand the dehumidifier generates hot dry air and my be all you need t5 avoid your troubles.
Member
My dad was a tool and die maker for 42 years and now retired working with me in the wood shop.
He has always used Camphor in his tool boxes. You can by Camphor at most drug stores and it will work great.
You just tear off a corner of the package and set it in the toolbox.
This is much easier than putting wax on everything.
Good Luck..I am in Saginaw, MI and yes we have had a really wet spring here.
Toby
Member
A dehumidifier will work wonders if you can keep the garage doors closed.
Member
Anthony, I agree w/ Henry. I live in NE WI and have had great results running a dehumidifier. It runs full time, but it keeps our insulated 36 X 40 shop at 36-42% RH. Once you get the shop dried out, there is a sort of "dry bank" and it takes a lot of time for everything to absorb the moisture again. So, just opening some doors will not have any more than a temporary effect on the RH. The shop stays so cool that we haven't had the need for an air conditioner yet.
Mark
Member
+1 for Johnsons furniture paste wax it works great, maybe once a month if you use your saw a lot.
Contributor
Here in Oregon, dew formation is a major problem in older garages. Boeshield has been the best prevention product but it is not enough by itself. While towels and/or expensive magnetic tool covers work you can also use cardboard. Cut a large box to sit on your table surfaces (flush with no air gap). The dew will form on the top of the cardboard and not your table. As for the bits and blades, put everything back into drawers or lower the saw blade into the cabinet. This is a good safety practice and it will prevent rust.
For hand planes, etc. that are exposed (plane till, etc.) I've had -some- success with plane socks and oil (Lie Nielsen sells the stuff). However, it's still best to have them inside a cabinet.
Member
I have worked in the tropics trying to keep computers and cameras alive, and clothes from not growing mushrooms. Basically there are two classic solutions to the problem of keeping things dry: Air conditioning and heating. For stuff like computers that don't particularly care to get hot we would set aside a room that was well sealed and had air conditioning. (sometimes on hot days it was necessary to think of reasons why you needed to be in the computer room. . . ). For everything else we had a hot room. This was a room with a lot of ventilation, usually with a slat door, and often with slat walls. Inside we had a bunch of incandescent light bulbs that raised the room temperature about 15 degrees. That was enough to dry things out. The room was very unpleasant to go into, but things were dry, and did not rust. I think you could easily make a "hot cabinet" to store your tools by making a cabinet with one or two 60 incandescent bulbs in it, and vents at the top and bottom.
One other small item solution: You can get gallon cans of silica gel. Put small amounts, (say a cup) into a perforated can, or what I used to do: sew it into a small pillow of muslin. This bag will absorb a huge amount of moisture, so keep it with your tools in a sealed container. Every once in a while throw it in the oven to drive out the moisture and re-charge it. In my research we always had drying ovens going so I would keep one bag in the oven, the other in the container, and just switch them every couple of days.
Member
Great tip, will have to give this a try in my tool boxes.
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