Longer term tool storage suggestions

[David Wadstrup]

Hello,

I'm hoping some of you will be able to offer some advice on how best to pack, store, and protect my tools from rust while in storage.

I have a considerable collection of handtools and will soon be moving. Most of them will likely remain boxed up and in storage for an unknown length of time. It could be a few months, but it could also be over a year. I currently live in NYC without any kind of climate control beyond wintertime heat and have never had any kind of problem with rust. All I've had to do is wipe them down with a dry(occasionally oily) rag after use and put them away in their wooden cabinet to keep them rust free. Rust, in other words, is something I've fortunately not had to think too much about.

My destination is coastal Maine, where I expect to experience a similar climate and conditions to NYC(although colder) -- significant humidity in the summer and geographically within a couple of miles of the ocean. It's leaving them wrapped up in storage that worries me. Especially given that they'll likely be stored in a storage facility that is not climate controlled in any way(including heat.) I've heard that wrapping steel and iron tools in paper and in cardboard poses some risks -- that the paper constantly loses and gains moisture(like wood) and that it is, in effect, like wrapping my tools in a wet blanket. Am I correct in this understanding? I'd like to avoid using plastic as a wrap unless it's absolutely necessary, and I'd prefer a natural, non-toxic rust preventative unless something else is absolutely necessary. I have been thinking that I'd thoroughly wax every tool, buff it out, then wipe them all down with a rag soaked in camellia oil. I'd then wrap them in paper(I've also considered wrapping them each in that special rust inhibiting paper if people think it's worth the trouble and cost) and pack them away in cardboard boxes.

What would you do? I really, REALLY don't want to open up dozens of planes and saws and chisels in a year and a half and discover that they've all gone rusty. For those of you who have stored tools for long periods of time in sheds without heat in cold climates, what has and hasn't worked for you? Do you recommend that rust inhibiting paper? Is a nice natural paste was and oil sufficient? Is something else better? Would they be better wrapper in paper and then stored in plastic bins? I'm open to ALL suggestions!

Thanks in advance for the advice!

[Tom M King]

I have around 140 of these toolboxes now. They're air, and water tight. They come in 23", and this 28" sizes. The same boxes are sold under Stanley, Bostitch, Dewalt, and maybe even something else that I'm not remembering. I buy mine when I've found them on sale. I have something like 120 of them in cubbies, so they can be individually accessed.

Anyway, I don't do any kind of rustproofing, other than have some silica gel cannisters in the ones that matter. We do so many different things, that it might be years between uses of some tools. Not only are they in fine shape whenever I open a box, but we can throw a bunch of them in the back of the truck, and not worry whether it rains or not.

Before I starting buying as many as I could find, I bought one, and tested it against a pressure washer. It didn't leak a drop. I think that was in 2012.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/CRAFTSMAN-P...Box/1000578413

You can find the 28" size also available with wheels on one end, and an extendable handle in Home Depot. I think they have the Dewalt brand on them. I keep heavy stuff on the bottom row of the cubbies, like stone work tools, pulling, etc.

Picture shows them in a house I was flipping in 2012, when I first started building the cubbies. Since then, I've bought a small vinyl cutter to make nice labels for them, but have been too busy to even take it out of the box.
Don't overstuff them, and expect the latches to pull it down. You may pull a latch off the box. Load them correctly, so the top closes all the way down on the seal, and it still takes a good bump with a fist to close the latches. They aren't hard to operate once you get used to them, and many of mine have been opened, and closed hundreds of times.

edited to add: Ace hardware, Tractor Supply, and Lowes often have them on sale. Walmart used to keep them in stores, but they can sometimes be ordered through them on sale. When I first started buying them, Walmart sold the 23" for 20 bucks, and the 28" for 25. I've not had a single one to fail yet, and we use some of them every day.

[Thomas Wilson]

I stored my tools for what turned out to be three years. I chose a climate controlled storage unit. Tools were wiped with an oily rag and wrapped in packing paper in cardboard boxes. No rust issues.

VCI paper does work for a time. It produces a corrosion inhibiting vapor that eventually evaporates away. It can be extended for very long storage using plastic bags.

You might want to put a max min thermometer/hygrometer in the storage unit to tell if you have conditions that might promote rust.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...CPMNRL3Z&psc=1

[Steve Boring]

I just went through a similar tool storage problem. There were lots of good suggestions in this thread:
https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread....794&highlight=

I ended up wiping everything with jojoba oil, then put the tools in VCI bags (available on Amazon). I put those bags, some zerust tabs, and some desiccant in a Plano storage box. The storage box needed some weatherstripping to really seal.

My stuff will be in storage for a few years so it’s too soon to know if these steps were enough, but it felt like overkill when I was packing everything up.

Good luck!

[steven c newman]

Uncle Sam used to pack things up in Cosmoline.....

[Lamar Keeney]

I stored a large portion of my hand tools (Key word large at the time) in a none climate controlled environment in coastal NC for five years. All wooden handles I removed and wiped with mineral oil. All metal parts took apart and wiped down with 30w none detergent motor oil and wrapped most with wax paper. Will admit cleaning was a PITA but I had no issues with rust.

[David Wadstrup]

Thanks for all the replies so far. And thanks, Steve B., for sharing the link to the previous thread. I kind of feel like an idiot for not coming across this before. Especially since all this was discussed hardly 2 months ago.

[Christopher L Everett]

I recently had the pleasure of looking at the contents of a English-style tool chest that had been dropped off on someone’s porch in 1917 and sat unopened since.

The point is, that the contents were rust free, after sitting all that time. As far as I could tell, nothing special had been done beyond wiping with an oil rag, and keeping the chest closed and indoors.

[Curt Putnam]

As usual, I will recommend Corrosion-X HD. The stuff is designed to protect steel in saltwater. It has protected my fishing gear and tools for over 20 years now. Nothing I have ever wiped down with it has ever rusted.

[john zulu]

Hello,

I'm hoping some of you will be able to offer some advice on how best to pack, store, and protect my tools from rust while in storage.

I have a considerable collection of handtools and will soon be moving. Most of them will likely remain boxed up and in storage for an unknown length of time. It could be a few months, but it could also be over a year. I currently live in NYC without any kind of climate control beyond wintertime heat and have never had any kind of problem with rust. All I've had to do is wipe them down with a dry(occasionally oily) rag after use and put them away in their wooden cabinet to keep them rust free. Rust, in other words, is something I've fortunately not had to think too much about.

My destination is coastal Maine, where I expect to experience a similar climate and conditions to NYC(although colder) -- significant humidity in the summer and geographically within a couple of miles of the ocean. It's leaving them wrapped up in storage that worries me. Especially given that they'll likely be stored in a storage facility that is not climate controlled in any way(including heat.) I've heard that wrapping steel and iron tools in paper and in cardboard poses some risks -- that the paper constantly loses and gains moisture(like wood) and that it is, in effect, like wrapping my tools in a wet blanket. Am I correct in this understanding? I'd like to avoid using plastic as a wrap unless it's absolutely necessary, and I'd prefer a natural, non-toxic rust preventative unless something else is absolutely necessary. I have been thinking that I'd thoroughly wax every tool, buff it out, then wipe them all down with a rag soaked in camellia oil. I'd then wrap them in paper(I've also considered wrapping them each in that special rust inhibiting paper if people think it's worth the trouble and cost) and pack them away in cardboard boxes.

What would you do? I really, REALLY don't want to open up dozens of planes and saws and chisels in a year and a half and discover that they've all gone rusty. For those of you who have stored tools for long periods of time in sheds without heat in cold climates, what has and hasn't worked for you? Do you recommend that rust inhibiting paper? Is a nice natural paste was and oil sufficient? Is something else better? Would they be better wrapper in paper and then stored in plastic bins? I'm open to ALL suggestions!

Thanks in advance for the advice!

I generally wipe down with wax and keep it in a dry box with humidifier. If your storage would be much much longer. Then I would suggest wipe down with engine oil. I have left out equipment at the porch and it does not rust. It will be protected for a considerable time.

[Tom M King]

These are the types of cannisters I keep in those toolboxes that matter. My planes are simply wrapped in cotton cloths. I don't worry about them rusting while in the boxes, but when I take them out to use, I might wipe a little Camelia oil, or similar on them. After use, they are wiped down, wrapped, and put back away. I haven't had a single one of those cannisters that ever needed to be refreshed. They have little indicators. Never any corrosion on anything for any number of years, so far. I know the planes have been in them for at least 8 years.

I don't need to look at them until I need to use one. They're close enough at hand.

I didn't buy these exact ones, but they may have come from the same manufacturer. I bought mine off ebay, if I'm remembering correctly.

https://www.amazon.com/Hydrosorbent%...=fsclp_pl_dp_2