Wooden Planes in Garage Shop?

[Peter Pedisich]

Hi,

Is it is OK to leave wood-bodied planes in a non-a/c garage for the summer? Inside the garage it gets easily to 95-100 degrees in heat waves, and 95%+ humidity.

An alternative is to store them inside (central a/c) and take them out for projects, but that may be worse. What do most of you do? There must be some folks in places that get very humid like FL, LA, MI, etc...that keep their tools in a garage in summer.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

-Pete

[Jim Matthews]

If you have storage off the slab, they should not be exposed to excessive moisture.
Before AC, carpenters carried their works in a wooden chest - stored out of direct sunlight.

I think direct exposure to sun would do more damage, as one side would expand while the other side was static - a recipe for cracks.
If you wooden planes are properly handled, and occasionally treated with oil to combat rust, you should be okay.

One caveat - old plane bodies are probably at equilibrium by now, newer ones may change this Summer as you anticipate...

[Pam Niedermayer]

I store all my tools except hammers and saws inside wooden cabinets and/or boxes. The wood moderates moisture movement, which also helps stave off rust.

Pam

[Andrew Gibson]

Yep all my tools live in a big tool chest. Though I do not use many wooden planes I do live in FL and the box does a lot to keep humidity and moisture away from my tools and keeps rust at bay.

[Orlando Gonzalez]

I'm in Florida and I have mine inside my office with A/C. My shed gets way too hot and I have too much invested to take the chance. Besides it's just too small (8 x 12) and my shop is my 12 x 35 terrace out back. Since the terrace is shades and well ventilated, the humidity/ heat factor is reduced for me. If you have your garage is insulated you may be able to store them there, but then again you may not.

Jim is right, old planes will stand up better since they have moved as much as they normally would, but what will they do when exposed to extreme heat and humidity is anyone's guess.

[george wilson]

Old time machinists used to put lumps of camphor inside their tool chests. Really prevented rust,too. I used to do it years ago,WHEN you could STILL get blocks of camphor at the drug store. Maybe a google search would turn up some.

The lumps gradually evaporate and disappear. If you buy a supply of them,I'd definitely advise thoroughly wrapping them in Saran wrap several layers thick,and keep them in the fridge.

[Sam Babbage]

I'll admit that I'm more of a metal plane guy but my HNT Gordon smoother has never given me any problems and it lives in a cardboard (heaven forbid!) box at work, which is, excuse the Aussie terms, an uninsulated besser block (you call them cinder blocks I think) building with an uninsulated corrugated iron roof. Although it is two stories high, I'm not sure if that helps. We get ridiculously hot/humid summers also, but I still only have to true it once or twice a year... Admittedly I don't use it to take 1 thou shavings regularly, but it still performs well.

[george wilson]

Cardboard is not a good idea. Modern paper has acid in it,which is why old paper turns yellow and falls apart. Same for cardboard. It releases the acid and gets crumbly. Your tools rust.

You might invest in ARCHIVAL quality paper boxes if you are serious about rust. 2nd. floor is better than 1st..

[Richard Dooling]

You might invest in ARCHIVAL quality paper boxes if you are serious about rust.

Excuse me if I'm misstating your message George.

When George says archival he means a very specific set of standards for materials. This type of paper and card board has never seen acid. It is not the same as cardboard made with acid and then buffered to control the pH. Many frame shops will sell what they call archival mat board but it's really buffered and should state that on the label. Most of the archival materials I'm familiar with are made from 100% rag (cotton) although I think wood fibers are also used. In the end it's all cellulose but rag seems the more straight forward starting point.

There are numerous suppliers of archival storage materials on the web and if you are in a big enough city you may find it in art supply stores.

I also used to use camphor but haven't seen it for sale in quite some time.

[David Weaver]

You guys keep talking about camphor, and I looked it up on wiki the last time this came up. It's apparently banned for sale by the FDA in anything > 11% concentration, but there isn't a mention of exactly why. I'd assume some quick googling would solve the mystery, but probably related to ingestion.

Imagine you might be able to get it overseas pretty easily.

[Tom Vanzant]

A Google search shows that camphor in "higher" concentrations is toxic, even fatal if ingested... 4mg/Kg being the trip point. I remember it as an ingredient in lip balms and as an inhalant for congestion relief. I recall there was some level of abuse as an inhalant by "enlightened" youth. That's what took model cements & airplane dope (paint) off the shelf and behind the counter. Some folks would inhale skunk stink if it would give them a buzz.

[Zahid Naqvi]

I had several laminated (Krenov style) planes stored in an non air conditioned storage unit for almost a year. Arkansas goes through some serious humidity and temperature swings over a year. Some of these laminations have become unglued. I had a few traditional style solid wood planes and they are fine. Keep in mind I am referring to hand planes made from wood.

[Jeff Wittrock]

I have a few laminated body wooden planes. I keep them along with my other tools in a large wooden tool chest. No problems so far.

[john brenton]

You could probably get some by scraping a fischer-price toy or crib and gathering up the dust.

QUOTE=David Weaver;1671262]You guys keep talking about camphor, and I looked it up on wiki the last time this came up. It's apparently banned for sale by the FDA in anything > 11% concentration, but there isn't a mention of exactly why. I'd assume some quick googling would solve the mystery, but probably related to ingestion.

Imagine you might be able to get it overseas pretty easily.[/QUOTE]

[Jeff Wittrock]

You could probably get some by scraping a fischer-price toy or crib and gathering up the dust.

Nice :). The only problem is you would have to find a way to get the Lead out of it.

[george wilson]

I advise NOT EATING the camphor.:) Richard is correct about the archival paper. In the 18th.C.,and earlier,paper was made from old rags literally beaten to a pulp. We used to make such paper in Wmsbg.,but like several interesting trades,that has been dropped. So has marbling paper. Both demos were quick,with immediate results that the public loved. Marbling paper was like a little magic show. Float the pigments on water,stir into a pattern,lay the paper on. Voila!! The paper was lifted off with the pigments on it in brilliant,complex patterns.

[Peter Pedisich]

Thanks guys.

I'm also thinking of putting my planes away in a wood cabinet, sole down, and I saw in FWW Tools and Shops 2007, a Tool Cabinet by Jan Zoltowski and he lined the plane cubbies with what appears to be industrial closed loop carpeting. This sounds like you could leave the iron set and just put it away. So I'm thinking of using carpet scraps. But these are usually nylon...would that be OK? I would think nylon, or wool would be better than cotton as far as avoiding moisture retention.
Or maybe felt scraps or leather?
I lay my planes on their sides on my bench, but would like to sit them on their soles for stability.

[Rob Fisher]

...Marbling paper was like a little magic show. Float the pigments on water,stir into a pattern,lay the paper on. Voila!! The paper was lifted off with the pigments on it in brilliant,complex patterns.

We did that in one of my middle school tech ed classes. :) Was pretty cool back then, probably 92'-93'. I never really thought about it as a 18th.C. technique.

[Pam Niedermayer]

...I'm also thinking of putting my planes away in a wood cabinet, sole down, and I saw in FWW Tools and Shops 2007, a Tool Cabinet by Jan Zoltowski and he lined the plane cubbies with what appears to be industrial closed loop carpeting. This sounds like you could leave the iron set and just put it away. So I'm thinking of using carpet scraps. But these are usually nylon...would that be OK? I would think nylon, or wool would be better than cotton as far as avoiding moisture retention.
Or maybe felt scraps or leather?
I lay my planes on their sides on my bench, but would like to sit them on their soles for stability.

I just install a long, narrow (say 1/2" X 1/2") piece of wood about 2" back from the edge of the shelf and rest the plane heels on that. Keeps everything up off the wood, no blade touching.

Pam

[Derek Cohen]

Well, summer in Perth is typically 40 degrees Celsius (104 F) for 4 months, and then it cools down to about 32 C (99F) :). This is a dry heat with low humidity.

My shop is in a brick double garage. Until 3 years ago the roof was simply wood framed with terracotta tiles (no ceiling). Then we built my consulting rooms above the garage/shop, so there is some insulation. It still gets very hot.

Through all this I have not experienced problems with my woodies (or metal planes), which lie on shelves in doorless cabinets (doors yet to be built).

Regards from Perth

Derek

[David Weaver]

I also don't pay any attention to the wooden planes above and beyond what they need to work. Some are in my garage all the time, some are not.

The only thing I notice is that the japanese planes fit tighter in the winter and less tight in the summer. If they are adjusted properly, they are neither too tight in the winter to use sensibly, nor too loose in the summer.

The wooden planes with wedges, don't notice anything with them, though I'm sure they shrink. The majority of them needed to be floated on the sides when I got them from years of shrinking and no attention (some of them were very difficult to get the iron out of, luckily none had the cheeks crack yet). They will not move a fraction seasonally of what they did in the 100 years they were probably cast aside and ignored.

It's one of those things (storing a plane in the garage) where you worry about it only if it becomes a problem. Like Derek's, mine are out in the open. My garage is halfway underground. It never gets below about 38 degrees and probably never gets above 90, but it is dry in the winter and very humid in the summer, especially if the water table is up enough to keep the floor damp.

[Peter Pedisich]

I just install a long, narrow (say 1/2" X 1/2") piece of wood about 2" back from the edge of the shelf and rest the plane heels on that. Keeps everything up off the wood, no blade touching.

Pam

Thanks Pam - simple and effective, I love it.

[Peter Pedisich]

Derek and David,

Thanks, good to know others are working like this, I'll be making the move to the garage!