Hand plane cabinet - advice about door needed

[Will Blick]

I use the Zerust tool drawer liners, they work well... prob. very similar to the ones u posted a link for.
However, like u mentioned, they last about 2 years, so u must keep changing them, and they are costly if you have a lot of drawers! Of course, my tool chest is sealed pretty well.... I will vouch for these, they help a LOT
which reminds me, mine need changing ...argggg

[Steven Mikes]

I live in central NC, summers are pretty humid here! Before building my tool cabinet rust was a big problem, I had to clean the tools every week or so. I made my cabinet out of uncoated red cedar. Since then I really haven't had much of a rust issue. I did have to wipe off some light rust a couple times, but really not a big deal. The cabinet doors have small gaps around them so it's not airtight or anything.

[Tom Bender]

So back to my suggestion of a tool closet with a dehumidifier; (actually the dehumidifier needs to be inside)

This needs to be pretty well sealed and somewhat insulated. During off hours it will get warm and the moisture content of the air will be reduced, pushing the RH way down.

When working in the shop, the tool closet door will be open a lot and tools will be out and exposed to the ambient conditions, but for a while they will be warmer than the shop so no moisture will condense on them.

Construction suggestions
Put the dehumidifier up a foot or so so a drain hose can be run outside
Don't hang tools on the door so they won't fall when slammed in frustration
Install lighting inside
Install a skeleton key lock cause it's cool.

[Mitchell Garnett]

Chris, thanks for this info - I had no idea there were such controls in high end pianos but it makes sense.

[Mitchell Garnett]

How about building a closet for tools and attaching a dehumidifier to that? Dehumidifiers are not expensive, are uncomplicated and include a humidistat.

No room or I would have already gone down that route. I had hoped to put in heat and a/c but when I added up the costs for all the insulation work that would be needed along with new insulated garage doors that actually seal, it was out of my budget. Maybe in the future.

[Mitchell Garnett]

I've just got a couple of the small Bull Frog emitters to try - I've put one in a drawer with a couple of tools to see how it works. I talked to a supplier about them and he thought I should probably replace the smaller ones every six months if it is as bad here as I think it is. I think the recurring costs will work out to be too much over the long term.

[Mitchell Garnett]

Thanks to everyone for their comments. You've given me lots of things to consider. I tried to persuade my wife to let me have her craft room in the house but that didn't go over very well.

[Mel Fulks]

I like the Bullfrog stuff. I think a common uncoated nail is a good indicator of when the material is getting weak.