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Thread: Storage suggestions

  1. #1
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    Storage suggestions

    I am putting all my wood and most of my my tools into storage for about 12-16 months pending a move and construction of my dream workshop. Everything was previously in a garage with no climate control and will be going to a similar environment storage unit. I’ve had no problem with rust or corrosion with the garage stuff.
    I was planning on boxing up everything including saws, chisels, planes (wood and metal). I was thinking of putting everything in separate baggies wrapped with VOI paper and desiccant pouches. Is this overkill or am I on a good track.
    Saw blades will get waxed before boxing. Any other auggeations?

  2. #2
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    Doesn't sound like overkill to me.

  3. #3
    Sounds about right. Remember that your garage had some air movement and probably ventilation. A storage unit will have only dead air.
    Dave Anderson

    Chester, NH

  4. #4
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    Doug,

    You have probably already done this and are probably already aware of the concern, but I thought I would mention it just in case. Sawdust left on tools is a big rust hazard. Wood draws and releases moisture from the air depending on the relative humidity. The moisture, in turn, will dissolve oxygen from the air and get it in intimate contact with any steel that the sawdust is on. Thus the need to get and keep the tools clean and free from sawdust or any other finely divided wood.

    When I am through using a saw, chisel, or plane I wipe them down well to get off in wood residue, then give them a very light coat of oil. In the case of my planes, I take the chip breaker and iron apart and clean them, and also the narrow slot between the frog and the inside sidewalls of the plane. If I had a compressor I would blow that area out, but I don't have one at this time.

    Most of the old planes I have bought over the years have corrosion on the iron where the chip breaker hits the iron. This as a narrow strip on the top at the very front of the iron. This is the result of small amounts of shavings trapped between the chip breaker and iron in that narrow spot.

    Regards,

    Stew
    Last edited by Stew Denton; 07-23-2022 at 2:42 PM.

  5. #5
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    Thanks Stew. A positive coming from my lack of time and workspace over the past few years is that many of my tools have never contacted wood. sad sad situation. I am so excited about my future workspace. But for now I will make sure it very thing is sparkly clear before I pack them up.

  6. #6
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    For the hand tools you might consider the Milwaukee Pack-Out system. The rolling base unit is a hand cart tool box and you can stack from there. They seal tightly and you can gang the tools together. You can add the padlock of your choice.

  7. #7
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    I would use larger plastic containers and add the disiccants to it rather than individually wrap every tool. I would periodically monitor the tools to check for rust.

  8. #8
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    Airtight and desiccant, with all the sawdust blown off is a good combination. I have over 140 waterproof toolboxes with desiccant cannisters and tools put away clean. I do so many different things that require so many different tools that I just want them to be ready when I need them. I don't need to see them. Most of those boxes are in cubbies, so are available without having to do any unstacking, but I need to build some more cubbies because I only built enough to hold 100.

    Anyway, a few weeks ago was the first time I had needed a No.8 plane since I first put it in one of these boxes in 2012. It had been stored so long that I forgot when I even bought the two planes in with it when I opened the box. Actually, I didn't remember they were in there. I thought the box felt a little heavy when I pulled it out of its cubby. This is what it looked like. Not a spec of rust anywhere, and ready to go to work.

    Edited to add old picture of when I first started that system in 2012:
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    Last edited by Tom M King; 07-24-2022 at 12:36 PM.

  9. #9
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    Being a now retired Air Force vet, I've done a number of moves and had all my "stuff" in storage on three extended occasions (2, 3 and 5 yr stays in storage). Only the 2-yr storage was in climate control the other two were in storage warehouses. I never had an issue with rust. I wiped down with jojoba oil and then wrapped in paper (moving paper) and then put in boxes. For the new tools I had kept their original boxes, but not a requirement. There is pretty much no way moisture can get in unless the boxes get wet. I did this with all my hand tools. For my power tools I used a liberal coating of Boeshield and then put a plastic garbage bag over the surface and then covered that with cardboard taped well enough to be air tight. For the drill press and bandsaw I did the same process except I made a box fit to the size since they were removed.

    I read all the suggestions and many would probably work. I believe the key was coating with something to protect the tool and then wrapping to ensure no moisture could get in. If the box is packed and filled with items or paper there is no "air" space, so no need for desiccants.

    Hope this helps.

  10. #10
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    Not sure what "moving paper" is, but newspaper is not good. Not only does it absorb moisture but it may have chemicals that do not play nice with metal.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  11. #11
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    I think the OP had a typo and meant VCI paper. Same stuff my skew rabbet planes from Lee Valley came in.

    https://www.amazon.com/vci-paper/s?k=vci+paper.

  12. #12
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    Not one of the indicators on any of the desicant cannisters in my toolboxes has ever changed color. I didn't get them minimum size, but they weren't That expensive. I don't even remember what I paid for them. I need to be able to use my tools out of those boxes, and never took time to do any wrapping other than the planes in the crowded boxes are wrapped in old t-shirt material just to keep them from beating each other up.

    When I first started buying those boxes, the 22" ones were 20 dollars, and the 28" 25. They're almost double now, but I still don't go many weeks without buying more. I'm still dividing, and organizing some. They're sold with Stanley, Dewalt, Craftsman, and Bostitch brand names on them. The only difference is the color of the seals and the name brand tag that snaps out.

    They even make the 28" ones with wheels, and a retractable long handle. I have my heavy boxes, like Pulling, on the bottom row in those wheeled boxes.

    I can carry them anywhere in the back of the pickup, regardless of weather, and if they get too dirty to suit me, I just hose them off. I tested the first one with a pressure washer, and it didn't get a drop of water in it.

    I bought a vinyl sign cutter to put more professional looking labels on them years ago, but have been too busy to even take it out of the boxes.
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    Last edited by Tom M King; 07-26-2022 at 9:53 PM.

  13. #13
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    Oct 2019
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    Tom, thanks for posting that, might look into those a bit more.

    I've recently picked up a couple of Ridgid 22" gasketed stackable tool boxes at HD that are currently on sale, about 25% off. Stinky things, but maybe that means the gaskets are doing a good job? I've read putting them out in the sun on a hot day helps burn the smell off.

    $30 RIDGID 22 in. Pro Tool Box, Black 221733 (homedepot.com)

    and there are also these
    $20 RIDGID 22 in. Pro Organizer, Black 221735 (homedepot.com)
    $50 RIDGID 22 in. Pro Gear Cart Tool Box in Black 221734 (homedepot.com)


    edit: some of these seem to be no longer available in the stores, which might indicate they're going to be discontinued.
    Last edited by Mike Soaper; 07-28-2022 at 12:36 PM.
    Hobbyist woodworker
    Maryland

  14. #14
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    Just a couple of other comments to Doug.

    If you're going to use baggies maybe use freezer bags for their double seal and thicker bags.

    Put them in a kitchen seal-a-meal vacuum bag?

    If you use a plastic bin consider using those with gasket, ie. "weather proof/resistant".
    Hobbyist woodworker
    Maryland

  15. #15
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    Mar 2016
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    Are you storing this stuff, or is it going in a storage unit?

    There is a Number where it becomes cheaper to sell it off and rebuy later. I would do some honest math and figure out what you could sell the big stuff for and what it would cost to buy it back later. It may make sense to eliminate the stationary tools and wood That would cut down on storage cost, risk of rust, cost of moving. You may lose 20% but 16 months in a storage unit may cost more.

    The loss on the small stuff vs storage cost would be too great to justify this kind of action.

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