On Wed, 24 Sep 2008 12:12:00 -0500, "Swingman" wrote:

Unfortunately, I find it necessary to pack up/store the majority of my shop
tools.

The "big iron" items are pretty well taken care of (Thanks again, Leon!!!!),
but it is the successful, relatively long term (year or two) storage of the
smaller, boxed items, like router bits, metal hand tools, squares, planes,
blades, chisels, etc. that I'm interested in.

Besides the usual desiccants, etc ... has anyone had any _firsthand_
experience/success with the impregnated rust/corrosion inhibitors in a form
that you can use in boxes to alleviate rusting, similar to these?:

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...67&cat=51&ap=3

How well did they work? How much do you need? Is there something, or a
combination of methods, that works better? Do they work better in airtight
containers? What you would have done different, etc ...

I figure some of you guys who went through Katrina/Rita on the Gulf Coast
may have "BTDT", so thanks in advance for any _firsthand_ experience in long
term (one to two year) storing of items like these.


A number of years ago, I was engaged in a study to determine what
prevented corrosion on the tops of table saws most effectively for
shipping and storage. So I partnered with a supplier of vapor paper
and sent about 25 samples to the humidity chamber. Various
combinations of solutions, greases, mikelman coated corrugated, wood
(to test its propensity to work through the other stuff and corrode,
i.e. pallets stacked several high) and vapor paper.

As it turned out, vapor paper by itself worked the best. We continued
to put a light grease, but only to hold the paper on while packing off
the unit.

It works by emmitting a vapor as opposed to collecting the water from
the air or providing a barrier. I'm not sure where you can get it,
it was a wholesale item for us.

So I packed off my "special Unisaw" with paper on the top and paper
wadded up in the body of the saw. It was doing fine in a very humid
climate, however, I can attest to the fact that it did not stand up to
being submerged in seven feet of brackish water and then not tended to
for several weeks after Katrina.

Frank