Ah, I know that area very well. Hook 'em! You certainly don't need to be
too concerned about heating the shop. I live in Houston and rust fighting
is a fact of life, if you don't have air conditioning. I manage to keep up
it at bay through regular use of Boeshield. That stuff must be more
effective after you've applied it several times (gets down in the pores of
the cast iron?). I notice that I have much less trouble than I used to.
The point is that you may have some rust challenges in Austin but they are
manageable. Austin does not stay as humid as Houston year round, but it can
sometimes compete on a hot summer day. Don't make your shop decision based
on rust, unless you are comparing air conditioned to non-air conditioned. I
know this concept is foreign to our Northern wood stove brethren. :-)

Bob

"Joshua Toub" wrote in message
...
I live in Austin, Tx. Thanks for all the replies I have received thus
far!