"Mike Marlow" wrote in message
...
whit3rd wrote:
I've recently acquired an old lathe, with lots of tooling, and
am considering my options for racking the collets, chucks,
and other accessories.

Is there any guidance on what woods, if any, can be safely
kept in contact with precision steel bits, that won't cause
or enhance corrosion? I was considering plywood with
lots of holes, and an oil finish (boiled linseed oil). That
means the glue in the plywood is also a possible issue.

There will be lubricants in contact with these parts, so
oil-resistance of glue in the plywood is another possible
issue.

All sorts of hardwoods and softwoods have been used over the years with no
problems. Don't know if I'd use plywood, but that's just a preference
thing. Hate the looks of those edges. I have racks like this that I've
had for over 20 years. They're all made out of whatever scrap was handy.
Some are pine, some are maple, and a couple are cherry. Other than the
obvious differences between those woods, all have performed just fine with
no issues. No corrosion issues, no hardwood/softwood issues, etc.

I've got a large plywood drawer on 100lb slides under my little CNC mill.
Inspite of holding far more than a hundred pounds it seems to be holding up
just fine after 2 years. (when everything is in it that goes there its
probably 300 lbs) Check back with me in 20 years and I'll let you know if
its still holding up. I have drills, vises, endmills, chucks, rotary tables
(small ones), and all kinds of other things in that drawer. I liked it so
much I built two more under one of my other benches last month.

Nothing fancy. Just 3/4 ply box with a 3/4 ply support strip, and 3/4 ply
bottom. Just put together with Titebond and 2" brad nails fired out of my
Hitachi gun. Angled were length is a problem.