DIYbanter - Robins aren't red, they're rusty!

On Apr 6, 2:20*pm, "Chet" wrote:
Well it finally happened...
The traditional first warm day embracing cold machinery!
Forget robins, it's spring when my machinery turns red...
Man...
Chet

Yup, when I first moved to Iowa from ND, I would go out to the shop
and wonder where the hell the rust came from. The previous owner had
made an 8' extension to the 20' wide garage. And it was clear he had
this as his metal working shop. (left behind lots of cutoff turnings
and such). Well I moved my 10x24 Jet lathe, and put a bed sheet over
it to keep dust off. In the spring I came home, air temp had risen
above 70F. All was dry, but why was there so much rust on it. Finally
I came home and found it dripping in water. The sheet I put on it was
insulating the lathe from warming above dew point and as it would cool
down over night it became a magnet for water vapor. OK I learned I
had to keep a 60 watt light bulb on it. Had it controlled by a
thermostat switch set to 50F. So I built a sealed shop, and run a
dehumidifier.
Until you can make a sealed shop, use a light bulb.
ignator