Protecting Tools in a Wooden Box

[erikmannie]

I have these 5C collets that are in this wooden box that my Dad made for me.

The collets were over $2,000, and I want to protect them from moisture. I understand that wood can absorb moisture.

I live in Norcal, and these are in my 2 car garage. The temperature in the garage is always between 35-100° F. The weather here is very mild year round.

I am inclined to slather all of this wood inside & out with (way?) oil. The other choice could be paint. Whatever will protect the collets.





This collet box/table is right next to my welding table where a lot of stick welding occurs, & I throw a sheet over it while welding.

 

[davidpbest]

NCal covers a lot of territory. My shop in San Rafael had enough marine environment overtones that I needed to do something to protect tooling. I kept tooling in wood drawers with desiccant packaged in each drawer. The wood tends to absorb moisture whereas a steel tool chest does not - one reason people like Gerstner tool chests. Here's an example of a large desiccant package, but there are others, some of which you can dry out in your kitchen oven if you have seasonal humidity.

Amazon.com: Dry-Packs 448 Gram (1LB) Silica Gel Desiccant Packet 8" x 5" Brand! : Industrial & Scientific

Buy Dry-Packs 448 Gram (1LB) Silica Gel Desiccant Packet 8" x 5" Brand!: Desiccants - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

 

[Firstram]

Fluid Film has worked well for me in coastal NC.

 

[pdentrem]

We use https://www.armorvci.com/products/vci-paper/ for our tools and tooling. We get pretty humid during the summer months between the Great Lakes!

 

[Ken from ontario]

You could cover that wooden box with shellac, it'll have to be coated on both sides(inside and outside) to be effective.

 

[hman]

The good news is that the collet racks themselves look like they have plastic inserts - so the collets aren't in direct contact with wood. I'd suggest some kind of oil based paint. I'm not sure how the wood (actually, it looks like particle board) might react to oils.

 

[bill70j]

Eric:

Unless your wooden storage boxes are air tight, the wood will make no difference in the condition of the air surrounding your collets. In other words, the air inside the box will be in equilibrium with the air outside the box.

If you add a desiccant, as David is recommending, it will absorb water from the air -- making it less humid -- until the desiccant is saturated. Then it needs to be re-charged, otherwise you're back to being in equilibrium with the air outside the box.

I store my collets in a wooden box also, but rather that a desiccant, I use VCI paper, like Pierre, and it works OK in our climate, which is similar to yours.

Also, I was watching a YouTube video recently and I think it was Steve Summers who said he uses a dehumidifier in his shop. Maybe that is something to consider.

Bill

 

[erikmannie]

We are 19 miles inland from the ocean.

The box is not airtight, so the humidity will be that of the surrounding air.

The seal on the garage door is terrible, so I should see to that.

I can put some desiccant packs and VCI/VCP paper or Fluid Film in there for now.

It sounds like shellacking the box inside and out is the best way to prevent the wood from making a problem of itself.

 

[matthewsx]

The best protection is to use them often.

 

[BladesIIB]

Nothing else to add. Great info from others, just had to jump in and say nice shop. First pic I have seen of my lathes bigger brother. Looks nice!