MetalworkingFun Forum

I’m looking for a solution to keeping my tools from rusting. 
A bit of background info. I live in Regina Saskatchewan Canada. We get some cold winter weather and normally a fair bit of snow. My shop is on a farm and heated with Propane. That being said, I don’t have an unlimited fuel source. So I shut the furnace right off when I’m not in the shop. On average it will drop down to 0° to -5° C (32-23° F)in the shop when I’m not there. Then I normally take it up to 20° C (68° F) when I’m at the shop. That gives me a big temp difference. 
Every year around this time of year and closer to spring I notice that my tools are covered in condensation. I’m getting tired of wiping my tools down with a WD-40 soaked rag to keep them from rusting. 

Is there a product that I can put in the drawers of my tool box that will absorb the moisture, like the desiccant packs that come in products you buy. 
I’m looking for something I can buy easily. I have heard possibly kitty litter in a sock. But I’m not sure if that would actually work or not. 

Thanks 
Trevor

The warming cycle is going to create condensation on the surface, doubt a descant will drop the moisture content in the air low enough to stop this. They work in sealed packages.

Descants are very impressive in Church music, but I find desiccants much more use in the workshop

If its a tool you use only occasionally, LPS3 is an excellent corrosion control product.

If the shop is warm long enough to get the tools warm, moisture will condense on the surface as they cool. WD-40 is great for sticks and squeaks, but it sucks for rust prevention. You need something more viscous and sticky that stays stay put on the tools to keep them from rusting. Chain lube like LPS makes will work much better. You might also try building a storage enclosure for the tools with a heat source in it. Even a light bulb (incandescent) will keep a small enclosure above the dew point. It would be sort of like a rod oven that welders use to keep their welding rods dry.

Tom

An old fridge with the compressor removed could make a good controlled-atmosphere cabinet. Already insulated. Best to get one with the magnetic closure rather than the old latch, which can't be opened from the inside if a kid gets in.

(02-02-2020, 09:19 PM)TomG Wrote: [ -> ]You might also try building a storage enclosure for the tools with a heat source in it. Even a light bulb (incandescent) will keep a small enclosure above the dew point. It would be sort of like a rod oven that welders use to keep their welding rods dry.

Tom

I have a safe that sits in my leaky old humid basement. It has one of these small heaters mounted in the bottom of it. It keeps the internal temperature just a few degrees above the ambient air on the outside but it's enough to keep any rust from forming. Just another option.

I have not met my "dumb question" quota for the day so ... how is your propane heater vented? Internal ... like the popular jet heaters, etc. ... or external ... like a real furnace where the exhaust go up a stack and outside?

A number of guys in similar situations on the 7x mini lathe list had the same problem with their lathes.  The solution was to make a tent out of plastic (either plastic tarp or plexiglass or something similar) to put over it with a 25 watt bulb cured the problem for all of them.   As Tom pointed out, it has to be an incandescent bulb since the LED and CF bulbs don't put out much heat.