Hi
Oak is a very bad choice for a tool holder
It contains some acid that rusts steel (that is why they use copper nails in oak)
Your stand looks very good (better than a plastic box)
John
John, copper nails in Oak? I've found it hard to drive hardened steel nails in Oak.
Wouldn't saealing the Oak with an appropriate coating solve the acid problem?
Corrosion Problems
Tannic acid in oak lumber corrodes iron and steel. Oxides leached from rusting metal bleed away from nails and screws, leaving dark stains. Either brass or plated steel screws resist corrosion and don't leave metal stains in oak. Because brass shears easier than steel, working with brass screws in oak requires larger screw diameters. Plated steel screws offer more strength than brass, but for the strongest hardware and best corrosion resistance choose stainless steel screws. Marine quality stainless steel wood screws resist saltwater and chlorides as well as the acids naturally contained in oak.
Read more: What Screws Do You Use in Oak? | eHow.com
http://www.ehow.com/info_8345050_screws-...z25EHrM2wy
DaveH
it would be nice if I could find something that would glue the plastic together, everything that I have tried won't stick to the stuff.
of course I could make a nice box and use the plastic in it, but me and wood don't get along too well. Mahogany would probably be a better wood to make a stand out of, and I know all about the acid in the oak, use to boil steel traps in oak chips to turn em black.
What would you need the glue for?
I have been amazed by Gorilla Glue. I figured that stuff was just expensive and overhyped.
There are special solvents for joining plastics at least for some, a ;ight coat of solvent between pieces and they literally melt together, a call to your local plastics wholesaler will tell you compatible plastics and solvents for this.
I think Oak if corrosion is a problem could either be well sealed with a good oil or even a good coat of plastic paint. tom
I still think the plastic inserts pressed into the oak would look sharp. No glue needed and no worrying about the acid in the oak messing with your collets. Use a forstner bit to drill the holes in the oak and turn the plastic inserts on the lathe for a light press fit.
Ed
Going back a few posts;
Don't write off copper nails, they aren't neccesarily pure copper and are hardened in manufacture, anyone having used "copper" sparkless chisels for cutting steel will attest to how hard copper alloys can be.
As an apprentice I did six solid weeks splitting rusted nuts off of salt water heat exchangers in a benzene, toluene and xylene manufacturing plant, it was too dangerous to use anything that could generate a spark, so no grinders, flame torches or steel tools of any kind just me a copper chisel and a copper hammer, and about 500 3/4" high tensile bolt sets, about a year later they banned the use of xylene in permanent marker pens as it was considered to be too poisonous being a known carcinogen, we were producing thousands of litres every day and breathing it for eight to ten hours a day made me so sick that after four days I couldn't work on the fridays, makes me wonder sometimes.
Regards
Rick
Ya, true, berylium copper is one hard copy alloy I'm familiar with. I'm trying to remember what the copper nails I experience were used for, could it have been for those little copper straps for copper piping? I believe that was to avoid dissimilar metals reacting with each other.