I only left them uncovered for a couple of nights.

[UTMonkey]

Hi all,

I can't believe how quickly this happened but when I went to use my two planes tonight they are showing early signs of rust.

They are now wrapped in a dry old towel. But I now need to treat them, could someone point me in the right direction.

Also, does anyone have any cheap methods of protecting planes.

Forgot to mention, I put the planes on a shelf in my shed.

Thanks in advance.

Mark

 

[Stormer1940]

Obviously the moisture in the air. Can you insulate the shed at all? Make a storage box for the Planes and stick some silica gel packs in the box with the planes? You can also get sprays which help prevent rust on tools and machinery.

When I store my tools in the van sometimes the moisture is a pain in the same way...

 

[CHJ]

Only sure way to prevent moisture in the air condensing on your steel tools is to keep them a couple of degrees warmer than the surrounding air, doesn't have to be masses of heat.
Oils, waxes etc. can only do so much in providing a barrier.
Do you have power in your shed?
If you do then a decent wooden tool chest or old set of draws with a 9 watt long life bulb mounted in the base will be enough to keep tools safe.
For some years my tool and saw cupboard which had a spare standard household door on the front (to give you an idea of volume) had a 7watt car sidelight bulb in the base running off a bell transformer.

 

[Elapid]

Only sure way to prevent moisture in the air condensing on your steel tools is to keep them a couple of degrees warmer than the surrounding air, doesn't have to be masses of heat.
Oils, waxes etc. can only do so much in providing a barrier.
Do you have power in your shed?
If you do then a decent wooden tool chest or old set of draws with a 9 watt long life bulb mounted in the base will be enough to keep tools safe.
For some years my tool and saw cupboard which had a spare standard household door on the front (to give you an idea of volume) had a 7watt car sidelight bulb in the base running off a bell transformer.

A £10 reptile heat mat to put your planes on works amazingly and only costs £10-15 depending on size. I have one in my plane cupboard with a bit of thick lino on the top that a place my planes on. They are about 10-15w so the electric is negligible considering I have a couple of 250w ceramic heaters on the the go 24/7 for my snakes.

 

[Cheshirechappie]

Can you find a home for them in the house somewhere? Warm, dry conditions are the best rust repellant (I'm pretty sure I'd go rusty if someone made me live in a cold cold damp shed all winter). Failing that, a good slathering with Camellia Oil will help, including on the iron and steel bits you don't usually see.

 

[Harbo]

If the rust is slight, a gentle run with a fine abrasive and WD40 might remove the rust. If not you might have to resort to Phosphoric acid, Corrodip etc?
I coat my planes etc with Camellia oil and over the cooler months in a metal tool drawer with a low wattage tubular heater underneath.
I also inspect regularly.
Saws and cast iron I use Liberon Lubricating wax.

Rod

 

[AndyT]

You might want to have a look at this thread for some remedies: https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/don-t-put-norris-in-the-shed-t63466.html

 

[UTMonkey]

Many thanks for the suggestions.

I will give the scotchpad and WD40 a go, and then look into some kind of oil to protect them.

Looking at Camellia oil but I really don't know where I could get some that is local to me.

Ultimately the planes will go in a drawer (under construction) in the shed but I will probably need to add some insulation to that draw.

My shed is at the back of my garden which backs onto the wood..... so plenty of moisture.

Thanks again

Mark

 

[Eric The Viking]

I've just bought a couple of tubular greenhouse-type heaters for the tool cabinet.

They used to be available in small sizes, not so now, it seems. The smallest I could find was 60W (way too much). So I've bought two and wired them in series, giving 30W over 2x the surface area. They fit nicely in the plinth of my tool drawers, BUT I'm still a bit nervous of the heat on two counts:

1. unnecessarily hot still (30W)
2. it may attract mice!

Buying a third one (giving 20W with 3x the area) may be the answer, but it's getting a bit pricey!

E.

 

[brianhabby]

Keep them in the house until you've sorted something

regards

Brian

 

[Evergreen]

I used to have a garage workshop that was integral with the house and it stayed relatively warm. No significant rust problems.

Then I moved house and for the last five years, I've had to keep most of my tools in a very draughty, unheated, stand alone garage with a pitched roof. To my amazement, I've had little trouble with rust! When it does appear, there seems to be no obvious reason for it e.g. a tiny patch on the side of a plane or on the tip of one screwdriver out of a set of three.

So it seems that good ventilation might be a solution to the conditions that cause rust, depending on the construction of your workshop.

If rust does appear, I clean it off with an abrasive and use a squirt of GT85 or a very light smear of Renaissance wax to prevent recurrence.

 

[Giff]

This wax does work but a bit expensive. Geoff
http://www.axminster.co.uk/protectool-w ... tomsection

 

[RogerS]

If the rust is slight, a gentle run with a fine abrasive and WD40 might remove the rust. If not you might have to resort to Phosphoric acid, Corrodip etc?
I coat my planes etc with Camellia oil and over the cooler months in a metal tool drawer with a low wattage tubular heater underneath.
I also inspect regularly.
Saws and cast iron I use Liberon Lubricating wax.

Rod

\In a recent issue of Fine Woodworker they looked into the best rust preventers and Camelia oil was rated very badly. WD40 came out well IIRC.