Metal tool chest for woodworking tool storage?????

[ondablade]

Standing in the ongoing mess/project that is my workshop today and looking at the very decent Clarke HD PLus mobile tool cabinet (it's the higher quality stronger version) i bought to store my engineering tools next door http://www.clarkeinternational.com/shop ... ol-cabinet i couldn't (heresy!!!! ) help thinking why not buy another to store my woodworking tools.

Thoughts of all the usual peg board and wall mounted cabinet solutions have been rattling around in my mind, but in the end (a) i'm short of wall space, and (b) need to get earning ASAP and the £240 or so it would cost to buy another starts to feel like a good deal. Not to mention (c) it'd be mobile.

Another big advantage is that it would leave my woodworking tools readily available during the shop set up process - right now when i need something i have to tramp off upstairs and rummage around in cardboard boxes for what i want.

It seems to me that many of the DIY approaches are about having time but not much money, and tradition. But that if i was to buy some 19mm polyethylene foam sheet and cut out tool nests in it, and drop it over the drawer bottom linings that i'd have a very nice home for my hand tools.

Do any of you more experienced guys have a view on this. especially - are there solid technical or functional reasons (as opposed to traditional) why you don't often see this done?

 

[jimi43]

Watch out for metal to metal contact - you can get dissimilar metal corrosion which is caused differing metals touching.

Jim

 

[9fingers]

Beware also of moisture trapped in the foam leading to corrosion.

I'd be tempted to cut drawer linings for 6mm mrmdf sealed with a thinned coat of varnish.

Bob

 

[woodbloke]

Watch out for metal to metal contact - you can get dissimilar metal corrosion which is caused differing metals touching.

Jim

...like letting one of the fillings in your mouth come into contact with a bit of silver paper from a Kit-Kat. Not corrosion, but it do tingle :shock: - Rob

 

[head clansman]

hi

well be careful, moisture if you do go down this road chuck into each drawer some silicone bags like you find in a shoe box , and be careful on where it stands in a cold garage in the winter it will attract a lot of moisture , if it's on wheels it can be easily be nicked. hc

 

[frugal]

I have a Halfords 5 draw tool chest with all of my chisels and planes in it with a couple of those VCI pots. The drawers are all lined with foam so there is no metal to metal contact.

No rusting problems in 2 years.

 

[Harbo]

I keep a lot of my tools in one of those - the drawers come with a rubber lining so no metal to metal contact.
I have also lined one with bubble wrap spayed with Camellia oil which my planes sit on.
In winter I place a low voltage heater underneath to keep everything cosy.
Matthew gave me a sample of the VCI stuff at YOKB which I will use this Autumn.

Rod

 

[ondablade]

Pardon the following sounding like i'm persuading myself not to listen to your concerns guys. I've come back on the points below with some responses/fixes.

Does it sound feasible with these provisos? (it's the chrome handles that drive me wild!)

Ease of nickery is certainly an issue HC. Maybe a case for some rawl bolts through the back into the wall, although that would end the mobility.

Condensation may not be too much of an issue (?) as i've the shop heated, and had no problems last Winter with heavy tools left out. But if not then for sure it would be. I guess in its favour it's not made from awfully thick sheet metal and has lots of surface area, so it should track the air temperature pretty well. Or would it? Do you figure that the enclosure might in some way worsen the situation?

I'm guessing Bob that condensation might not be such an issue with a non absorbent closed cell plastic foam liner and nest layer like polyethylene - but please shout if you know better. MDF or ply would certainly act as a buffer.

On the electrolytic front the steel is painted, and anyway all the storage areas have a rubber-like mat on the floor - with the addition of nests the tools would not be in metal to metal contact.

Interesting discussion on the topic here that suggests that dessicants do the business: http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/ge ... nt-144012/

I wonder if a steel cabinet is going to be any worse than a wooden one? The metal ready made has a lot going for it...

Quite a few using metal cabinets on US sites it seems. Some options for corrosion prevention here. : http://www.zerust.co.uk/ (see link to US company too) Seems you can buy a tool cabinet lining foam impregnated with some sort of anti corrosion stuff.

PS this wooden tool chest building thing can get a bit out of hand: http://www.finewoodworking.com/item/143 ... -toolchest

 

[head clansman]

hi

it only become in-mobile when you have it locked up to the wall at night, or when the shop is empty ,moisture in any workshop can be problems even in a wooden box if the shop is cold enough , metal - metal contact in a cold damp atmosphere will start rust off but if your tools are all laid out in uniform with no contact with one an other and cleaned with an oily cloth now and then ,plus your shop is heated as well, i cant see why not .

keep the heating on low 24/7 would be better than on daytime off night, with fluctuation in temperatures with metal this will start the damp/rust. hc.

 

[ondablade]

Sounds good HC. I've loads of experience with tool storage on DIY wall boards, racking, shelves and the like as i raced motorcycles for many years, and was building engines from my early teens.

The issue i've experienced has always been what i think you describe, but my stuff has typically not been in an enclosed cabinet. Heavy metal tool stays cool/lags behind a rapid warming of the air, often caused by higher humidity warmer air moving into the area. Worst after a period of frost. The moisture condenses out of this warm air on to the cold tool, and the tool rusts.

There's a much less pronounced version of the same which will cause maybe light rusting of unprotected tools caused by normal temperature and humidity changes. The problem seems to be that chunks of metal will always lag air temperature changes by a bit.

Perhaps a large cabinet can trap enough warmer and more humid air so that a drop in temperature outside having cooled it could trigger the moisture to drop out on the tools inside.

Rate of air leakage/circulation in and out of a cabinet must be a factor. Some advocate sealing them, but that sounds like a double edged sword. i.e. better get it right, as otherwise moisture will be trapped inside. On the other hand dessicants etc won't be much good if the result is that you are trying to dehumidify the entire workshop.

A wooden cabinet would add some insulation, and slow the rate of temperature change of the items inside, but this it seems to me could be good or bad depending on the conditions. Wood likewise could act to absorb moisture and in doing so might help to keep the humidity in a cabinet low, but it maybe also could act as a source....

Sounds like a job for a computer modeller! :wink: Anybody around here that's into computational fluid dynamics?

PS There's always a more sophisticated one. Kobalt here in the US https://www.kobalttools.com/ it seems do fancy stainless steel tool chests. Their top of the range models include a refrigerator, humidity control, a TV radio and an LCD screen. Talk about bragging rights.... :roll:

 

[9fingers]

For my precision tools (ie not for woodworking :wink: ) I have a cupboard with a metal back which is thermostatically controlled to be a few degrees above ambient temperature and that keeps them perfectly rust free.

My mill, lathe and surface table are treated similarly and have been rust free for 30 years even in a cold single skin brick workshop.
The whole lot consumes less power than a (real) lightbulb (100W) and keeps £ks of machines safe from iron-rot.

Bob

 

[warrenr]

Why not use a cupboard heater which is designed to stop mildew and combat humidity.

They are fairly cheap and the power consumption is low as low as 12Watts. They are safe with a low external temperature so avoiding a fire risk. I have used them succesfully for many years in the tropics.

Regards
Richard

 

[ondablade]

Thanks guys. No question that if you keep your tools even slightly warmed that condensation becomes an impossibility. You saying Bob that you run a two tier society in your workshop? :wink:

I guess if you wanted to get serious about machine tools you could drill the odd casting and pop in some sort of mini cartridge heater...

Found these guys which sound like what you mention Richard: http://www.wardrobeheaters.co.uk/35-wat ... 348-0.html They look like good option.

That's on balance a 'go' on the metal cabinets i think.....

 

[9fingers]

You saying Bob that you run a two tier society in your workshop? :wink:

Three workshops plus garage actually.

No wood dust allowed in the 'precision engineering' workshop. Evil stuff - pulls the oil out of slideways and needs a strip down to clean.
Oil not allowed in the wood working shop obviously
Electronics shop inside the house, engineering attached to the house and wood down the bottom of the garden well out of the way.
Car stuff in the garage when rust and dirt are allowed.Cars on the drive -naturally!

We also have some living accommodation too :wink:

Bob

 

[head clansman]

hi bob

hm some interesting ideas there bob , like the one with the metal back and thermostatically controlled . hc

 

[Shrubby]

Hi Ian
I've used a Beta top box for smaller tools for 15 years no problems.Larger tools in wooden furniture salvaged from universities,shops and schools. large 25g packets of desiccant stop any rust.
Re nickability - if you take the wheels off it's no longer a roll cab.I'd raise it off the cold floor with a wooden plinth - somewhere to fit a low wattage heater?
Matt

 

[ondablade]

Good thinking Matt. It could probably come off the wheels in due course once the shop layout seems to work OK....