Woodwork machinery,

[Stevet93]

Hi ,can anyone please give me advice on how to keep my pillar drill Axminster craft bandsaw and record scroll saw from showing signs of rust in my garage do I purchase a bag to slip over the top to protect these machines ,any advice I’d gladly appreciate.
Many thanks.
Steve

 

[MARK.B.]

Much will depend on your garage, is it cold and damp ?. You could cover them with an old sheet etc which will help, but don't cover with plastic as this will hold any moisture on the inside against you machine. If you garage is cold and damp then sorting those out will help a lot.

 

[Distinterior]

I use old towels to cover my planer thicknesser, bandsaw, pillar drill, table saw & lathe beds.
All have cast iron beds and get a regular coat of machine wax, moreso at this time of year. It seems to do the job and just helps to stop moisture from forming on the surfaces.

 

[Stevet93]

Much will depend on your garage, is it cold and damp ?. You could cover them with an old sheet etc which will help, but don't cover with plastic as this will hold any moisture on the inside against you machine. If you garage is cold and damp then sorting those out will help a lot.

Thanks mark it certainly isn’t damp but it does get a tad cold out there

 

[Stevet93]

I use old towels to cover my planer thicknesser, bandsaw, pillar drill, table saw & lathe beds.
All have cast iron beds and get a regular coat of machine wax, moreso at this time of year. It seems to do the job and just helps to stop moisture from forming on the surfaces.

Thanks ever so much for your prompt reply .

 

[robgul]

A non-oily silicone spray keeps stuff rust-free for me (or at a pinch Pledge type furniture polish)

 

[Stevet93]

A non-oily silicone spray keeps stuff rust-free for me (or at a pinch Pledge type furniture polish)

Brilliant thanks very much

 

[moosepig]

Heating helps. If you can keep the air temperature above the dew point, moisture is a lot less likely to condense out.

 

[Ozi]

Depending on the garage a low Wattage heater on a thermastat can help a lot, tube heaters about 40 Watt are often used for lift motor rooms up on top of flat roof buildings and can be just enough to drive out damp, I have just added some insulation to a pair of wooden garage doors which has also helped.

 

[Stevet93]

Depending on the garage a low Wattage heater on a thermastat can help a lot, tube heaters about 40 Watt are often used for lift motor rooms up on top of flat roof buildings and can be just enough to drive out damp, I have just added some insulation to a pair of wooden garage doors which has also helped.

Thanks

 

[harryc]

https://www.axminstertools.com/axminster-machine-wax-105806

 

[baldkev]

Im currently going through this. Ive got a shipping container workshop. I had a dessicant dehumidifier which worked well until about 2 weeks ago when it died.... i went in one day and the machines were wet and starting to rust! I looked on the internet which suggested covering the machines, so i did that first with a couple of old blankets ( rusted underneath them ) and then a waterproof cover ( still rusted )

I should add each time i cleaned them back and silicone sprayed. Also, the condensation on the roof was literally dripping.

I bought another dehumidifier ( bigger ebac ) but this time a refrigerant one, and it isnt as good as the dessicant, but i think this is also due to the cold weather, dessicant ones work down to about 5° and refrigerant ones are about 10°?

I am now putting insulation internally on the cieling. The container is on top of a hill and would never warm up if i put a little heater in there, plus i would be uneasy leaving one on all the time unattended.....

Im buying some machine wax after ive written this!!

 

[Sandyn]

My planer is in my outside workshop, with no heating. It is a substantial chunk of cast iron, but I don't get any condensation problems, I think it's because I have really good ventilation. Great for stopping condensation, but can be a tad chilly working there at times I even dried about 30 2.4m lengths of sarking, which was saturated with no condensation problems.
I was anticipating problems so had figured the best way would be to put a 40W tube heater inside the planer and cover it with an old curtain to create a local warm spot.

 

[Cabinetman]

Im currently going through this. Ive got a shipping container workshop. I had a dessicant dehumidifier which worked well until about 2 weeks ago when it died.... i went in one day and the machines were wet and starting to rust! I looked on the internet which suggested covering the machines, so i did that first with a couple of old blankets ( rusted underneath them ) and then a waterproof cover ( still rusted )

I should add each time i cleaned them back and silicone sprayed. Also, the condensation on the roof was literally dripping.

I bought another dehumidifier ( bigger ebac ) but this time a refrigerant one, and it isnt as good as the dessicant, but i think this is also due to the cold weather, dessicant ones work down to about 5° and refrigerant ones are about 10°?

I am now putting insulation internally on the cieling. The container is on top of a hill and would never warm up if i put a little heater in there, plus i would be uneasy leaving one on all the time unattended.....

Im buying some machine wax after ive written this!!

That sounds like a terrible situation to be in, water and woodworking equipment just don’t mix, sounds like time for a rethink on the workshop dehumidifier, I have a desiccant one like you did and it really does the business, I think also, it just gives off that little bit of heat which helps enormously, currently using it to kiln dry my firewood. Ian

 

[MARK.B.]

Might sound totally but would one of those soil warming cables that are used in green houses and outside be any good wrapped around the machine, could be hidden inside possibly. Same idea as trace heating but easily available and not to costly

 

[Orraloon]

Silicone sprays may hold rust at bay but if silicone gets on the wood then finishing will be a problem with said item ending up blotchy. Silicone is a dirty word in woodworking.
Regards
John

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Heating helps. If you can keep the air temperature above the dew point, moisture is a lot less likely to condense out.

As long as it's 24/7. I didn't have a rust problem til I got a pot belly stove.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Don't use silicone spray where it's likely to come into contact with wood - it can screw up finishes.
Machine wax , Briwax, mould release wax or any fairly hard wax helps. BLO is another.

 

[baldkev]

Sorry for hijacking the thread!

Ice been using silicone spray thtough the winter, i buff it when i want to use a machine, so far no trouble

I will look at soil warming cables, see what they are

And yes, i think I'll have to swap back to dessicant. My thinking was that the ebac would kast longer ( the ecoair that died was about 6 months old, had worked well up until then, but they are domestic. It was about 140 quid, the ebac was 240 )

 

[Ozi]

It sounds like a nightmare place to keep wood as well as machinery. My workshop is very dry (you should have my problems!) wood stored there gets down to about 5% if I'm making things for damper locations I try to catch the correct moisture content in passing. It sounds like you need to work on ventilation as well as dehumidifying and probably a little heat. I will speak to my brother in law who lives in a converted container while he is building his house boat, see if he has any suggestions.