Long Term Hand Tool Storage


jmaichel

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As some of you may know I am getting ready to move to HI and live there for 3 years. I got rid of almost all my machines and was planning on bringing only my hand tools but now I am thinking about leave those in storage. Anyone have recommendations on how I should store my hand tools for an extended period of time while trying to prevent as much rust as I can?

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This is why they make cosmoline. Any fine grease is a good option. Oil impregnated rags work to a point. Diaper gel or silica gel will absorb atmospheric humidity. Personally I would 336 and seal in a container with a desiccant. You have to be careful with sealed containers if your branch of the service is likely to fly rather than float your stuff.

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You're gonna quit woodworking for three years?  I dunno man, if that felt acceptable to me I guess I'd just sell all my tools and be done with it.  I couldn't go three weeks without itching to build...

I already got rid of all my machines and I really don't want to get rid of my hand tools, the Navy is going to pay to store them locally. I am sure I will be fine, my wife just had another baby and now we have a 2 1/2 year old and 1 month old with at least one more move to go. One of the biggest issues that I have is that I have trouble building furniture that ends up in our house. Mainly because we are not settled down yet and really have no idea where we will end up let alone what our house will be like. 

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You have a lot on your plate...I get it.  But who says you have to build furniture?  Boxes and picture frames and whatever else...who cares?  Maybe it's just me, but I'd have my core set of hand tools in my carry-on luggage if they'd let me, and my plan if I were in your shoes would be to leave Hawaii a master with hand tools.  I'd build little things and hone my skills in my spare time.  Woodworking is therapy...without it I'd have to get a head shrinker and a couple drums of Xanax.

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I can carry any small tool I have in the back of a pickup when it's raining, if I had to, and there is zero rust.  I have over a hundred of the Stanley/Bostitch waterproof toolboxes.  They're normally kept in cubbies so I can get the exact one I want without having to stack and unstack.  The boxes are great though, even if you have to stack them.  They nest so they're stable even if stacked seven or eight high.

 

Lowes sells the 20" box for twenty bucks, and the 28" for thirty.  Walmart also sells the 20 inch boxes for twenty bucks, but not the larger size.  Home Depot sells the 28" for thirty five.   I keep silica gel canisters in the ones with planes and chisels. They are all labeled.  I think I have seven or eight for planes, and a couple for chisels.  I just put 3.36 on them, wrap them with something like an old sock, or old t-shirt, and they're ready to go when I need any particular one.

 

I tested the first one I bought with the pressure washer, and not a drop entered the box.  I used to like to keep planes and chisels out where I could see them, but these days I like zero maintenance, and I know where they are and what condition they're in.

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I'll look.   I made a wooden rack in one of the 20" ones that all my backsaws are in on their backs in slots in the rack.

 

Here's one on Amazon for more than Lowes sells the same thing for.   Some have a Bostitch name on it.  Also, tractor supply sells them with dewalt on them.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Stanley-028001L-28-Inch-Structural-Toolbox/dp/B000KN470Q

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I'll look.   I made a wooden rack in one of the 20" ones that all my backsaws are in on their backs in slots in the rack.

 

Here's one on Amazon for more than Lowes sells the same thing for.   Some have a Bostitch name on it.  Also, tractor supply sells them with dewalt on them.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Stanley-028001L-28-Inch-Structural-Toolbox/dp/B000KN470Q

 

Thanks Tom!

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If youre dead set on leaving them, id go the oil and sealed in containers with a desicant bag in each.

Check if your post in HI has a woodworking club. All of the big Marine Corps bases I was on had a fully stocked wood shop. If I had access still, I wouldn't own a single tool.

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These look like the silica gel canisters I keep in those tool boxes that need them.  I've never had to bake one since putting it in the first time, but I don't leave the box open long when I get something out of one.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Silica-Gel-40-Gram-Hydrosorbent-Desiccant-Aluminum-Canister-5-Pack-/221446675706?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item338f401cfa

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  • 2 months later...

Thought I would give a quick update. I decided to bring my hand tools with me to Hawaii and I am happy to report that they made it here safely with no damage or additional rust including the NOS Sandvik! Thanks Tom for your advice on storing and packing and on the Sandvik hand saw. 

 

 

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