Plane Socks

[marcros]

Are there any cheap/home-made alternatives to plane socks, to prevent rust on hand planes and small tools over winter? I don’t particularly want to have to bring them inside and take them out every time I want to use them. I could potentially make/line a specific tool box, could get SWMBO to make some cotton bags from a bed sheet and put a desiccant sachet in each. I don’t really want to have to strip a coating off the plane every time I want to use it, and I don’t fancy rigging up anything electronic. I have heating on when in there, but no permanent power.

 

[Glynne]

When you say "no permanent power", do you mean no elctrical sockets?
If so, it may be worthwhile to run some power to your garage / workshop and invest in a dehimidifier.
I had a similar problem a few years back but invested in an EBAC and for a few pence a day it works wonders.

 

[marcros]

yes, the power is plugged in to the house via an outside socket. Inside the garage are a couple of sockets (and dare I say it an extension lead). I am going to get the electrics properly done, although it may be springtime now. I would like to look into having the workshop rebuilt, so havent rushed with the electrics, so that I dont end up replacing the wall that they are fixed to.

Last year, I found that a cotton duct sheet over the planer beds stopped rust- it is dry inside. I didnt own any hand planes then though. This is probably more of a precaution, if there was a big risk, I would bring them inside.

 

[Cheshirechappie]

I have seen it claimed that keeping tools in a wooden box (or tool chest) slows down the onset of corrosion. There may be a grain of truth in this, since wood is a good insulator, so the atmosphere inside a closed wooden box probably stays a bit more stable than the atmosphere outside it. The effect would almost certainly be helped by adding some desiccant in some form. Applying a good film of something easy to wipe off, like Camellia oil, before putting tools away would help, too - though it wouldn't completely prevent rusting happening eventually.

Edit to add - A tool box doesn't have to be anything very fancy. Richard Maguire knocks up a very serviceable example here - http://www.theenglishwoodworker.com/?p=1904

 

[Jacob]

The prob is condensation when you get warmer humid air wafting into a cold workshop, say after a thaw. Low temp itself not a prob, its cold surfaces plus warmer humid air. So keeping them in a cupboard or box will probably do it, assuming the place is reasonably weather proof to start with.

 

[Andrewf]

I have several tool boxes that I have inherited and the tools in them are showing no sign of rust. These boxes sit in my fathers rather cold shed all year round. Though most of the tools are very old and have obtained a nice black patina on the steel. Which may also stop some of the light surface rust.

 

[zb1]

I literally use socks. Old cotton sport socks that get covered in WD40 for a few days. My planes live in them permanently inside my toolboxes on site, in the workshop and in the back of the pickup in the rain if the weather turns. I just top up the sock with WD40 every so often (probably not as often as I should) inside and out. I have never found a spot on them yet. I also keep my spokeshave in one and wrap my drawknife in a cotton rag soaked the same way.

 

[matthewwh]

You have to be careful with oily cloths as there is a small risk of spontaneous combustion.

Silica gel works like a sponge so it will absorb atmospheric moisture once in a sealed container, each time you open the container you then need to dry it out with a quick spin in the microwave to maintain the protection.

Plane socks are a good idea but, unless they have changed recently, contain silicon, which can play havoc with some finishes.

The best product we have found are these:



You pop the lid off and they emit a vapour phase corrosion inhibitor (anti rust gas) that gets into all the nooks and crannies. You can open the cupboard and use the tools with no need to wipe anything on or off, and as soon as you close the cupboard the protection starts building up again.

VCI is chemically similar to soap so it's safe to use and they are very effective.

The Imperial War Museum ran a test on them before they began using them to protect their exhibits and recommending them to other museums.

4-1/2 months at 100% RH with toolguard (above) and the control experiment without (below)

 

[marcros]

You have to be careful with oily cloths as there is a small risk of spontaneous combustion.

Silica gel works like a sponge so it will absorb atmospheric moisture once in a sealed container, each time you open the container you then need to dry it out with a quick spin in the microwave to maintain the protection.

Plane socks are a good idea but, unless they have changed recently, contain silicon, which can play havoc with some finishes.

The best product we have found are these:



You pop the lid off and they emit a vapour phase corrosion inhibitor (anti rust gas) that gets into all the nooks and crannies. You can open the cupboard and use the tools with no need to wipe anything on or off, and as soon as you close the cupboard the protection starts building up again.

VCI is chemically similar to soap so it's safe to use and they are very effective.

The Imperial War Museum ran a test on them before they began using them to protect their exhibits and recommending them to other museums.

4-1/2 months at 100% RH with toolguard (above) and the control experiment without (below)

I like that VCI idea. I will get an order placed and find a suitable box to put the planes in.

 

[Dangermouse]

Any box will do as long as its air tight, even an old plastic toy box. The need is to keep the damp air away from the cold tools, that's all. Rust is oxidisation caused by a chemical reaction between oxygen and steel aided by water. So eliminate one of these things and you don't get rust. you cant really do away with the steel, but you can the other two. Either with a gas like the VCI set up or with an air tight box, containing water absorbing crystals. As long as the box is closed there will be no rust and you can dry off the crystals in an oven to reuse. Also I have been told that mothballs do the same job as the VCI, but have never tried them as I my workshop is heated and very dry.

 

[gmgmgm]

Rather than socks- for small planes you could use shoe bags. Not unattractive, and they usually have a good quality draw-string to close them.

 

[bugbear]

I have seen it claimed that keeping tools in a wooden box (or tool chest) slows down the onset of corrosion. There may be a grain of truth in this, since wood is a good insulator, so the atmosphere inside a closed wooden box probably stays a bit more stable than the atmosphere outside it.

There's more than a grain of truth - it works a treat, as long as the box has a close fitting lid or drawers.

BugBear