# My tools are dripping wet



## lumberjoe (Mar 30, 2012)

It's been COLD here lately - like in the teens and twenties. Right now it's about 55. I figure it's a good time to get started on a project or two. I open the garage door, and everything is soaked. Not from dripping water, but condensation. My cast iron already has rust spots (including my brand new bandsaw which I haven't really even used yet). This didn't happen last year, but I really didn't start buying tools until mid march.

Any good tips on preventing further rust? I coat the cast iron with Johnsons every time I use a tool, but I don't think that is good enough


----------



## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

aaah, the niceties of leaving in NE (or any place which gets hit with high humidity at times).

scrub, clean, coat with paste wax… rinse and repeat as necessary.

For an extra step of protection I actually cover all my machines with a moving blanket to keep the humidity levels between blanket and cast iron to a minimum. so far after a few years it seems to be doing well. still have some light rust from time to time (usually on the BS which due to it's structure is hard to fully cover sometimes) which scrubs off easily with a green pad, but nothing major and nothing often.

definitely enjoying the granite TS top


----------



## Bill1974 (Mar 24, 2010)

There isn't much that can be done to eliminate this problem. Your best bet is to keep your garage warmer and/or keep the door closed when the weather changes like is has. An option would be to use a fan to warm the garage as the temperature is rising so the tool get change to warm up as the weather warms up. A heater in the garage and some insulation are the most practice options, this would also allow you to work more comfortably when is cold.

When ever you get a sudden change in temperature it's going to happen. Any time your tools (or anything for that matter) is significantly colder then the air around it you will get condensation. Look us dew point for an explanation, if you are interested.


----------



## bhog (Jan 13, 2011)

I had the same problem yesterday.Went out last night and was shocked at what I saw.Had rubbed down table saw and jointer with johnsons 4 days ago.We got up to 70 yesterday after it being cold for a bit.
So today hit t.s,jointer,and shaper with some wd and steel wool followed by a super coat of paste,and covered em up.


----------



## Sodabowski (Aug 23, 2010)

*WAX THE HECK OUT OF THEM!*

*bold* + CAPS = *FULL FAT*, which means "of utmost importance"


----------



## b2rtch (Jan 20, 2010)

You could use a dehumidifier, but your best bet is to keep your shop warm. ( it could get expensive)


----------



## lumberjoe (Mar 30, 2012)

Heating the shop is not an option this year. I just finally got it cleaned out and more than doubled my size. Thomas, I am diligent and heavy handed with the wax. I wiped everything down and went nuts with the paste wax. I covered the bandsaw and table saw with blankets. Fortunately, my table saw wasn't bad. I left the cross cut sled on it last night and that covers almost all the cast iron.


----------



## Grandpa (Jan 28, 2011)

It happens everywhere but more often in some places. I have only experienced it once in my shop in SW Oklahoma. That was years ago (when it used to rain here) but it can still happen. I am surprised it hasn't happened this week with the kind of weather we are having. Clean and wax. Covering should help some. Control the air flow into the shop and condition the air if possible. Sorry to hear about the problem.


----------



## lumberjoe (Mar 30, 2012)

I started woodworking mid march last year, so I guess I missed the window. This sucks. Instead of buying more tools, I'm going to look into climate control


----------



## b2rtch (Jan 20, 2010)

Before you do anything else, insulate and then insulate some more.


----------



## JoeinGa (Nov 26, 2012)

Watch craigslist for a dehumidifer….


----------



## toolie (Mar 16, 2011)

*There isn't much that can be done to eliminate this problem.*

short term solution: cover your CI surfaces. this will retard, or completely eliminate, rust due to cold temperatures. i have an unheated uninsulated 12×20 one car garage shop. i keep sheets of masonite on most of my CI surfaces. also converts my TSs into light duty assembly tables. for things like jointers, i cover them with anything - blankets, sheets, comforters, those wildly overpriced and not worth it HTC tool covers, almost anything. heck, i've placed a TS outfeed table made of plywood work side down on a CI TS and prevented rust formation. i haven't waxed my jointer in 3 years. *COVER YOUR TOOLS!*


----------



## 280305 (Sep 28, 2008)

Thanks for posting this. I also live in MA and this is exactly the kind of day that causes these problems. I hadn't been in my shop all day, so after reading this I went out to check. It looks like my cardboard covers were up to the challenge.

About five years ago, when I was just starting to get some big tools, there was a day just like this in the winter. I was amazed at all the water that had condensed on the cast iron surfaces. Since then, I have kept them waxed and covered and had no problems.

Dehumidifying my shop would include dehumidifying the entire earth. For me, this is the best solution.


----------



## lumberjoe (Mar 30, 2012)

So all the cast is heavily waxed and covered. It's amazing how fast that stuff rusts. I used a piece of plywood for the bandsaw. I just cut it until the table was covered and then shut it down. That's pretty annoying and very unexpected. Instead of a productive shop day like I had planned, I chopped up some plywood I was using for a project down the road.

Chuck, same here. I have the draftiest 20×20 2 car garage in existence. I was planning on drywalling/insulating and putting in a ceiling at some point. That some point is going to be sooner rather than later.

The good news is I found a gas line while I was cleaning! I need to find out if it is still hooked up. That will make my heating solution pretty simple.


----------



## Pcwoodchipes (Jan 22, 2013)

I live in Fl this is thing we have to live with all the time with the hi humidity and it keep thing with a Rust on your tools. I have to keep them wax and lub down .


----------



## juniorjock (Feb 3, 2008)

Is the space insulated? You wouldn't believe the difference in using just R13. That's what I used in my shop. Its 2×4s on 2' center. Its all about keeping the drafts out and keeping the warm air from the cold air. It will help in the summer too. Before I insulated, my shop was getting up to about 115 degrees on hot days. It still gets warm, about 80-85, but not near as bad as it was.

Edit: Of course you would need a vapor barrier too. Good luck. Hope you get it figured out. Rust ain't no fun…....


----------



## cutworm (Oct 2, 2010)

Happened to me a few weeks back. 25 one night and 70 two days later. Left the garage door open too long.


----------



## lumberjoe (Mar 30, 2012)

No insulation yet. I am pretty sure insulation, vapor barrier, and drywall will replace some big projects I was planning on doing this year.


----------



## RonInOhio (Jul 23, 2010)

If you insulate and use drywall, do not use a poly vapor barrier behind the drywall. If you do, the drywall will eventually get wet and crumble to pieces. Poly has little to no permealibility to air and moisture vapors. If vapor can't vent through the poly, it will accumilate in the drywall itself.


----------



## MonteCristo (May 29, 2012)

High humidity isn't just bad for your cast surfaces. It's also bad for the guts of electrical components (switches, motors . . .). In a sense, the cast surfaces are the canary in the coal mine that's telling you you need to get the *relative* humidity lower.


----------



## Planeman40 (Nov 3, 2010)

You might try spraying your machine surfaces with WD-40 instead of waxing them.

WD-40 was developed during WW-2 by the US Navy to combat rust on its machines in its ships. The WD-40 was the 40th formulation in the "Water Displacement" search, thus its name. WD-40 is made to seep into micro cracks and crevices in metal and displace any water molecules. It leaves a film that continues to protect. You can read about this on the WD-40 website.

I have used WD-40 on all of my tools, some of which are metal lathes and milling machines, and have virtually no rust problems. I do have an air conditioned basement though. I have no problem with getting it on any wood going through my machines. It seems to dry and leave a thin wax-like coating.

What I do is spray it on and wipe it around, then leave it overnight to "soak in" and wipe it off the following morning. Machines treated this way can easily go a year or more between treatments. I have had tools stored away unused in the shop for five or six years and have found them without rust.

It works great for me. Maybe it will be of some help for you.

Planeman


----------



## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

Joe,

After reading and responding to your post yesterday I figured I'd check on my machines when I get home from work expecting to see them soaked in water and light rust covering them

I checked my machines in my unheated, uninsulated, unanything garage last night after getting back from work. My climate is the same as yours, and I haven't been using my machines for quite some time now (think months) so they are just sitting there.

That said- they are sitting with moving blankets on top of them and none had any rust (they did have some dust though  )

just to say - covering machines does make a big difference.


----------



## lumberjoe (Mar 30, 2012)

I think if I had just left the garage door shut and not fussed around in there I would have been better off. I had plans to do some work so I went out early in the morning. It was warm outside and FREEZING in the garage. I left the door open to get some warm air in. When I first started working, everything was ok. Then I noticed the windows were fogging up. I took my monstrous dog for a walk and when I came back, everything was dripping wet.

It's all covered now. No new rust from yesterday. The ways on my lathe look 100 years old but that is an easy fix. The bandsaw and table saw have tiny little spots, but nothing like yesterday. I have a piece of plywood on the cast iron on the bandsaw, but is it still wet under the table and there are little rusty drips on the floor. I threw an old sheet over the entire saw after blowing all the water off and wiping it down.


----------



## toolie (Mar 16, 2011)

covering machines helps a lot. hope it works as well for you as it works for me.


----------



## Craftsman70 (Jul 31, 2012)

I keep a dehumidifier plugged in year round in my shop, in addition during the winter I keep tarps over the tools.


----------



## SCOTSMAN (Aug 1, 2008)

line your shop with styrofoam on the cielings etc walls also if needed this does work as I bought a steel garage for storing the wood this year and have exactly the same peoblem everything is dripping and I need to line the steel garage now my woodshed. Don't despair it is doable. Alistair


----------



## RussellAP (Feb 21, 2012)

Don't use a fan, it will only make it worse. If you have a lathe, simply coat the CI with some of the shavings the night before a warm up and it won't allow moisture to form on the surface. It's easy to clean up too.


----------



## crank49 (Apr 7, 2010)

Definately run a dehumidifier.

Hanging a light bulb under major tools and keeping them covered would also help.


----------



## lumberjoe (Mar 30, 2012)

A humidifier would be pointless. Like Chuck mentioned, I would be dehumidifying the earth. My garage is a windy, drafty place right now.


----------



## RussellAP (Feb 21, 2012)

The draft is your biggest problem, if you could keep the air flow down it would help considerably.


----------



## OggieOglethorpe (Aug 15, 2012)

My brother-in-law built a well-insulated sealed box in his unheated, drafty as a wind tunnel, East Haddam, CT barn for storage of things like tools and furniture. It worked!

Any chance of building something like that in the corner, where you could roll everything in when not in use, and maybe add a 100 watt lamp and silica gel boxes? It could be as simple as some framing, flakeboard, and blue foam…


----------

