Comments on: How to Save Your Tool Chest and Your Tools from Water

By: Charles Peek

Charles Peek — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 00:14:43 +0000

I plan to build my work bench this spring. It will use the heavy part of a upright piano, hard maple, and purpleheart for the legs or leg ends, & whatever else I use that is cheaper ($).
I took the piano apart about 20 years ago, when I was in my prime. I saved the soundboard for imaginary projects to come. Try taking one apart. The glue was stout and pre WW2 or WW1.

By: Christopher Schwarz

Christopher Schwarz — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 01:49:43 +0000

Jim,

Sad to say, my casters are Chinese-made 2″ cast casters from Home Depot. I couldn’t find any well-made domestic ones.

By: jwaldron

jwaldron — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 21:28:32 +0000

If you mean West epoxy, take care. Epoxy seals the surface of wood and stops water and moisture penetration. If you seal only one side, moisture on the opposite face can cause big problems.

On boats, we use epoxy to fully encapsulate wood (on all surfaces)to protect and waterproof. Works great, albeit expensively and a bit fussy and time consuming to apply. Pretty much eliminates changes in dimensions with the seasons.

By: crombenevolant

crombenevolant — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 15:48:06 +0000

Following the same logic, would it make sense to put sacrificial rot strips on the bottom of workbench legs? Perhaps a couple of inches of white oak or cypress as a foot? In most cases your workbench is sitting right next to the tool chest, so it would be exposed to the same conditions. I am in the process of building my bench and wondering if this would be a good step to increase the lifetime of the bench.

Justin

By: jwaldron

jwaldron — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 01:00:00 +0000

Some years ago, I worked with a British master yacht joiner (a master in the very old-fashioned sense) who kept most of his hand tools in a chest.

He had drain holes in the bottom as well as “rot strips” (which he called “lifts”). But, according to him, the real protection of tools over time is to rub them down – not with an “oily rag” but with a rag saturated with lanolin. A very thin coat of lanolin on the surface of each tool affords much greater protection, he says, than oils can give.

He said that shore-side joiners used suet or mutton tallow, but on the water, lanolin is far more water proof and salt tolerant.

By: switzforge

switzforge — Sun, 16 Dec 2012 23:42:49 +0000

I have my antique chest up on a furniture dolly. One of those low to the ground rectangular things with 4 wheels (from, gasp, Harbour fieght) Didn’t require any modification to the chest keeps it off the floor and on wheels.

By: geezer

geezer — Sun, 16 Dec 2012 19:38:29 +0000

As I have been absorbing the ATC and reflected on your your choice of cypress as bottom boards I thought why not give the outside a coat of WEST about 1/3 of the hgt. Not sure how that would affect seasonal movement.

By: oldster

oldster — Sun, 16 Dec 2012 17:00:12 +0000

Assuming water levels shallower than the thickness of the rot strips, I have to wonder if it would be practical to isolate the strips from the main body? If you are able to prevent wicking to the box by placing a barrier strip between the strip and the box, something such as 1/16″ vinyl, or linoleum, aluminum, I would think that this would isolate the wetness, and it would not really show to the eye.

Just a thought.

Lee (the saw guy)

By: Old Baleine

Old Baleine — Sat, 15 Dec 2012 23:50:49 +0000

Whenever I build anything out of wood that may or will be exposed to water, I make sure to seal the endgrain with an acrylic waterproofing sealer, slightly dilute tung oil, or BLO. Pour the sealer into a mixing cup or can and stand the end grain up, on end, in the solution, until the endgrain has wicked up as much solution as it can.

I have found this extends the life of doors, wooden window screens, ladders, whatever, by a factor of at least ten.

By: Jim Maher

Jim Maher — Sat, 15 Dec 2012 17:33:43 +0000

BTW, got a recommendation for casters on the Anarchist’s Tool Chest?