Reply To: Plough plane – advice on buying
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Hi,
I store my tools in a similar, single skin garage. I have a recurring damp problem in there that I have been dealing with for a couple of years. I’m in Wiltshire, and it always seems to be raining here!
Here’s what I did to address rust as much as possible:
i. If you want to hang anything from the walls clad them first with water resistant chipboard. I put 1 inch batten on to the wall, then screwed the chipboard to it. Then I hang French Cleats to the chipboard, and hang my stuff on that. It stops the damp coming through, and that prevents (or slows) down the rust. I’ve done a couple of walls in my garage, and I hang everything on those walls.
ii. Line the floor with interlocking rubber matting. I use something like this:
This is great stuff, and really keeps the damp from seeping up from the floor. I put this under my workbench, and anything else that will be sat permanently. Also, it is great for those times when you drop a tool! I have dropped a couple of big tools on the floor (including my Veritas Router Plane) and both survived without a scratch, which they wouldn’t have done if they’d landed on concrete.
iii. Oil / wax everything. I recently discovered Alfie Shine. It works amazingly well. Just rub a little bit all over your tools, and it will stop rust forming.
http://www.alfieshine.com/Welcome.html
iv. Saying that, if you get any rust forming, sand it off straight away and apply more Alfie Shine. In really cold weather, just blowing dust off a tool will cause condensation, and encourage rust, so bear that in mind.
v. I have some tools in an old tool chest I bought second hand (originally I think from just before WWII). I have it sitting on the floor on some of those rubber mats, and that keeps the damp out. Saying that, if you can, keep as much off the floor as possible.
vi. Plug any gaps around doors, windows, air bricks in your garage. I went around and mastic-ed every gap. It made a lot of difference.
vii. Go around the outside of your garage and make sure nothing is piled up against the walls ABOVE the damp proof layer. I had soil above my DPC on one side, and that really made the garage wet. Removing it helped a lot.
viii. Don’t cover things up. I used to cover all my machines and tools with dust sheets to keep the dust off them, but that encouraged condensation. When I stopped, the rate of rusting on those tools dropped like a stone.
ix. Fit a dust barrier under the garage door. That stops leaves, dust, rain and damp air blowing in. This also helped me a lot.
I got some from here, and it works really well:
https://www.weatherstop.co.uk/
x. Lastly, keep as much off the floor as you can. I have built a saw till and a plane till, and hang both from the walls (using the French Cleat as above).
Regards
Darren.