Long term tool storage

This is the down side of large inventory.

In MY climate, Missouri, not a CHANCE! Maybe in yours, not sure. Every day when the sun comes up, the air heats up faster than something solid, and moisture can condense on the parts. If the bins are practically hermetic, then there might be a chance. Otherwise, maybe putting them in giant zip-lock bags, with the dessicant and a humidity indicator card sealed inside might help. You can check the humidity card every few months to spot the bags that are leaking. Otherwise, you need a protective spray.

Jon

Not unless you also fill the bins with clean oil. Which isn't a bad idea - pour off the oil, pour in a solvent, shake, stir, pour that off, then wipe down each item as you sell it.

In the Midwest humidity, that stuff is going to rust unless you change those desiccant bags prettty often.

At least that's what my opinion is.

GWE

Covers that snap on are far from having a hermetic seal. You would have a better chance if you sealed the plastic boxes with EB green tape.

Dan

Not a hope.

Cosmoline, LPS-3, or some other long term preservative, or store them in airtight (thus immune to condensation issues) containers with dessicant. A lid that snaps on will breathe. Bad.

Cheers Trevor Jones

Mayonase jars?

John

Thanks to all. Yes, obviously, the lids would breathe. The question is, would desiccant be able to take care of relatively little moisture that enters the boxes during said "breathing".

That stuff is kind of valuable on a per tool basis. I placed moisture measuring pieces of paper that came with desiccant, in the boxes, I will see how they change.

Spraying them all with oil, is not very practicable.

I may clean up the shed a little and move them into the shed, and maybe add some safe heating to them.

Iggy

I don't think the plastic bins will last 12 years outside. Metal containers with rubber seals will hold up, Moisture will get in and the dessicant will take care of that for a while, but you are going to need to change the dessicant on a regular basis, like every 6 months. Then if you coat the tools you may be OK.

Consider vacuum sealed plastic bags with dessicant bags, in metal containers.

Carl Boyd

If the parts are just sitting open in the bins, no way. The dessicant would be saturated in a week or less. If you could put the stuff in zip-lock bags and get everything in the bins without the sharp edges poking tiny holes in the bags, then it might work.

OK, then at least you will know how long it stays dry, but it won't be very long unless the covers are pretty tight. The advantage of the bags is they can expand and crumple inwards in response to thermal expansion and atmospheric pressure changes without actually exchanging any air inside to outside.

I use LPS1. They used to sell it in an economical pump sprayer bottle that did a good job of atomizing the stuff. They don't have that bottle available anymore, but you can buy it in aerosol cans or buy the bulk container and provide your own sprayer. It is kind of like WD-40 but I think it is much better

-- more lube and less evaporation. It doesn't make everything gooey, and you can just wipe it off most things. It is good for removing cosmolene-type stuff, too.

Jon

Im a serious tool collector, have hundreds of unusual metalworking and wood working tools. The best ones I keep in side my house in large card board boxes under my bed. there dry and warm. Other tools not so important are in drawers in another room thats dry but cold. Not so good. Occasional rust forms due to temp and humidity changes. Other toolslike the big ones power presses lathes etc live in my workshop. Thats fine in the summer. but in the winter after a cold snap warm moist air comes in from the sea and they all run with condensation. To prevent rust I paint it all with clean engine oil. Works well. Id store the tools you have in your house under your bed. Safest place.

I'd second the oil idea, it's probably the simplest and most reliable. Whatever new oil is cheapest should be fine.

Pete C.

No. Others have said why. Consider metal ammo boxes of appropriate size. They have excellent seals. Flush and backfill with dry argon from your TIG and/or toss in a desiccant pack and you're good for a coupla decades. Well duh, they're designed to keep ammo viable for long times in all manner of environments including jungle, right? After you sell all of the tools, you could also sell the ammo boxes because they last about forever. I'm still storing some stuff in a couple of ammo boxes that were surplus from WW II or maybe Korea.

BTW, argon from your TIG is an excellent dry inert preservative. I have kept epoxy and urethane paints and catalysts for years that aren't supposed to last more than a week after the can is opened, by flushing and backfilling the cans with argon after use. The catalyst for the epoxy primer I used on the recent Rockchucker clamp was first opened in 1999.

Argon also serves well to keep the remainder of an opened bottle of nice red wine from oxidizing. My preferred approach is to finish the wine, but decorum and/or libido do occasionally preclude gluttony.

Is that the banding cutters?

Wes

Given the cost of storage space (your house and lot have finite size) and of the measures needed to keep these items from rusting, and the interest on the money tied up in the 625 items, does it make economic sense to price them so it takes 12 years to sell out? I suspect not, but a little work with a spreadsheet could be useful.

Joe

No!

In the shortest of terms, it might be satisfactory. The dessicant has a limited amount of water that it can absorb, then it is just so much filler. If you expect them to last, airtight is the only way. Vaccuum would be even better. Dessicant in both cases.

They will look really good for quite a while, then rust.

Then that narrows down the options, doesn't it.

That will improve things somewhat, but you still will not have alleviated the issues that come of atmospheric moisture.

Cheers Trevor Jones

Yes, Signode banding cutters with plastic sleeves on the grips for softness.

I do not know. I will be happy to sell them for about 1/3 of the "12 year" price if I could find a buyer for the entire lot. Which I doubt is going to happen.

Don, good point about the ammo boxes. I will see if I can acquire any (I have a few small .50 cal boxes, but not nearly enough and I need bigger size).

Meanwhile, heeding the warnings, I will monitor the condition of stuff in the plastic totes. I put relatively big bags of desiccant there, and a little moisture indicating strip in each, as well. If I see the strips change color to pink, or the bags getting heavier, I will treat that as an urgent matter.

Gunner

I looked at them, they are too small for me.