Wooden instrument cases designed to absorb moisture & prevent rust

I'm not too sure about the moisture absorbing qualities of wood but I think the main reasons wood was used to package precision tools in the olden times is that it was very much available cheaply and is a softer material that won't mar the tools, rather than for its moisture absorbing qualities. Wood is still being employed today for its traditional and aesthetic appearance but plastics are also becoming very common.

Wed, Aug 8, 2007, 10:25pm (EDT-3) snipped-for-privacy@organresearch.com (LowEnergyParticle) doth qery: Measuring tools and instruments often come in wooden cases. The idea is that the case will absorb moisture from the tool and thereby keep it from rusting. I've cross-posted to our brethern over in rec.woodworking since they have specialized knowledge of woods, as well as a shared deeply-held hatred of rust on tools!

I've never heard the "wooden case keeps tool from rusting" story before. My old man was a tool maker. According to him. micrometers, etc., come in wooden cases to protect them from getting knocked out of kilte. For rust protection he wiped his micrometers down before putting them away.. His cases were lined with felt too, I would imagine they still do that. If I recall right, the felt was slightly oily - but whether intentionally, or simply from picking up wil from his mikes, I have no idea. Same with his wooden tool chest.

Last time rec.woodworking got cross-posted to, in good faith, it led to an invasion of trolls, that lasted for a considerable time. Appreciate it if you just come over and post next time, rather than cross-posting.

JOAT I do things I don't know how to do, so that I might learn how to do them.

- Picasso

There is no "water absorbtion issue."

Wood reaches equilibrium water content with its surroundings--most air, damp wood, dry air, dry wood--and most of what it absorbs comes from the air around it, not the tool stored inside. In other words, if you're storing a tool in a humid climate, the wood is going to reach equilibrium with that climate and will most definitely not absorb any more moisture to protect the wood. Wood as a rust preventer works well in Arizona deserts (no rust prevention needed). It's not helpful in Atlanta or New Orleans.

Wood has traditionally been used to protect measuring tools and similar instruments from physical damage other than rust. Wood doesn't absorb water well enough to work as a dessicant. Period. Buy a reheatable dessicant if you want water absorption. Old tools in wooden boxes that come through rust free were almost certainly stored in areas of low humidity.

Jim, JT, and Charlie,

Thank you all very much! I'm going to treat the wooden-box-as-rust- preventer story as hogwash and finish boxes inside and out with polyurethane. Furthermore, since I live down on the Gulf Coast near Houston, where humidity sometimes presents a small problem, I'm going to buy a case of those small cans of reheatable dessicant and clip one inside every box.

Thanks very much for the help. Dave

If I were refurbishing an antique, I'd try to match the original condition. If the interior were unfinished, I don't think I'd paint it with DayGlo enamel (or anything else).

... and all this time I thought the cases were to prevent the tool from getting banged, damaged and knocked out of alignment.

With all my old tools that have factory wooden cases, the cases are unfinished, nothing on them except some inked or burned-in labels. The "moisture-absorbtion" thing is bogus, if anything, they'd retain moisture and rust the tools even faster. Wood will track the relative humidity changes. Wood was used because it was cheap and easy to work and it was softer than the tools contained within. Same as plastic today.

If I had to put a finish on them, I'd use shellac inside and outside. It's relatively impermeable to moisture and can be readily removed and/ or touched up. Urethanes are hard to recoat and harder to strip. If you just do one side, you're going to warp the case due to differential moisture pickup. If you don't believe it, paint a thin slat on one side with your favorite varnish, wait until it dries and hold it edge on to a steaming tea kettle. Same reason both sides of a tabletop should be finished.

Stan

I'd second the recommendation to avoid polyurethane. My favorite is tung oil. Since I discovered it in the 70s, I've never used anything else. Even my hardwood floors and kitchen cabinets are treated with it. PU dings and dents, and you have to sand the whole thing down to fix it. With tung oil, you just use a little steel wool on the local area and recoat. The oil soaks into the grain and polymerizes on contact with the moisture in the air. Of course, I do have to reapply the finish every few years on the floor and cabinets (surfaces that are subject to wear), but it's a small price to pay for a finish that really lets the wood's beauty & character show to its best advantage.

BTW, if you use tung oil, only buy the pure stuff, not the Formby's crap. I buy it by the gallon at Ace Hardware - their store brand seems to be tha same as the Park's I used to use. The Behr brand is good, too, but it imparts a somewhat yellow (honey?) shade to the wood.

For old furniture restoration, though, nothing beats a good shellac finish. Buy the flakes, and make it up as needed.

Joe

On Fri, 10 Aug 2007 07:15:42 -0400, with neither quill nor qualm, Joe quickly quoth:

Why do all you guys keep misspelling "polyurinestain"?

If you like pure tung, give Waterlox a try. It's varnish + tung oil so it builds more quickly. I buy the medium sheen and degloss from there.

The flakes have doubled (tripled?) in price since I bought that pound of dewaxed SuperBlonde from Keeter about 8 years ago. I'm glad I got it when I did. Which reminds me that I'm down to half a pint of denatured alcohol. Time for a gallon refill.

Lime (linden, basswood) is one of the best European options for inner liners. Even better though are some of the Japanese traditional timbers for cabinetry liners -- a culture with skilled woodworkers and a hard climate to store things in.