Need storage advice for tools

[woodlandfarms]

So saddly my wife's father and uncle have passed away in the past 6 months. Upside is that both are master wood workers with largish wood shops. I have now inherited both shops loaded with tools

Saddly I do not have an enclosed shop. And I live in the rainy pnw. I guess I could build a shop but I really don't want to as I want to save for something better / bigger. So in the meantime I need to store all these tools.

What I am thinking about is buying a shipping container. But these tools will be in for more than a year. I am hearing horror stories of shipping containers and humidity

Money is an issue. 2k for a 20ft box is a lot but I am stumped for better ideas. Any solutions you can suggest?

 

[jeff9366]

You can buy a 110 volt dehumidifier on Amazon for about $150. Condensate line can be easily plumbed to outside of shipping container.

Set the dehumidifier to activate at 50% humidity.


If you are not interested in using the tools within the next four years, SELL THEM NOW.

 

[ericm979]

If you go the dehumifier route be prepared for it to go bad. I had to replace a control board on mine with only a year's use (which means about six months here). Nothing available from the manufacturer, had to get it off Ebay.

 

[woodlandfarms]

What bout vent holes. I plan to convert the container into a "cabin" on the property after the shop is built.

 

[sandman2234]

Sorry, vent holes won't do it, as the temperature changing in the container is what causes the rust via humidity. I would suggest looking at serious rust preventative solutions that you can apply to the equipment, especially in the critical areas where rust makes the tool worthless! Then keep it in the container, (and possibly adding insulation to the container to help keep temperature swings to a minimum) with a dehumidifier going steady!
Jeff had a very viable solution, one that never works for me, lol, but seems to be a reasonable idea. Your actual interests in the taking a piece of raw wood and making a very nice looking piece of finished furniture will determine if this is really an option. From what I have seen, taking machinery that was owned and loved by craftsmen and later replacing it with the junk that China is shipping us, really isn't a great option.
If your going to keep them, protect them, check on them regularly and enjoy them when you get them out of storage!
If your going to be doing some of the work on your house, then seriously consider going ahead and making the container "a shop".
Double check your pricing of the container. 20 foot boxes demand a premium here, and 40 and above really aren't that much more. For the extra square footage you get, the larger boxes usually are a better deal, as long as your not trying to put it in a residential backyard (which is why the 20' boxes sell for just as much as the bigger ones)
David from jax

 

[bigtiller]

There would be a lot of work to do, to put a "master woodworkers" shop into storage.

If your wife is the only remaining heir, hire an auctioneer and sell everything. Then, when you have the room and are ready for a woodworking shop, buy what you need to do the project at hand. I say this mainly because a "master woodworker with a largish wood shop" will probably have tools that you don't know what they are or how to use them safely. Also, some of the cutting tools will need sharpening and made ready for long term storage. The wood on the bins will need special handling for it to remain viable. There would be a lot of work to do, to put a "master woodworkers" shop into storage.

 

[woodlandfarms]

Yup Bigtiller. It is a lot. Basically a two plus car garage that you can barely walk into. And now I have duplicates (They tended to try and one up each other with gear purchases). The father in law tended to buy high quality gear but rarely used it. What he did produce was amazing. The uncle had older gear but in amazingly great shape and worked with it day in and day out. But selling it is not in the cards. Getting willed the gear changes a lot in the family dynamic. Expectations are high that I will continue building... and I do enjoy it altough as you correctly stated, I am pretty clueless to much of the gear.

 

[hslogger]

As one who knows well the conditions of the great PNW, I offer some thought. Rent some place in a decent warehouse or storage unit that is climate controlled or close to it. Before hand treat all the wood handles with linseed and thinner mix. Treat ALL the metal surfaces with a coat of WD40, Vasoline, machine oil, or some other stuff. Just like the military storing gear, if you store i right it should be ok but you gotta be really serious about coating those surfaces before they get ugly.

 

[countrybumpkin]

How long do you plan on storing the tools and what size of storage unit would have a big impact as to where or how also. If it's a year or less to give you time to build a shop I would rent a climate controlled storage facility , if it's till you get around to building something, and you have room for a container the right size , then I would look for a insulated refer trailer or even a truck mounted box unit from a cold food deliver truck. You could then set up your own climate control system.

 

[ishiboo]

A shipping container can be sealed pretty well. Make sure the door seals are good, and then put a dehumidifier in plumbed to drain outside. Since the container is sealed, it will basically run only for a bit when you open the doors, remove the majority of the humidity in the air, and then stop.

Use Fluid Film on the tools.