I am in the process of setting up a woodworking shop in my basement. The basement is dry, but can get humid on occasion. Should I be concerned about my woodworking equipment rusting? If so, what can I do to prevent it?
Rob Johnstone: There are several products on the market that protect against rust. It pretty easy to prevent surface rust on the exposed areas of your equipment, but the hidden (or more accurately enclosed) areas are a bit trickier. It would not hurt one bit to invest in a de-humidifier: an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Michael Dresdner: Congratulations, and welcome to the club! You are about to embark on a long and very satisfying career of perpetually yearning to buy new tools, and trying valiantly to shoehorn them into your shop.
There are two things you can do to keep them from rusting, and I would suggest doing both. First, coat all the exposed (unpainted) surfaces with either paste wax, or one of the many rust preventative coatings (Boeshield, Slipit, etc.), all of which work even better than wax. Second, invest in a good dehumidifier and run it during the wet season. (See, I told you this would lead to buying new tools!)
