1 Season of tools

[rbk]

Originally Posted by owly

Nobody mentioned using a foodsaver, which should be a no brainer on a boat. You can put tools in vacuum sealed bags....... Not to mention clothing, etc. Best, foodsaver makes plastic boxes that can be vacuumed. Spray the tools with a light film of oil, vacuum seal them. Rust is OXIDATION.....a vacuum lacks oxygen.


someone needs to market a vacuum sealed toolbox...........



H.W.

I do this for parts but tools it would get tiresome cutting open a $1 bag each time I needed a wrench.

[dwedeking2]

I have my tools in plastic tubs with lids broken down into categories. I then put cloth shop rags in the tubs that have been sprayed with wd40. Just wipe down the tools as I put them away each time, periodically spray down the rags.

I have a small tool bag that i load up for a specific project for the day.

[Dsanduril]

All of the above, but in addition I have a roll of VCI (vapor corrosion inhibitor) paper that use. For things like a wrench roll I lay out the fabric flat, then a layer of VCI, then the tools, then roll them up. I think it help.

There are also VCI toolboxes, I have a couple, not sure how well they have worked (seems OK, but could be all the other things I do and the boxes make no difference).

[rbk]

Originally Posted by dwedeking2

I have my tools in plastic tubs with lids broken down into categories. I then put cloth shop rags in the tubs that have been sprayed with wd40. Just wipe down the tools as I put them away each time, periodically spray down the rags.

I have a small tool bag that i load up for a specific project for the day.

I like that idea! Just PVC/ABS tubes? You could build a grid and slide each tube in or out as needed like wine bottles...

[dwedeking2]

Originally Posted by rbk

I like that idea! Just PVC/ABS tubes? You could build a grid and slide each tube in or out as needed like wine bottles...

Just cheap sterilite home depot tubs. The idea down the road was to do just that, build a rack system with a bracing front bar to keep things from sliding out while underway. Cheap simple effective.

http://svpomaikai.com/living-on-a-sailboat-corrosion/

[rbk]

Originally Posted by dwedeking2

Just cheap sterilite home depot tubs. The idea down the road was to do just that, build a rack system with a bracing front bar to keep things from sliding out while underway. Cheap simple effective.

Living On A Sailboat: Corrosion | The Sailing Vessel Pomaika'i

Ya I misread that for 'tubes'. But some 4" PVC tubes with crew on end caps and a rack would be cheap and easy, label the ends and outside, waterproof etc hmmm

[owly]

Originally Posted by rbk

I do this for parts but tools it would get tiresome cutting open a $1 bag each time I needed a wrench.

Obviously I was not advocating this as a daily storage thing for tools frequently used.... at least not bags. The containers I mentioned are reusable of course. The largest I know of is 6.25" side by 12.5" long, and 4.5" deep. They are about $20 each. A few of these would hold a lot of hand tools, and prevent rust by virtue of eliminating oxygen. Here is a link: Vacuum Food Saver Containers

[skenn_ie]

You can get bronze tools. They are usually just for the petrochemical industry as they don't create sparks. Damned expensive though. Alternatively, get steel ones and electro-nickel plate them yourself

[exMaggieDrum]

I was a tech for several years and boat a set of Craftman's "Professional" wrenches. They were polished and very pretty. I have had them for many years not and have yet to have any rust on them. They spent 4 years on the PNW coastal inshore waters, 4 years as a tech before that in marinas, 10 years in my home shop in a town where I can see the saltwater, and now 5 years on our boat, again in PNW waters. No rust. Not even a bit.


Other wrenches I had rusted completely. My Craftsman sockets and wrenches also have lasted well. I do have some discoloration where I put divots in them from shorting on batteries or large battery cables and starters, etc.



Now I have this special plastic bits that are impregnated with some kind of rust inhibitor. You are supposed to keep them in the tool box. These have not worked very well. I don't remember the brand.


I have sprayed my other tools with various things and I think some of them help but some of the sprays stay sticky or greasy for a long time. Others dry and don't leave a residue.


If anything gets salt water on it I rinse with fresh and then dry. If just fresh water I dry before putting them away too.


Just my personal experiences.



Just my experience.

[skenn_ie]

VCI (Vapor Corrosion Inhibitors) work best in a sealed container. There are all sorts of products using the same principle.

[Dockhead]

#8 - don't worry about it?

Or in other words:

"People with experience with boats do say, 'rust never sleeps.' Brown is the natural color of steel, just like green is the natural color for stuff that has copper in it. Accept that oxidation is a force of nature and you, well, you're Dorothy, small and meek."

Brown is the natural color of steel! Ha!

Originally Posted by disputin

We put the sailboat into the Puget Sound for the summer and I put together a set of tools for my boat and for the most part the chrome tools have held up well. Sockets, box wrenches, etc. However, the steel alloy (dark gray) parts are showing rust. Electric screwdriver bits, allen wrenches, the bottom of my socket driver, the head of my Ancor crimper are all showing a light coat of rust.

A coating of machine oil will probably help slow down the process.

So what does everyone else do?

1) Hah, hah, ha you bought a boat, whaddya expect
2) A yearly trip to Harbor Freight to replace said steel alloy parts, and you'll be right as rain
3) I by brand ______, expensive, but they really slow down the rate of rust
4) Throw all those desiccant packets into your toolbox, it'll do wonders
5) My tools leave my boat when I leave my boat....
6) Keep it oily
7) Something I haven't thought of?!?

Thanks,

Sean