Leaving a lathe outside...

[Toller]

I am real short on room in my workshop, and a lathe makes a horrible mess. I thought maybe I could kill two birds with one stone by leaving my lathe outside in a shed I am going to build one of these days. (upstate NY) I could just wheel it out of the shed and use it outside when the weather allows.

I left a radial arm saw (or what was left of it after I returned the head to Emerson) in a dirt floored barn for a year and it rusted up pretty bad. Obviously I couldn't leave the lathe in that barn; it would be scrap iron in no time. But my shed will be built on a deck a couple feet off the ground, so I figure the humidity should not be as bad a problem as in the barn.

Is storing the lathe in a well ventilated shed likely to trash it? It won't be that much different than a garage, but I have never kept a tool there...

Thanks.

[Locutus]

Your main problem is going to be changes in temps causing condensation. Might want to consider insulating the shed so temp changes won't happen rapidly.

[Teamcasa]

Not living in the frozen tundra, I can not say with authority how it will survive but its hard to imagine relegating a valuable tool to the shed. If you decide to send it out to the shed you might find it more trouble keeping it from rusting than if it was in regular use in your shop.

Dave

[Edwin Pawlowski]

I (and probably many others) keep our tools in unheated garages. It does take a little care for the exposed iron, of course. I'm not sure the well ventilated is going to be good compared to reasonably sealed and dry. Temperature fluctuation and condensation is the real culprit.

[Leon]

EXACTLY,, I live in a very humid environment and none of my machines rust from humidity. The condensation caused by drastic and quick temperature changes is going to be the problem.

[Pop`ö]

Properly treated, eg waxed and oiled/lubricated, it shouldn't be a problem. Inspect it once a week or two weeks for "just in case" until you can see it's standing up to the conditions. On mine I wax the beam well and then wrap it in oily cloths and I coat the bearings with grease to stop moisture entry. Haven't had a problem in many years, about a decade now.

HTH Pop`

[Phisherman]

Personally I would not do it. My lathe cost over $4000, but I still wouldn't store a cheap one in a shed for more than a week. You could spread grease all over it to protect it from rusting.

[R. Pierce Butler]

"Leon" wrote in news:UEVUg.1710$NE6.1094 @newssvr11.news.prodigy.com:

I have a well insulated shop and I couldn't keep rust from forming on the tool tops. Once I added A/C the problem disappeared.

[Weatherlawyer]

Spray paint it and grease the exposed bits and etc. Spray it with penetrating oil after use and the only problem would be the dirt contaminating the workpiece. (And the elytrickery problems of course.)

How about making an airtight case for it instead of putting it in a shed?

OT: The want of space in the UK is a major factor in the differences in posts to this site and the woodworking posts in UK.d-i-y. Such a little thing to cause such a cultural gap.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

I store two ACs in the garage but still get rust in the winter.

[Ralph E Lindberg]

...

Try BoeShield, much better then grease