OT: Woodworking magazine storage in garage question

[MJ Wallace]

Yeah, I know it's not woodworking topic, but my woodworking magazines have grown to a volume that has to be dealt with. I am planning to move them into the workshop which is attached to the garage and is insulated, not heated and on a slab. Question I wonder about is: how long will they last there without getting attached by mold, etc? I will be putting them in a storage cabinet. I was thinking of putting in those silicia gel packets to keep the humidity down.

Any other thoughts about this from someone who has done it? I live in No. Calif (above the Golden Gate), so the temps throughout the year will be in the:

25 - 100 range. We are also kinda "dry" humidity wise, but paper I know will soak up almost any moisture.

I searched in Google for archiving, etc. and found that I could use glassine envelopes to protect them, but that seems to be a bit overkill. I want them to last a while but not forever.

MJ Wallace

[J T]

Mon, Jul 12, 2004, 11:18am (EDT-3) [e-mail] (MJ=A0Wallace) Yeah, I know it's not woodworking topic, but my woodworking magazines have grown to a volume that has to be dealt with.

Keep them off the floor, make sure they don't get wet if you roof leaks, hope mice don't get to them.

If you've got that many, I'd go thru them, and get rid of all you absolutely can't stand to part with. I did that awhile back with my Fine Woodworking. Don't regret it for a minute, and plan on doing the same soon with the rest of my old woodworking magazines. However, my WoodenBoat magazines will be staying.

Making a success of the job at hand is the best step toward the kind you want.

- Bernard M. Baruch More likely, your boss gets a raise and/or promotion, from getting credit for your work.

- JOAT

[Phisherman]

Store them in air-tight containers off the ground at least a foot and they will last longer. Ask a librarian for more ideas.

[J. Clarke]

FWIW, most of my dad's boating magazines from the '40s and '50s, stored in a similar shop in Florida, were still readable in the early '90s--insect damage was more of a problem than mold or the like. IMO keeping the bugs out of them would be the main issue.

[rj]

[Joe Emenaker]

1 - If the humidity is high enough to mold paper, I'd worry more about your *tools*. Ever considered getting a dehumidifier? 2 - If you keep them packed or stacked, then you can almost think of it as a stack of lumber with no stickers in between (ie, not much moisture exchange, except for the ends). So, you might want to stack them and put som phone books on top or something. 3 - Those silica gel things are pretty cheap on ebay. I got a big zip-loc bag of the stuff for about $10. The cool part is that it is the *indicating* kind, where it turns pink when it's "full". Then, you toss it in the oven for a while and it turns purple again.

- Joe

[charlie b]

Might check with a pet store that sells reptiles. There are roll up electric strip heaters that might work. They're made to stick on the bottom of a vivarium. Keeps my outdoor caged iguana comfy during the winter without turning him into "tastes just like chicken" horse duvers (apologies to French speaking members and those English speaking members who can spell. Is there a French word in which NONE of the letters are pronounced? Was there some kind of treaty where the French got almost all the vowels and just some of the consenants and the Slavic countries got one or two vowels and almost all of the consenants?)

charlie b

charlie b

[igor]

[NoOne N Particular]

Try going to a marine supply store. Humidity is a constant threat to boats and they will usually have several ways of controlling (or attempting to control) humidity.

Wayne

By the way, the north side like San Quentin?? :-) I am out in the Antioch/Brentwood area so our temps are more like 30-115.

[Robert Bonomi]

Unless you have a persistant moisture accumulation problem in the garage, _mold_ is not likely to be much of an issue. Insects of various forms are a more likely concern.

Note: silica gel is 'useful' *only* in TIGHTLY-CLOSED containers.

I would consider getting some of the plastic storage tubs that have tight-fitting lids. Ones that are _deep_ enough to hold magazines 'standing up'. depending on the size of the tub, you should get two, or three 'columns' of magazines in it. from a weight perspective, one that neatly holds two rows is preferable.

Load each row only about 90% full -- this leaves enough room to 'thumb through' the issues to see what's what, _without_ having them sagging excessively.

Add a couple of 'freshly baked' silica gel packets to each tub, and you should be good.

[nospambob]

[MJ Wallace]

Thanks all to responding to this rather unusual request from this group. I think the best is to put them into plastic see-thru tubs and drop the silicia packets into there. At least they will be protected from mice/bugs and moisture. All I could ask.

I would cull them (as suggested), but you know, everyone now and thenI rummage through them and find something I like to build or discuss a topic that I need to know more about.

Scanning them would be the best, but the amount of time and effort would be tremendous. Perhaps, I could see that for a couple of them, but not all.

Well, thanks to you all again.

MJ Wallace

[Joe Gorman]

Dont count on them for mouse protection, use the little poison cubes, or traps. DAMHIKT Joe

[Bilbo]

When we lived in the Philippines there was a light bulb in the closet that was on all of the time to protect our clothes from the mold etc. that was a problem over there. Seens to me that it was a 25watt bulb for a 6X6 closet.

Bilbo

:)> Any other thoughts about this from someone who :)> has done it? I live in No. Calif (above the Golden Gate), :)> so the temps throughout the year will be in the: :)> 25 - 100 range. We are also kinda "dry" humidity wise, but :)> paper I know will soak up almost any moisture. :)>

:)> I searched in Google for archiving, etc. and found that :)> I could use glassine envelopes to protect them, but that seems :)> to be a bit overkill. I want them to last a while but not :)> forever. :)>

:)> MJ Wallace :)

[MJ Wallace]

Good ideas. I'm in Sebastopol, out towards Bodega and Bodega Bay. We get fog most of the summer it seems, (this is our first year in our new home). So I'm a little concerned about moisture. I also like the space bag idea as well.

MJ Wallace

[Just Allan]

Why not instead spend that money on a sheet-fed scanner? Neatly guillotine (or just cut with scissors) the spines off the magazines/books, scan them on the sheet-fed scanner into OCR software and put onto CD-R. Not only are they then searchable for keywords, but you can share them online with other folks as well.

Allan.

[J. Clarke]

Much bigger task than you might think. Trust me on this--I used to get paid to do that sort of thing. And OCR still doesn't work that well.

As for as "share them online with other folks as well", that is called "copyright violation" and if you do it without permission of the copyright holder it is a crime in most countries.

[Just Allan]

Oh, I know - believe me. I've scanned lots of books - mainly electronics/education related. That's why I suggested cutting off the spines and a sheet-fed scanner. : )

Shh.....!