I have just finished building some drawers for my workbench and was planning to line these. I was thinking about using pool table felt but maybe someone has a better idea.
I have just finished building some drawers for my workbench and was planning to line these. I was thinking about using pool table felt but maybe someone has a better idea.
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Replies
I like to line mine with anti-skid shelf liner that I buy at the bargain store for $1 (12"x60"). Sears also sales drawer liners 24" X 132" for $??... can't remember. Tools stay put and it's less noisy.
Edited 4/13/2008 6:02 pm ET by bricofleur
How about cork? Felt might trap saw dust. I would think the saw dust would absorb moisture and rust the items stored. Why do machinists use felt? Do they impregnate it with oil? It must do something beneficial or they wouldn't use it.
Adam
Adam,
What is it about saw dust that would absorb moisture moreso than cork (bark from a tree) or the wooden drawer sides and bottom?
Ray
Cork has a closed-cell structure--it doesn't absorb water (which is why you can use a cork to seal a bottle).
-Steve
Steve,
Granted, but wouldn't wood dust/shavings be only as moist or dry as the same wood in the lumber rack, or the drawer side? Assuming you didn't pour your wine ;-) into it, just humidity.
Ray
Btw, the old remedy for leaking fuel petcocks is to take the cork gaskets out, and steam them to swell them up. Guess that stuff is only so waterproof.
I think the concern with sawdust is its high surface area, so it absorbs and emits vapor much more readily than solid wood. That said, I doubt that it would make much difference--it's not like you're burying the tools in sawdust.
"Btw, the old remedy for leaking fuel petcocks is to take the cork gaskets out, and steam them to swell them up. Guess that stuff is only so waterproof."
I'm sure that the cork is responding to the heat, not the water vapor. Steaming is a convenient means of applying a controlled amount of moderate heat--as when cooking in a double boiler, it's harder to overheat something that way.
-Steve
Steve,
"I'm sure that the cork is responding to the heat, not the water vapor"
Well, we all know what the effect of high humidity is on wood. Why not cork? White oak is watertight enough to make barrels, but still moves seasonally.
Ray
"Well, we all know what the effect of high humidity is on wood. Why not cork?"
You're making the assumption that cork is compositionally similar to wood (both coming from trees, after all), but they're not. Cork is extremely hydrophobic (like wax), so getting water in or out is a real challenge. If you boiled a piece of cork for hours and hours, you could probably make a measurable change in its internal moisture content, but considering the lengths that wine cork manufacturers go to to clean contaminants out of their cork (soaking in high-pressure liquified carbon dioxide, for example), I think it's safe to assume that it's not something that's easily done.
-Steve
steve,
I'll bow to your superior knowledge of the subject, and stick a cork in it.
Cheers,
Ray
Greg, quality billiard cloth like Simmonis from Belgum is not a good choice in a bench drawer. It is like linning them with the worsted fabric from a $900 suit. It is also a favorite meal for moths and other critters. It may work in a tool chest if you have very air tight joinery/drawers and covers or use mothballs. Better to use the polyester fabric type or any of the tool drawer liners. Paddy
One of the best things you can put in your tool box are a few blocks of Camphor, used to be able to get it at drug stores. It gives off a vapor that coats the tools and prevents rust. An old tool & die makers trick.
Work Safe, Count to 10 when your done for the day !!
Bruce S.
Hi Bruce, Good to know. I just got a large piece of Camphor from my "wood Guru" and have been looking for an excuse to slice a piece just to take a whiff. Now I have one.
Thanks, Brian
mouse pads. I use a couple to rest my handplanes on
Look ma, no jigs!!!
I have used shower floor mats, cut to size.
Frosty
"I sometimes think we consider the good fortune of the early bird and overlook the bad fortune of the early worm." FDR - 1922
Indoor outdoor carpet or the very thin Neoprene can also work .
dusty
I have had enough bad experiences with plastic and rubber drawer liners to suggest that you stay away from them. Many of them, and there is no way I know of to tell the good from the bad, have chemical residues that seem to encourage rusting where the metal touches the liner even in a shop that has no other rust problems.
The traditional liner, used in machinist's tool chests, is a wool felt and it is what I would use, although they do catch sawdust.
John White
Edited 4/14/2008 1:04 pm ET by JohnWW
I've used this adhesive-backed felt with good results. It seems to be reasonably tough, although I haven't had long-term experience with it. It's easier to apply if you can do it on a flat surface (i.e., before you put the drawer together).
Suede-Tex doesn't offer a whole lot of protection, and it does wear a bit over time, but it's fine for light-duty applications, and also works well with French-fitted drawers, where it would be difficult if not impossible to get a sheet material to conform to the various nooks and crannies.
-Steve
How about foam rubber carpet padding? You can probably get remnants for a song at a carpet store.
Ken
I'm with kenshep on the carpet padding. I used it to line 12- 36" x 24" and 8- 20" x 24" workbench drawers. I got mine as surplus from a carpet job, but you can buy the stuff for $2.50 per square yard. It comes in 6 foot wide rolls.
I just built a three drawer cabinet for under the extension table on my PM. Lined the drawers with cork and it's working well. Gives a little bounce which helps protect the more delicate things (marking/measuring) and is not expensive and very easy to install. Wood glue works fine. Comes in pieces or rolls. I went with rolls 2' X 4' X 1/8". About $4.00 a piece if I remember right.
The thicker pieces cut nicely on the TS. Thought they might burn, but nope.
Brian
I prefer used 1/16" roofing rubber or EPDM but I have access to sources.
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