Outdoor shop in arid / coastal region---tips?

S

smartanimal

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May 7, 2015
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As my journey into knife making deepens, I can no longer take up the coffee table in the house as my makeshift work area, as much as my wife loves coming home to a confetti of sandpaper and cardboard sheets covering everything. Especially now that I have some legitimate - sized power tools. I have a back patio that is covered from the top by a trellis + plastic and on two sides with bamboo slats but otherwise it is open to the elements. I am building a simple workbench to put back there.

I live in San Diego so there aren't too many "elements" in the way of snow, rain, or humidity so I'm not too worried about the stuff rusting in a day but I still want to make sure I keep my tools nice.

Does anyone have an "outdoor" shop like this that can offer any tips as to what you cover your tools with / any other stuff I should keep in mind? Im thinking of getting some tarps and binder clips and making a very rudimentary cover that can slip over the entire workbench.

Thanks!
 
I'm in Corona Del Mar about 1.5 miles from the coast. Been in this apartment for the last 11 months, just 1 more month to go. All my stuff is outside on the balcony covered with a large tarp and spring clips. Only the raw iron stuff has a light coat of surface oxidation. I haven't had any problems I can think of. In a month I'll be back at my house more inland and I'll have all my dirty grinding operations in the backyard outside like you are saying. The raw exposed steel should have rec'd a light coat of oil from me but it's no big deal.
 
ok cool, sounds like I won't have too many problems. I have an Esteem grinder on the way so the powder coat Brett puts on it will serve well as far as the oxidation you mentioned. In october / november we have pretty crazy fog but other than that it's usually not that moist. For added security during foggy / moist months I was considering leaving one of these under the tarp as well: http://www.allergybegone.com/noneldeh.html?gclid=CPH-ur3tq8YCFc-Cfgodh-AF1A
 
smartanimal said:
I live in San Diego so there aren't too many "elements" in the way of snow, rain, or humidity so I'm not too worried about the stuff rusting in a day but I still want to make sure I keep my tools nice.
Click to expand...

I'm about 1 mile from a lagoon in SD county. My car is covered with dew every morning lately. It's more humid here than you think. A tarp over the grinder should take care of that. A better way to go is maybe concoct some kind of bench that has foldup sides or something to keep the fog out when you're not using it.

I would love an outdoor workshop but I don't think the neighbors would appreciate the grinding that much.

Let me know where you live so I can come steal that nice grinder off your back patio. Problem solved!
 
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