Anti-rust on Engineer's square

[LCHIEN]

So what do you put on engineer's squares, Scales, etc. to keep them from rusting...
Boeshield T-9, thin film of WD-40, JPW (johnson's paste wax)?

I just treated mine with JPW.

[Tom Clark]

So what do you put on engineer's squares, Scales, etc. to keep them from rusting...
Boeshield T-9, thin film of WD-40, JPW (johnson's paste wax)?

I just treated mine with JPW.

When my machinist toolbox was in a rusting enviroment, I would occasionally put a couple of drops of oil on my hands, rub them together to spread out the oil into a thin film, and then wipe down the tools with your hands. You don't need a heavy coat of oil to do the job. Eventually most machinist tools became either stainless or were chrome plated with satin chrome, to make life much easier.

[cgallery]

I rub them with paraffin wax (same stuff my mother used for canning). I just break off a piece to have around the shop. On a metal tool, I rub the tool with it (using it like a crayon). Then I smooth it out/spread it around with my hands. Works great, cheap, and knocks-down glare from shiny tools.

The paraffin also comes in handy for lubricating machine works. It doesn't attract dust, and you can just hold a piece against a gear or threaded rod as you turn it. After going back and forth a few times the threads will have a nice coat of lubricating wax on them.

Also works great for sticky wooden drawer slides.

For my work surfaces I still use Waxilit:
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...=1,43415,43440

This product was suggested for Inca woodworking tools and I have found it to make surfaces more slippery even than Johnson's paste wax.

[LinuxRandal]

An old machinist trick I learned years ago, was going to a pharmacy and buying camphor blocks.

[bthere]

I also use paraffin on mine.

One other thing that I do is collect the little bags of desiccant that come packed with a wide range of products. I throw these into the boxes where I store various items that are subject to rust. Every so often I'll gather all the little bags from a tool box and throw them in the microwave at medium power level for a few minutes to restore them.