Storing router bits in wood holes?

[cgallery]

Is it okay to store router bits so the shank is in a wood hole? My concern would be rust or interaction between the steel and the wood. Like many others, I suppose, I use some router bits every week and others once a year or less.

[sweensdv]

I used to store my bits that way but, as you suspected, the shanks soon started to show signs of rust. I now use these router bit holders that I got from Lee Valley. They're not all that expensive and I haven't had any rust issues since I started using them.

[leehljp]

I agree that wood holes make for rusted shanks. I have a set of about 100 router bits here and about 50 in the States in an organizer made from plywood. I spray the plywood with oil based spray about once a year.

I would like to see sets of plastice insets like at LeeValley but cheaper, something that I could just drill out the plywood holes a little larger and put the plastic inserts in.

[LinuxRandal]

How would they handle in plastic?


I was thinking of using some cheap plastic cutting boards, when I build my router cabinet.

[ryan.s]

I store my bits in a MDF drawer drilled with holes and finished with a couple of coats of poly. I also threw in a couple packets of desiccant and haven't seen any signs of rusting.

Edit: They've been stored in there about a year or so.

[cgallery]

How would they handle in plastic?

I was thinking of using some cheap plastic cutting boards, when I build my router cabinet.

I think you may be onto something w/ the plastic cutting boards. I had been thinking some scraps of polycarbonate. But I think the plastic cuttings boards would be cheaper, more readily available, and easier to machine.

[JimD]

My router bits are all stored in drilled holes in scraps of 2x4s made into drawers on my router table. I have had no issue with rust. My shop is in an unheated garage in the basement of my home in South Carolina so there is some humidity. I do not see why there would be rust unless the wood is wet to start with. The scraps I used had been laying around a year or more so they were pretty dry. My bits have been stored this way for several years.

Jim

[leehljp]

. . . I do not see why there would be rust unless the wood is wet to start with.
Jim

Maybe that is my problem . . . I used marine grade plywood! Seriously, No I used cabinet grade plywood that was not stored outside. I have two sets, one in the US and one here in Japan.

The US set and holder, I left in my house, under the bed for a year and it started developing small rust spots at the point of shaft/hole contact. Against all common sense of using silicone, I soaked the wood with WD 40 before putting the 50 to 60 bits in it.

Same thing for a larger set here, except that it is stored in a small insulated shed.

[sweensdv]

..............I would like to see sets of plastice insets like at LeeValley but cheaper, something that I could just drill out the plywood holes a little larger and put the plastic inserts in.

Something like this. You can buy the bushing by themselves. I used to use these but I don't any longer. They work great for keeping the shanks rust free but they have a tendency sometimes to come out of the hole along with the router bit. Not really a big deal but I don't have that problem with the Lee Valley ones.

[LCHIEN]

How about this for an idea?
Get some rubber or vinyl tubing with an 1/2" ID.
Drill your board with a hole to match the OD of the tubing.
Cut the tubing to length = thickness of the board. You can glue it to the inside of the hole in your board if you need. Will both cushion and hold your bit securely.