Steel Rule Die Problems

[NewYorkerInSydney]

Hi good people

I've a number of steel rule dies made by several die makers. They are the ones that have some kind of black or dark blue coating which seems to be standard with these kinds of dies.

Regardless of who has made me these dies they start to rust within short time especially around the welding. I always keep my dies dry and clean and in a room with little moisture yet they develop rusty areas. I scrape it off and it always comes back. Can anyone tell me what to do about it because this rust and the rusted black coating sometimes gets on the leather no matter how much I clean it off. Any help?

Thank you,

Nyis

[dirtclod]

Try some Johnson's paste floor wax if you have some. We used it to keep beds of table saws from rusting.

[NewYorkerInSydney]

Thanks Dirtclod. I appreciate your response. Anyone else have any advice?

[silverback]

See if you can get hold of some lanolin oil or "lanotec" is the trade name for it over here on Oz. Rub that all over your die and then gently warm it up, It apparently drives the lanolin into the metal and you should not have any problems with rust for quiet a while. if you go into any old shearing shed over and see machines very old that have been in contact with sheeps wool you will see how well preserved it is.

[Tree Reaper]

reaction of iron and oxygen in the presence of water or air moisture

You need to get rid of the oxygen or moisture or both.

An air tight container with silica gel desiccant should do the trick, and you can always add a dehumidifier to the room.

Buy a Hygrometer and monitor the humidity.

Now that they are already rusty you should clean them really well and spray them lightly with something like Rust-Oleum.

.

[whipstitchwallets]

I wipe mine with three in one oil about once a month...works like a charm

[earlthegoat2]

Boeshield T-9 would work awesome. I use it for my table saw and band saw as well as various woodworking hand tools. Pricey but worth it if you have many uses for it.