Musty box smell

[Michael G]

I bought a starrett 196B indicator a few months back. The indicator is fine and looks like it will be very handy. Unfortunately the box has that musty smell that is not all that pleasant. It got banged around in the post a bit so it's no great loss to replace it (time being the only factor) if I can't clear the smell, but has anyone got any ideas on how I might make it less odourous?

Michael

[Bryan]

Carb soda was the old remedy for smells. Probably 137 space-age anti-pong products now - that all contain carb soda. (Oops, I think the space age is over.)

[Greg Q]

Bryan you crack me up. :)

You could seal it up with a wash coat of shellac...that seems to work for me.

Having said that I am thinking of rubbishing all my metrology boxes in favour of dedicated drawers in a home made chest.

Greg

[wheelinround]

You neglect to say if its new or old box.

If new I'd be taking it back and asking why??? Is such equipment being put into wet/green wood??

If its old then storage may have been the problem look for mould, wood rot, even signs of rat phiss (seriously its deadly). Sit it out in the sun to remove normal mould damp etc the last one toss it.

[tea lady]

You could try Fabreeze to get rid of the smell. Meant for fabrics, but might work on wood. ! :shrug: You can also get odouless animal smaell remover stuff from vetsThey charge like they usually do for it though! Fabreeze only smells girly till it dries. ::rolleyes::D

[Dave J]

I just had to read this post..I was busting to see who had a smelly box:o:o:o

LOL,
I agree with above about checking it over and putting it out in the sun.
I have never tried Carb soda, but I have never had a smelly box either.:D

Dave

[Greg Q]

I am trying to either ignore this thread or make some pithy comment. What to do? The years are too long and the memory too feeble to offer expert advice.

[RETIRED]

Ignoring it might be better.:wink:

[Greg Q]

Apparently so....:wink:

Apologies, and Season's greetings

[Michael G]

Thanks to those who made (sensible) comments. I'll try the sun first and see if that helps. The box is certainly old, so no green wood to worry about -

192294

The indicator itself is interesting. It's a back indicating dial gauge. Guy Lautard recommended this type of indicator for checking mill tram. I haven't made up an adaptor for it yet, but the photo shows it set up for truing up a bore to the lathe axis. It was much easier to do than use a DTI, probably because it had greater range and could be positioned more conveniently

192295

A new box should not be a problem. This was yesterday's job - the micrometer did not have a suitable box, so I made up this one from scraps.

192296

Michael

[Greg Q]

Michael, that box looks like it has a lot of old oil everywhere. The organisms that make that musty odour live in those stains. (Old sewing machines stink up their cases for the same reason. I think you'd need to do something aggressive to clean the interior as a first step.

Greg

[Steamwhisperer]

Just a thought but you aren't smelling neatsfoot oil are you?

Phil

[Bryan]

Nice box work Michael. Just for giggles, here's the latest horror I received from the Orient. They must be running out of wood.

Greg please don't bin your boxes. I've got a few things that need homes.

[Steamwhisperer]

Gees Bryan
That looks like the ones I make...'cept maybe not that good.

Phil

[Master Splinter]

Nilodor (a really tiny bottle in the laundry aisle at Coles) is very good at removing the lingering residue of all sorts of smells. This is a tip gained from an embalmer, in a conversation about 'bucket jobs'...

[tea lady]

Nice box work Michael. Just for giggles, here's the latest horror I received from the Orient. They must be running out of wood.

Oh come on! That's a feature!:D

[Greg Q]

Nice box work Michael. Just for giggles, here's the latest horror I received from the Orient. They must be running out of wood.

Greg please don't bin your boxes. I've got a few things that need homes.

I'll send you any I surplus Bryan. It'll be awhile. Mainly it'll be standard micrometer boxes. I reckon I'll keep the rarely used stuff still boxed in drawers (Like depth and thread mics).

Greg

[barkersegg]

Michael,

If the box originated in Asia, then I'd hazard a guess and say the odour is probably from some type of oil used to stop it twisting and warping along with to kill any acidic leaching from the wood to stop the contents rusting as it was probably some type of softwood.......DON"T put it in the sun to try and dry it out...it'll only warp and won't help......If you want to clean it up, try using some sort of solvent which will clean the surface stuff off but not that soaked in. (turps, acetone, white sprit etc) ..lots of work involved so is it worth it??? ..about the only way to get rid of the odour if it persists after using the solvents is to mask it with something else - say camphor (moth balls) or cedar smells but that will take time...don't use neatsfoot oil as that will eventually turn acidic ..from the looks of the one you made - probably a better option for storing stuff long term anyway......hope that help...Lee

[Metalman]

If its old then storage may have been the problem look for mould, wood rot, even signs of rat phiss (seriously its deadly). Sit it out in the sun to remove normal mould damp etc the last one toss it.[/QUOTE]

Wheelinround, could you expand on the 'seriously deadly' comment please? Our next door neighbours have chooks and there is the occasional rat about.
thanks, Mm.

[pjt]

Nice box work Michael. Just for giggles, here's the latest horror I received from the Orient. They must be running out of wood.

Greg please don't bin your boxes. I've got a few things that need homes.
The alignment of the hinges is pretty goodaaawwwdddd awful:o

Pete

[wheelinround]

If its old then storage may have been the problem look for mould, wood rot, even signs of rat phiss (seriously its deadly). Sit it out in the sun to remove normal mould damp etc the last one toss it.

Wheelinround, could you expand on the 'seriously deadly' comment please? Our next door neighbours have chooks and there is the occasional rat about.
thanks, Mm.[/QUOTE]

Leptospirosis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weil%27s_disease)

Rat Diseases & Health Hazards (http://www.orlandorats.com/diseases.htm)

[Metalman]

Thanks for the info Wheelinround. I will be keeping away from the chooks when it is wet.
Mm.

[wheelinround]

Thanks for the info Wheelinround. I will be keeping away from the chooks when it is wet.
Mm.


Just noticed where you are bush rats must be ARIA

[Michael G]

The up shot of the smelly box problem was that I chucked the old one and made a new one. I tried the sun method and it cured a bit of the smell (and also warped the lid). I would have had to dip it in a bucket of nilodor, so that was out.
However, the lid did not fit properly (that was before the sun) and I wanted to store the new adaptor as a set, so new box (again from the offcut pile). It annoys me that a small box like that takes hours to make!

Michael

193074

[A Duke]

Nice job, and a real fun thread, most have had a laugh and some knowledge may have rubbed off.
Thanks for posting the out come, so many things come and go without us hearing the outcome.
Regards

[Woodlee]

Wheelinround, could you expand on the 'seriously deadly' comment please? Our next door neighbours have chooks and there is the occasional rat about.
thanks, Mm.

Leptospirosis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weil%27s_disease)

Rat Diseases & Health Hazards (http://www.orlandorats.com/diseases.htm)[/QUOTE]


I recall just recently some one here in Katherine , nearly checking out from a dose of this .Spent some time in Darwin hospital after an emergency dash by helicopter in the night.Lucky boy , he survived but came very close to stepping out of this world.
Apparently he stored his soft drinks in his shed and some rat took a leak or a crap on the carton of soft drinks , obviously some got onto the top of a can and passed on the bug .

[Woodlee]

The up shot of the smelly box problem was that I chucked the old one and made a new one. I tried the sun method and it cured a bit of the smell (and also warped the lid). I would have had to dip it in a bucket of nilodor, so that was out.
However, the lid did not fit properly (that was before the sun) and I wanted to store the new adaptor as a set, so new box (again from the offcut pile). It annoys me that a small box like that takes hours to make!

Michael

193074

Nice job , I have also made boxes for my two machinist levels , my 123 , 246 blocks and ER collet set .
Yes they do take time to make , just as much time as a larger box .
Large boxes are less fiddly though .

[Stustoys]

Hi Woodlee,
Could you grab a picture of your ER box? I need to make one.
Do you seal the wood at all or just oil it?
I was thinking about something in plastic because of rust, but your 123 blocks seem to be doing well.

Thanks

Stuart

[RayG]

Hi Stuart,

I bought boxes for my CTC ER32 and ER40 collets, if you are interested I could dig around and find the supplier..

Regards
Ray

[RayG]

Hi Stuart,

Ok, I found the paypal invoice, these are the ones I bought.

ER32 box ER32 WOODEN COLLET BOX MariTool (http://www.maritool.com/product_info.php?products_id=728)
ER40 box ER40 WOODEN COLLET BOX MariTool (http://www.maritool.com/product_info.php?products_id=729)

Quality is adequate for the job. But don't expect velvet lining :)

Regards
Ray

[Dave J]

Michael and Kev, nice boxes. :2tsup:

Ray, I have seen pictures of wood work gear in your shed and your buying boxes, thats cheating.

Dave

PS
I will be posting some larger chuck boxes etc up in the next few days. Stuart ask me about them a while back but I was unable to finish them until now.

[Metmachmad]

I bought a starrett 196B indicator a few months back. The indicator is fine and looks like it will be very handy. Unfortunately the box has that musty smell that is not all that pleasant. It got banged around in the post a bit so it's no great loss to replace it (time being the only factor) if I can't clear the smell, but has anyone got any ideas on how I might make it less odourous?

Michael
A little scented talcum powder will do the job there Michael G. It won't get rid of the smell but it will mask it, Good luck with it.

[franco]

Hi Woodlee,
Could you grab a picture of your ER box? I need to make one.
Do you seal the wood at all or just oil it?
I was thinking about something in plastic because of rust, but your 123 blocks seem to be doing well.

Thanks

Stuart

Stuart,

FWIW I also have a rust problem with the local climate with moisture absorbtion when I use wooden boxes, and preferred to use a plastic box. A set of ER32 collets fits nicely into a drawer from one of the Fischer stacking three drawer sets. It has a plywood rack for the collets, painted to seal the plywood from moisture - so far so good - no sign of rust. These drawer units are quite surprisingly strong and will hold a lot of weight. I use them for storing a lot of miscellaneous items.

Frank.

[Abratool]

Nice job , I have also made boxes for my two machinist levels , my 123 , 246 blocks and ER collet set .
Yes they do take time to make , just as much time as a larger box .
Large boxes are less fiddly though .
Good to see quality workmanship, & looking after tools.
Nice woodworking !
regards
Bruce

[Stustoys]

Hi Frank,
Thanks for that, I might have to pay a vist to bunnings, I have a few vouchers to spend.

Stuart

[wheelinround]

Michael new box looks tops :2tsup:

Kev yes with cleaning out MiLs shed recently all have worn gloves masks and finally a steam cleaner used aired and done again. We suspect FiL may have come into contact with similar due to chook food stored he passed away 3 year ago.