Rod Box?

[wizzade]

I want to build a rod box from scratch and am wondering what size and material. I don't do a whole lot of welding.... So im thinking it should hold about 15 lbs. of rods. I am planning on heating it with 150 Watt light bulbs. Any suggestions?

[Bert]

If you don't do a lot of welding, 15lbs is an awful lot of rods! light bulb would be great, but that will be on 24/7!! I'm guessing you are going to have a lot of different types of rods in that box??!! I buy by the 5lb box and keep it in the plastic rod boxes with the o-ring that I buy at my lws. Keeps them great for me! Is your humidity worse than Hawaii?

[wizzade]

the humidity is pretty bad here....i live in Louisiana.

[wizzade]

and to be more detailed i was planning on keeping a few different types of rods in there, and most will be low hydrogen.

[Bert]

I had friends make them out of plywood box and metal grate for shelves, with the light bulb on the top. Worked for them.

[BWS29128]

Try a piece of 4" stainless or carbon steel pipe. Get it threaded on one end (some of the ACE hardware's have a threading machine) or buy a threaded nipple and weld it to a short section of pipe. Either cut a flat piece of steel for the other end, or buy a 4" plug and weld it to the other end.

Next, tap a small hole in the end of the plug/cap that a hobbyist's lightbulb/lamp kit will fit through (you only need the wire to fit through, not the light bulb socket. Glue the wire/socket to the steel cap on the inside and outside with a heat-resistant glue/cement. Insert rods into pipe, hold pipe vertically, and gently screw cap/plug-with-lightbulb-screwed-in-already down on top of the rods. Plug other end of cord into receptacle. Unplug prior to opening. I would suggest using a 20W or 25W bulb as opposed to anything larger....less heat and less intense. I also wouldn't suggest this for anything other than your shop...not out on the road.

Standard rods are 14" long...make your first pipe section 18" long to give your rods some breathing room. The screwcap will add another 3.5" to that which puts your overall length at less than 24"...25W bulb will provide plenty of heat for that small of a space. Wouldn't suggest leaving it plugged in any longer than 4 or 5 hours at a time until you see how it's going to work. You might also consider drilling some type of teensy tiny weep-hole in the bottom for moisture to be forced out. Every once in a while you're going to need to pull your rods out and wipe down the inside of your pipe to remove oxidation (unless you're using SS pipe...).

Maybe this will give you some ideas and get the creative juices flowing...I've thought about doing this, but so far I'm burning rods faster than I can keep them. Let us all know what you decide to do and how it turns out. Take and post pics if you can.

~Clint

[SundownIII]

Just another thought,

Anyone considering building a "rod oven" probably should look at using a "golden rod" heating element rather than a light bulb.

The golden rod is a dehumidifier heating element about 3/4" in diameter and 12" to 24" in length (depending on wattage). The 15W element is only about 12" in length and will last nearly forever. They are designed for closets and enclosed spaces on boats to eliminate humidity. They are available from most marine retailers (West Marine for one).

The problem with a light bulb is that they "burn out" and are a generally inefficient heat source. Per "Murphy's Law" they'll always burn out, just as you're leaving the shop for that week long vacation. Then, all the rods you've worked so hard to protect soak up humidity like a sponge.

If one really wanted to get fancy, the oven could be rigged with a timer to reduce power consumption. I would think that a 30%-40% on cycle, in an airtight container, would be plenty. This could easily be monitored with a simple humidity gauge.

I personally have a small (dorm room size) refrigerator that my son had when in college. I mounted a golden rod in the bottom (heat travels up) and added additional shelves (modified propane grill racks). I not only store rods in it, but also a few block planes and router bits which are susceptable to rust. Works great. Mine stays "on" all the time.

Just my .02.

[wizzade]

thanks for the ideas... i will think on it, and if anyone else has any suggestions please let me know.

[Bert]

Yeesh, I was going to mention all what SundownIII and Clint did, but they beat me to it!!! yeah right!!! Wow, makes me want to go out and make one!!! At school we have a regular rod oven. At home, my plastic containers are working for me so far

[wizzade]

what do you guys think about using an old water cooler? I just wonder what kind of heat it can take?