Wood or plastic cases for 1-2-3 & 2-4-6 blocks?

[J Tiers]

I'm not sure it needs the tight fits. To get a higher humidity in the box, the wood has to change its water content also. Normally a low percent, it is related to local humidity.

That's for boxes NOT varnished etc on the inside. Do that, and they may as well be plastic. The boxes I have are not varnished inside, just "raw wood", with some felt held down with hide glue.

[BCRider]

Most finishes don't stop the flow of humidity into and out of the wood. They just slow them down. Most finishes shy of perhaps a couple of coats of epoxy are not a full seal.

The nice "air cushion" fit of any tops or drawers would just be the icing on the cake

I still think that we are onto something with the ideal that insulation from the wood slowing the temperature shifts are an aid to reducing corrosion. The trick then becomes using a wood which doesn't in itself have the bad tannins that will promote rusting. Or at least to avoid contact through the use of felting or other drawer liner material.

[J Tiers]

Depends on the varnish coat..... If it is a shiny smooth coating, it is pretty good against humidity. Water can get through thick plastic, eventually.... that's one reason why Gorilla glue goes bad. And why some bottles of water base stuff get sucked inward as if someone pulled a vacuum in them.

[JRouche]

If it (Machine Tool) comes in a wooden box I buy it No really, probably 50 old wooden boxes in my garage.

For the 123 blocks good companies sell them in wooden boxes.

I have some Taft-Peirce 123 blocks that came in a T-P wooden box. Its here somewhere. Here are a set of 12" parallels made by T-P, in their wooden box. Its old and still protects. JR

[KMoffett]

Not actually "1-2-3" blocks, but 2-4-6 blocks. They're very heavy. Made the box from "1/2" Baltic Birch scrap. Fastened handles on each end to help lifting without getting my fingers crushed underneath. I wipe down the blocks with Starrett M1 when I put them away. My small1-2-3 blocks just sit in a felt lined drawer. Years with no rust or damage.

.

[Bented]

Mill pockets for the number of blocks required in a solid material with an O-Ring groove in the upper face, mill a cover with a pocket, attach hardware of your choice that will compress the O-Ring for sealing. Some like hinges and dogs and some prefer dogs only. Drill and tap a 1/4 NPT gas port through one wall then drill a very small vent hole through another wall.

Many hobbyists regard precision measuring tools as Sacred Religious Artifacts so the choice of materials is paramount.
I would suggest a material that exhibits little or no outgassing at room temps. , 304 stainless is excellent as is PTFE, composite wood products are out of the question due to the outgassing of the binders/glue which often contain formaldehyde. Attach a supply of inert gas, argon is excellent, to the gas port, line the pockets with your favorite noncorrosive padding material.
Seal the lid and start the gas flow, store and use the tools at 64 Deg. F only.

[J Tiers]

The patented Bented "machinist grade" humor.

Even seems to be made from "billet".

[Bented]

The patented Bented "machinist grade" humor.

Even seems to be made from "billet".

Billet has been a marketing term of choice for the last several decades, golf club heads-billet, bicycle/car/motorcycle parts-billet, fishing equipment-billet.
By definition a billet is a cast metal shape that is machined to finished size by several methods such as extrusion, hot forming, cold forming, forging, milling or turning.
Alloy Steel is another excellent marketing phrase, all steel is an alloy, the sentence Our Billet Alloy Steel Fishing Hooks work well for catching fish, none of this is misleading.

[J Tiers]

Billet has been a marketing term of choice for the last several decades................................
By definition a billet is a cast metal shape that is machined to finished size by several methods such as extrusion, hot forming, cold forming, forging, milling or turning.
....................... none of this is misleading.

Misleading? Who said that? It's the oddity that there is a notion that "billet" material is somehow better. I think the term simply means to the folks using it, or reading it, that the widget in question has been hogged out of a piece of stock, as opposed to extrusion, etc. (never mind the technical definition, they certainly do not care, and most do not know), Yeah, the raw extrusion stock is termed a "billet" although that may or may not have relation to it's production process.

I do not think I would like a horizontal mill cutter that was made directly from "billet steel". I'd prefer to have it upset forged before it is machined to shape. Others may have different oddball notions.

[Randy]

Amazon has wooden boxes of various sizes. Craft stores, like Michael's may have them as well. This one cost me $10. Well worth it.

[JRouche]

Not actually "1-2-3" blocks, but 2-4-6 blocks. They're very heavy. Made the box from "1/2" Baltic Birch scrap. Fastened handles on each end to help lifting without getting my fingers crushed underneath. I wipe down the blocks with Starrett M1 when I put them away. My small1-2-3 blocks just sit in a felt lined drawer. Years with no rust or damage.

.

THIS!.. This is how your store the blocks folks. Durable and easy to see whats inside.

Very nice. Thank you... JR

[dian]

Misleading? Who said that? It's the oddity that there is a notion that "billet" material is somehow better. I think the term simply means to the folks using it, or reading it, that the widget in question has been hogged out of a piece of stock, as opposed to extrusion, etc. (never mind the technical definition, they certainly do not care, and most do not know), Yeah, the raw extrusion stock is termed a "billet" although that may or may not have relation to it's production process.

I do not think I would like a horizontal mill cutter that was made directly from "billet steel". I'd prefer to have it upset forged before it is machined to shape. Others may have different oddball notions.

interestingly high end cranks are machined from "billet".

[J Tiers]

For 123 blocks and their relatives, why make storage for them? As "useful" as they are, just use them to prop up the back of the bench, if you haven't got a suitable piece of wood.... Then they will be out of the way and not bothering anyone, not taking up valuable space.

[JRouche]

interestingly high end cranks are machined from "billet".

Yup..

We cast iron, cast steel, forged steel and then billet steel crank shafts.

I like forged steel most, for what I do. Oh, and I cant afford the billet steel crank

Suposedly the billet steel crank is better due to stress in the forged steel crank, not there with a "cut" crank.

Waiting for a carbon fibre crank JR

[JRouche]

For 123 blocks and their relatives, why make storage for them? As "useful" as they are, just use them to prop up the back of the bench, if you haven't got a suitable piece of wood.... Then they will be out of the way and not bothering anyone, not taking up valuable space.

Yup, I am with Jerry on this one. I have gauge block sets in wooden boxes because they are for measuring.

I keep my 123, 246 blocks in paper, cardboard, metal, plastic and wood.

If you have some nice ones, unlike my cheap ones I would go wood. JR

123 blocks in a wood box