Originally posted by J Tiers
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Some woods have strong rust causing tanins in the wood makeup. So those should be avoided. Red oak is one that jumps to my mind but there are others and I'm sure a little checking around will suggest those to avoid.
The bit about the tools fitting tight in the wood pockets does raise a good concern. First off wood and some plastics do in fact take in moisture from the air. And under a change in conditions expel the moisture. Wood "breathes" moisture. It doesn't generate it but it responds to local changes in temperature and humidity to take in and give out this moisture. So the holes or other cutouts for tools should not be so snug that air cannot get in and aid with carrying away said moisture. There's another reason the holes or cutouts should not be a tight fit. Wood swells and shrinks across the grain with changes in humidity. A perfect fit when made can become a death grip on the item under the wrong conditions. So don't make the fits super close. Give the parts in the holders/cases some rattle room to aid with both issues.
Oil on the metal items will soak into the wood holders and never dry. This is fine. But said oil also holds onto dust and grit. So it's wise to finish the wood in a drying oil such as boiled linseed or polymerized tung or multiple coats of the thinned down paint store style "tung" or "danish" oil finishes. Or a quicker option is two or three coats of thinned down polyurethane varnish or thinned oil based paint. Thinning these products increases the soaking in factor and reduces how much they build up and make cavities tighter. Thinning the products also speeds up the drying time provided you paint the items and then wipe away any excess pooling in the cavities.
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