And I've bought more than a few chests with a salt shaker back in the 
corner.....never used, sat there for a long time by the evidence.  I 
thought it was for spicing up hard boiled eggs but an old machinist told 
me it gathered moisture and kept his tools from rusting.  He was a WWII 
Naval shipboard machinist.  He had the old polished Starrett tools too.  
Not the glass beaded finish we see today.  Those suckers would rust in a 
heartbeat if not for the camellia oil and the salt shaker....

On 11/13/2017 6:32 PM, Ed O' wrote:
> I have heard old machinists kept pennies in their tool chests, supposedly to
prevent rust.  I have heard it numerous times, and an explanation of how it
would work has never been provided.  All I can guess is that solid copper might
change temperature faster than steel and somehow attract condensation first.  I
think it was 1982 that pennies ceased to be all copper.
>
> Ed O'
>
>
>> On Nov 13, 2017, at 11:18 AM, Kirk Eppler  wrote:
>>
>> But how do you test the full scale?
>>
>> I've seen lots of tools with a penny in the case = 0.75"  Don't know
>> if they can claim 0.750"
>
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