Shopsmith Forums

Here we are at about 17 consecutive days or so at temperatures above 90° with high humugity... About noonish Tuesday the car thermometer which runs quite true was showing 98°.
Both of my shops have a high moisture problem largely from not having a moisture barrier in the floor (a mistake I will never make on a building again). I have to provide positive ventilation when not in use just to keep excess moisture out. That can be a trick in spring and fall when temps fluctuate wildly and stuff wants to sweat as temps change. In this heat the humidity gets so high that the air in the shops is chokingly hard to breathe. Between that and standing there streaming sweat I only work in them in short bits of time.
Even though it looks like the 90°+ temps will moderate later this week I have decided to give up and set up an AC in the woodshop. The farm shop in the converted barn is pretty much hopeless as far as AC but I do have several large fans I run in there and try to work in there early in the day. Still it is hard to want to.
I have been dragging my feet on putting the window AC in the woodshop hoping that a few good sized checks (running late) would come in and then I would feel that I could buy a new or newish higher efficiency AC unit for it. I have an AC that is an older unit but it is so heavy that it may need 3 guys or a fork-lift to install it. It is also old enough that it probably is not very efficient but at least it is a 220V unit. I'm not even sure it runs yet as it has been stored for about 3 years. Of course if I decide to use it I will test it first. I would hate to go to all of the work to put it in and have it fail quickly. Then again a new one can fail... but a new one wouldn't weigh a ton.
How many of you are running AC in your woodshop? How many are just staying in the house?


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It has not gotten really hot in the shop yet. That is part of the reason I am up early.

We're having a few hot days U.P. here, it has actually gotten to 90 degrees on a few occasions. The "hot" spell may be over, as the winds have shifted to the NW, blowing cool Lake Superior air over us.

I have four fans in the windows of the shop, and except for a couple of days this has provided a comfortable working climate.

It's just too hot in the garage for me...

nice and pleasent here in seattle area - summer finally decided to show up. Plus, I have a heat pump (relatively rare in this area), so its always nice in the house...and the garage is cool from the cool nights.

90's here pretty much all month, hit 100 a time or two.
Yes it's warm in the garage, but I ignore it. Time is my issue. Kids in summer sports, water leak resulting in an insurance sponsored resand and finish of our maple floors, wife with new job at the state tax commission (they run a pretty tight ship) so I'm picking up some additional duties from that.
But...I did put on my new Timberwolf 1/2x4 bandsaw blade and try a little cutting after reading all the latest bandsaw postings. A new blade is a good thing, then the fine tuning is a little better. I didn't get to do much, but I was slicing waffers less than 1/8 thick off a 2x4 and they were....uniform !!
By the way, I'll have some maple scraps from the floor, what can I make with those?? I could trim off the tonge and groove and make some sweet boxes don't you think? I want to try a spline joint. I need a simple jig if anyone has a picture of a completed version.

'Shop' is inside but fairly isolated from the rest of the house. Ac in the isolated part has not been run in years as the fan circulating the air is fairly adequate to keep the temp down(that and a lot of insulation)(and controlled by a thermostat). I do not run the fan when making sawdust. The cooler air from the more active part trickles down to that area since it is about a foot lower than the rest(addition to house was added with 9' ceilings and the floor was lowered so as to match the roof line/soffit overhang etc). Also the floor is a concrete pad with vapor barrier and the return air ducts are embedded(with additional vapor barrier) in the concrete so some heat is transferred to the pad/ground when air circulates through the ducts. Moisture is only an issue when it enters in the air trickling into the area. The circulating air enters the duct at a high wall location(pulling in the warmer air near the ceiling).

Howsomeever, I do prefer working outside(messy electrolysis tank, evaporust containers, spray painting. disassembling/assembling 'stuff', just enjoying the outside air, ambience, but of late it has been 90+ with Heat Index of 100+. Since my prime work area (remember those paving bricks in my pix)is not in the shade not much has been happening there of late!

Just a minimal dust creating time in the shop lately(I am thinking through the conceptual stage(trial/error/trial/error/...error for a couple of projects involving new to me activity(quick drying fallen trees(stumps)[actually discovered how to tell when process is being accelerated too much and/or gone too far{yes it will start to BURN from the inside!}]. I now have a turned black locust mallet handle with both scorch marks and a black void that extends from the center to the surface on the hand held part(ok for a prototype, and will be used later for a shop mallet.

My 10' ss project is on hold due to the heat also as that has to be done outdoors. It will eventually fit into the shop, but much rearrangement must occur within for that to happen.

Just put in some time at our community shop which is air conditioned. My personal shop is not AC'd so I am limited to about an hour. Average temp 95+ heat index 100+.
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Bill V

I really miss my shop here. Today was the hottest day so far 117 in the shade here. we have been having record setting day for several weeks now.

Comfortable in my shop ( a 1.5 car garage built as part of the house) here in Nova Scotia, around 75 deg. F but I am too busy to be in the shop, getting an ex laundry room on the main floor ( moved the laundry upstairs a couple of years ago) ready for my wife's pottery kiln. Meant running some #8 wire about 30 feet from a new 40 amp breaker in the panel and preparing for a fume vent in a wall. The wheel and pottery tools that used to be there have to move down to a basement store room which is now going to be the "pottery" room. Clearing the store room meant taking many bags of "stuff" to a charity, throwing away useless things accumulated since 1986, a good exercise to do. Then that room has had a 90cfm vent fan added to help with providing some air for breathing comfort and painting floor, walls and ceiling. Next I have to move a set tub with associated special clay trap in the drain, down to the pottery. And then finally install the kiln when it arrives. So, won't get to the Shopsmith for awhile.

I am waiting for a guy to provide dimensions of the shift rod in a BMW he is restoring so I can turn him a new wood shift knob. Should be the next SS project unless something else pops up.