sound in the shop

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  • durango dude
    Senior Member
    • Mar 2011
    • 934
    • a thousand or so feet above insanity
    • 50s vintage Craftsman Contractor Saw

    sound in the shop

    I'm moving into a condo with garage, and am thinking about abandoning my "loud" tools.

    Any of you have a table that shows db level by tool?

    In my experience, the planer is hands-down the loudest thing in my shop, followed by the router, then the table saw.

    My band saw really isn't very loud - at least not for what I do with it (cutting joints).

    I've seen a few tables - which show odd stuff. They show sanders and jointers as being pretty loud. It's just not my experience.
    (I have a disc sander, and a 4" jointer).

    My jointer is really not very loud at all. Not sure how the jointer even makes it on a loud tool list.
    (most of what I work with is 3/4" --- for boxes and furniture).

    In any event - if you were to list your stuff ---- say top 5 loud tools ---- what would it be?


    Last edited by durango dude; 08-29-2016, 04:25 PM.
  • twistsol
    Veteran Member
    • Dec 2002
    • 2893
    • Cottage Grove, MN, USA.
    • Ridgid R4512, 2x ShopSmith Mark V 520, 1951 Shopsmith 10ER

    #2
    In order of perceived loudness. The top three drown out my dust collector when it is on. I can barely hear the tables when the DC is running.

    Air Compressor
    Planer
    Router
    Dust Collector
    Tablesaw

    Chr's
    __________
    An ethical man knows the right thing to do.
    A moral man does it.

    Comment

    • atgcpaul
      Veteran Member
      • Aug 2003
      • 4055
      • Maryland
      • Grizzly 1023SLX

      #3
      A while ago I downloaded a soundmeter app for my phone. I don't know how accurate it is. My big jointer/planer as well as my lunch box planer came in around 85db standing 1 ft from the machine. I didn't measure it with wood running through. All my other equipment (BS, TS, DC) was less but I don't remember how much. The BS is the quietest of that bunch. The whine of the lunch box is definitely the worst even though its bigger brother is apparently as loud. My BT3 was pretty loud, too, but not my cabinet saw. My midi lathe is also a pretty quiet machine.

      I used to live in a town home complex with the garage underneath. I kept my 2hp compressor in a carpet lined crate. It didn't see a lot of use but that really did help to quiet it. I think the lunch box did me in. We lived in the end unit but my neighbor across the alley was also the ex-HOA president and resident busy body. I'm only guessing it was him. Luckily I didn't get the official cease and desist letter until a few months before we left--about 3 years after I started woodworking. Maybe if I had made him a cutting board for Christmas, it wouldn't have happened. Also around the time I got the letter, we upgraded the garage door from plywood to an insulated, aluminum clad door. I had attached homosote boards to the old door. Maybe the new door wasn't as quiet.

      Comment

      • poolhound
        Veteran Member
        • Mar 2006
        • 3195
        • Phoenix, AZ
        • BT3100

        #4
        My planer is hands down the loudest, then probably the jointer. The DC and compressor are now located outside the shop. everything else is reasonably OK
        Jon

        Phoenix AZ - It's a dry heat
        ________________________________

        We all make mistakes and I should know I've made enough of them
        techzibits.com

        Comment

        • tfischer
          Veteran Member
          • Jul 2003
          • 2343
          • Plymouth (Minneapolis), MN, USA.
          • BT3100

          #5
          Originally posted by atgcpaul
          A while ago I downloaded a soundmeter app for my phone. I don't know how accurate it is. My big jointer/planer as well as my lunch I used to live in a town home complex with the garage underneath. I kept my 2hp compressor in a carpet lined crate. It didn't see a lot of use but that really did help to quiet it. I think the lunch box did me in. We lived in the end unit but my neighbor across the alley was also the ex-HOA president and resident busy body. I'm only guessing it was him. Luckily I didn't get the official cease and desist letter until a few months before we left--about 3 years after I started woodworking. Maybe if I had made him a cutting board for Christmas, it wouldn't have happened. Also around the time I got the letter, we upgraded the garage door from plywood to an insulated, aluminum clad door. I had attached homosote boards to the old door. Maybe the new door wasn't as quiet.
          I'm so glad we don't live in an HOA... our neighbors across the street don't seem to like anything or anybody, and I'm sure are annoyed at my woodworking too.

          Comment

          • atgcpaul
            Veteran Member
            • Aug 2003
            • 4055
            • Maryland
            • Grizzly 1023SLX

            #6
            Originally posted by tfischer

            I'm so glad we don't live in an HOA... our neighbors across the street don't seem to like anything or anybody, and I'm sure are annoyed at my woodworking too.
            When we moved over here, I really only had 2 requirements for the house. Shop space and no HOA!

            I still rib my wife over this one house we passed on. It was $100K cheaper than this one. Had a finished, walkout basement that included a wide screen TV and theater room, beer tap in the wall, large detached 2 car garage, and a large nautical elevated deck with heavy rope for railings. Her main issue with the house was that there was a brick pizza oven (really) in the master bedroom. I think I could have gotten past that.

            To the OP, read your HOA docs (I'm sure you have if you're already making moving plans). Our HOA clearly stipulated that no hobby shops were allowed. I was really on borrowed time from day 1. I was always careful to not do any kind of work outside of quiet hours and there was no point in putting up a fight once I got the letter to stop.

            Comment

            • tfischer
              Veteran Member
              • Jul 2003
              • 2343
              • Plymouth (Minneapolis), MN, USA.
              • BT3100

              #7
              Originally posted by atgcpaul
              Our HOA clearly stipulated that no hobby shops were allowed. I was really on borrowed time from day 1..
              Wow, that's sucks and mighty ambiguous. What's a "hobby shop"? Are you allowed to have a compound miter saw in the garage? An electric drill? What if you have a mini lathe in your spare bedroom?

              I hate HOAs increasingly the more I learn about them.

              Comment

              • capncarl
                Veteran Member
                • Jan 2007
                • 3564
                • Leesburg Georgia USA
                • SawStop CTS

                #8
                I guess they expect you to stay inside and watch ball games and read golf and tennis magazines. Nothing but a bunch of wossies in my book.

                Comment

                • atgcpaul
                  Veteran Member
                  • Aug 2003
                  • 4055
                  • Maryland
                  • Grizzly 1023SLX

                  #9
                  After my HOA tangent, I'll try to steer it back on course.

                  Aside from the noise level, there's also the longevity of the noise. Meaning, you may have some really loud tools, but how long do they really stay on? Unfortunately the planer is really loud, and when I use mine, can be on for a long time. Couple that with the whine of the shopvac (what I used before I got the HF DC) and you have some serious noise. My chopsaw and routers are loud, too, but in the case of the chopsaw, it's on for a very brief moment and the router only a little more than that.

                  I don't see how I'd function without a planer (and now a jointer), though, unless I bought everything S4S which isn't going to happen.

                  The Woodcraft store in my area also has a member's only shop. If something like that is an option for you, you could do all your really noisy stuff at a community shop (and free up some shop space) and do your less noisy/long term noise operations at home.

                  Comment

                  • cwsmith
                    Veteran Member
                    • Dec 2005
                    • 2737
                    • NY Southern Tier, USA.
                    • BT3100-1

                    #10
                    Indisputably, the loudest thing in my shop is my Craftsman 33-gal oil-less air compressor... even with ear protection it's disturbing. (I have to wear ear plugs and ear-muffs in combination.) It's a big problem, though located in the basement you can hear it pretty pronounced outside the house.

                    The BT is fairly loud, louder than my RAS, The planer is louder, but I don't use it with any great frequency; same with the jointer (both Ridgid). Router in the table is fairly well dampened, but still right up there on the noise scale. Thing of it is though, they are all still in the basement shop and therefore the noise doesn't escape to the outside. That will however, change when I move things out to the shed (if I ever get that finished)

                    Tools like the little Ryobi 9-inch bandsaw, sanders, and the drill press are comparatively quiet.

                    I am concerned with the noise challenges when I finally relocate to the shed though. Here in Binghamton, NY, we have some noise restrictions between 8:00 PM and 7:00 AM, but frankly I don't think anything (other that that compressor) would violate the ordinance. Still, I wouldn't want to bother a neighbor with any annoyances during those hours and therefore keep most to activity to the daytime. Even during the day, I'm pretty conscious of such things, as I myself feel that I shouldn't have to put up with a day-to-day production routine. I didn't move to this neighborhood to put up with loud music or continuous loud noises from neighboring machines. Perhaps that throws me into the category of some of the neighbors in your areas though.

                    (For example, I live next to a breast surgeon who has his offices on the first floor. His hours are from 9 to 5, Monday through Thursday. While his surgery takes place at the local hospitals, he does do examinations and biopsies in his office; and I imagine his news to patients may not always be pleasant. I will not not mow my lawn or make other similar noises during his office hours, as it just doesn't seem to be right to have some poor women getting bad news and the jerk next door is making a lot of noise. (He's never requested any curb on my activities, but then I don't think he should have to either.)

                    I am hoping to increase my shop activity considerably once the new shed is finished. It will be insulated and sound dampened as much as practicable; but, I can't really afford to go 'all the way' with that as the expense is prohibitive. The shed is located at the back corner of the lot, where it will be away from his office area, and some testing will have to take place once the tools are in place.

                    The compressor will be isolated in its own 'closet' in the garage and the HF dust collector is planned for the connecting room between the garage and the shed (like an enclosed breeze-way). Both these areas will be insulated and noise-dampened as much as affordable.

                    Just the other night I read that those moving blankets from HF offer some noise-abatement properties and that may be a consideration during those times when longer periods of operation are necessary (just temporarily hang them from the interior walls). You could look into that as a low-cost step to working in an apartment or similar neighborly environment.

                    CWS

                    Think it Through Before You Do!

                    Comment

                    • durango dude
                      Senior Member
                      • Mar 2011
                      • 934
                      • a thousand or so feet above insanity
                      • 50s vintage Craftsman Contractor Saw

                      #11
                      Good news - bought a home in the west virginia country side.
                      Acre and a half to myself. Only person I worry about is the girlfriend ----- and she can't wait to help out with the shop.
                      Apparently, I'm dating Annie Oakley.

                      Comment

                      • radhak
                        Veteran Member
                        • Apr 2006
                        • 3058
                        • Miramar, FL
                        • Right Tilt 3HP Unisaw

                        #12
                        Congrats - on that home, and the freedom of being able to do whatever you want in it.

                        And doubly congrats on Annie Oakley - my wife has never - not ever - stood in the garage for over 60 seconds without expressing her thought to the tune of "...you should just sell all this stuff and we could have a clean garage..." And this after I have saved thousands of dollars in wood-floors, furniture and other odd-jobs! It's rather lonely out there for me - literally and figuratively...

                        Does your new home have a garage/workshop, or you planning to build one? Any pics?
                        It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.
                        - Aristotle

                        Comment

                        • atgcpaul
                          Veteran Member
                          • Aug 2003
                          • 4055
                          • Maryland
                          • Grizzly 1023SLX

                          #13
                          Were you in Colorado before and you made the move to WV? That's going to be a change of scenery.

                          Congrats on the new house. Those first few months setting up the shop were really fun. Do you still have all the same tools as before or do you get to buy some new ones?

                          Now my shop sounds like radhak's. My wife actually helped me organize/clean my shop--once. I know the clutter in there must give her chills. Now she dashes in and out to get some lawn tools which I've situated next to the shop door.

                          Comment

                          • durango dude
                            Senior Member
                            • Mar 2011
                            • 934
                            • a thousand or so feet above insanity
                            • 50s vintage Craftsman Contractor Saw

                            #14
                            As you might recall, I went through some life "adjustments" two years ago.
                            I figured if West Virginia was good enough for John Denver - by golly it's good enough for me.
                            Besides - there's actually something other than pine around here!!!

                            Right now, my "shop" is a 15x15 space with a single two-prong outlet.

                            The circuit breaker was updated a few years ago, though ---- so running lines should not be a big problem.
                            I'll run two different lines into the shop. That way, chances of blowing something up are minimal.
                            The "shop" space is in the corner of the house - which lends itself to good air management.

                            Tool-wise ------ I'll head over to Cincinnati to pick up my shop in two weeks.

                            I made a strategic blunder ------- I tidied up kitchen ---- putting the wine glasses over top the wine rack on the counter ----- and putting the coffee mugs over top the
                            coffee maker that was on the counter. It was logical to me ------- but I have a hunch she's going to take that as a signal that it's okay to organize my drill bits. (lol)



                            Comment

                            • atgcpaul
                              Veteran Member
                              • Aug 2003
                              • 4055
                              • Maryland
                              • Grizzly 1023SLX

                              #15
                              Reminds me of the Johnny Cash song, "I've Been Everywhere"

                              I've been everywhere, man
                              I've been everywhere, man
                              Crossed the deserts bare, man
                              I've breatherd the mountain air, man
                              Travel, I've had my share, man
                              I've been everywhere

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