Woodshop in my Basement

[Robert Haar]

Thanks. Adding a Macromedia Flash plug-in did allow it to run, but I still get a warning that I need to use IE.

[Jack Fearnley]

I can't make it work with Firefox plus the Macromedia plug-in using Linux (Fedora core 4)

Jack Fearnley

[Mike Marlow]

Maybe it is a problem with the Mac version. It worked like a charm for me.

[ed_h]

My wife wants me to build a detached shop, but I'm resisting. I'm now in the 1400 SF basement. It is heated and air conditioned 24/7/365, has telephone, cable, ethernet, hot and cold running water, a bathroom with a shower, a walkout entrance, and is a 10 second walk from anywhere in the house, in my underwear if I want.

Her main objections to the status quo:

Foot- and clothes-borne Dust & Shavings: Shavings and dust gets tracked through the house and fall off my person. My solution: Try to keep the shop floor swept. Brush myself off. Resolve to wear shoes in the shop. Go upstairs only when summoned.

Airborne Dust: The 2 HP Grizzley gets most of it, but catching all the fine dust from every machine is pretty tough. My solution: Do my best to collect the dust. Try to limit long- duration dust-generating activities, instead spreading them out to more frequent, smaller dust-generating incidents. This reduces my culpability by making my dust mostly disappear in the dust background noise floor.

Noise: Two or three horsepower's worth of abuse to a piece of wood can create some pretty obxoxious noise levels. My solution: Insulate & acoustically decouple the shop ceiling. Keep doors closed. Save the noisest stuff for when no one else is home, or after my wife goes to bed. Suggest the next day that maybe she dreamt it.

Odors: My wife actually says she likes the smell of some cut woods, but it's some of the finishes, paints, and adhesives that are the problem. My solution: Do these smelly operations outside when possible. Otherwise, do them after she goes to bed. The odors will normally be gone in the morning, and I can play dumb be especially sympathetic about any headache complaints. Give waterborne finishes and adhesives yet another chance.

On the other hand, my wife does acknowledge that accessibility (to me) is pretty good the way it is, and she'd hate to give up the immediate response she now enjoys in emergency situations like, say, a bug in the sink.

[Phisherman]

The odor from finishes seems to be my biggest complaint. I have used the garage to apply finishes.

[Juergen Hannappel]

[...]

Accustom wife to a certain amount of shavings and dust on the floor. Point out that a detached shop adds dirt from the walk from the shop to the house, together with rainwater dripping off you when rushing in to throw innocent spiders to the merciless weather outside.

[...]

Use oil finishes like linseed oil (odourless) or flavoured with orange oil (in moderation, it's no a health improver).