Table Saw Noise Abatement?

[Chuck Aeric]

Hi all,

I just received a table saw over the holiday (my first) and would love dearly to use it. However, I expect it would be quite loud, and somewhat annoying to the people in the upstairs flat. Is there anything I can do to reasonably reduce the noise? It is far too cold to work outside, unfortunately.

Would enclosing the stand (with adequate ventilation) be of any use? Or building a cabinet around it? It won't deaden the sound of the cutting action of the blade, but the whine of the motor may be abated, somewhat...

Any thoughts?

Cheers, Chuck

[oakman]

There is no reasonable way to tone down a table saw. You would be disturbing your neighbors that are to your sides as well as any below you as well as the ones above you. You will have sawdust is all your furniture and your food since airborne micro-particles of sawdust are impossible to perfectly contain.

Expect to be sued as well as evicted. An apartment ( flat ) is intended for ' normal ' living... not to be used as a wood shop...

Time to buy a home ! Good luck.

[Traves W. Coppock]

On Sun, 28 Dec 2003 03:54:18 -0500, [e-mail] Crawled out of the shop and said. . .:

very true, almost impossible to quiet a TS down as 99.9% of the noise comes from the blade cutting the stock.

Again, very true. but not to any great extent. i have a basement shop in the only unfinished area of the house. the room right next to my shop is the computer room. . .not much dust on anything in there to amount to a pinch o poop. keep the door closed, and keep the dust in.

my basement shop was intended for "normal" living, and "normally" i WW in there. unless your lease specifically states against it, they really cant say much about a hobby, noisy or not. all you really need to do is talk with your neighbor(s), and find out when they would not mind the noise. most folks will be agreeable about it trust me,,,i been there. so much for getting evicted or sued

Time to settle down, make some dust, and stop aggravating people i think

[Chuck Aeric]

I thought that was the case (but had to ask)...

Right on both counts! In the mean time, I'll skip trying to quiet the saw and instead isolate it. The basement has several rooms for storage, and runs the length of the building. If I hang heavy padding over the two doorways of the room directly under my flat, that may be enough to let me work during the day. Once I get some power and better lighting...

Cheers, Chuck

[Toller]

A saw with an induction motor is much less objectionable than one with a universal motor. What saw do you have?

[Howard]

Every once in a while, something comes along to remind me that there is a whole 'nother world out there that I can't even begin to relate to...

-- Howard Lee Harkness Texas Certified Concealed Handgun Instructor

[e-mail] Low-cost Domain Registration and Hosting!

[Charlie Self]

Howard responds:

Yeah, but the real answer is: who wants to?

Charlie Self

"Man is a reasoning rather than a reasonable animal." Alexander Hamilton

[Chuck Aeric]

It's a Delta TS220; I'm pretty sure it's a universal motor. It was a lovely gesture, if not the most useful tool for me to have right now (looking for a house this coming year).

I primarily work with hand tools on small projects, but would love to make a wooden telescope tube for my almost finished mirror like this fellow (no pun intended) has done (many pictures if you click on his other messages):

inspiring. It seems quite a job to take on with or without the table saw.

Cheers, Chuck

[Al in WA]

I have my Doghouse (shop) in a 400 sf studio apt. with apts behind, over and both sides. I've talked to all the neighbors and they tell me they hardly ever hear any noise. I run a TS and routers which are the loadest and no problem. Probably the worst is the Crapsman 5hp air compressor but I have that on a timer so it can't run at night.

The sound that really carries is when someone turns a sterio up with loud bass, vibrates through whole building. We stop that real quick. Oh, did I mention that we are the managers? Fifteen years here.

Al in Longview, WA

[klaatu]

[Silvan]

Certainly not I. I'm *so* glad to be out of that place. Especially now that my kids are old enough to remember things.

It was what we could afford at the time though.

[calebsg]

Hey Chuck, I just got two Freud Industrial saw blades -- the rip and crosscut (F80) ones. Used to have the $15 kind of blade. Incredible reduction in noise over the cheapo blades. Both while not cutting and even more impressible when cutting. This is on a GI contractor's saw. Might help you. Caleb

[Chuck Aeric]

Thanks klaatu and caleb (and others), I am looking into purchasing a quality thin kerf finishing blade. Don't have time to play with the table saw for a few weeks, but when I do, I'll post my impressions of the difference in noise, quality of cut, etc...

Cheers, Chuck

[Mike Reed]

Yeah, that would be quite a job without a table saw, though I don't see why you couldn't bevel the edges of the boards with a handplane. Cutting the boards in the first place is another story though...

As an amateur astronomer myself, I have to wonder about the utility of a wooden tube. It's going to be very heavy, and also likely to vary its collimation based on seasons/humidity. The expansion and contraction across the grain might be pretty nasty with such a tube.

Have you considered a cardboard or fiberglass tube with a wood veneer applied to it? Here's an attractive example:

some thoughts,

Mike

PS CONGRATULATIONS on nearly finishing that mirror! What size/f-ratio is it?

[Doug Winterburn]

Check out "Build Your Own Telescope" by Richard Berry's - ISBN

0-943396-42-5

-Doug

[Chuck Aeric]

Absolutely! An empty 5' long tube (.5" wall thickness) for an 8" mirror would weigh around 22 pounds depending on the material used. I wonder what the wall thickness of his tube is... I wouldn't worry so much about the collimation issues, depends on whether you mind collimating before each session and how badly the collimation will change through the night. I thought his method might make for a sharp looking short tube refractor (would cannibalise the lovely optics

--great sample-- from my ugly white plastic tube ST80). Then I would have to build an appropriate wooden mount, of course... Mmm, projects.

truss tube variety. (Breaks down to a small cube with everything but the truss poles contained within.) However, I may try veneer if/when I build a solid tube.

It's an 8" f/8, originally intended to be done by Mars opposition. Saturn is calling...

Cheers, Chuck

[Larry C in Auburn, WA]

One other thought that isn't directly related to your question...You should check your lease and you might want to contact your landlord. As a landlord myself I'd be a bit peeved to find someone was using my property as a shop. I have enough provisions in my contract to prevent this from happening which is why I'm suggesting you should check your lease too. It would be a shame to move out and find you have a $3000 bill for replacing the carpets which is very possible. Using your flat as a shop would be considered beyond "normal wear and tear" which is the allowable damage where I live.

[dhaggs1]

Im also interested in damping sound, but in my case I have a garage shop and want to cut down on the sound getting into the house. Most of it comes through the door from the garage into the house. Would it help significantly to "soundproof" the door, and, if so, how?

Thanks

Dave in Santa Barabara

[Chuck Aeric]

** Pontential Rant ** Well, my lease doesn't say anything about restricting "hobbies," only businesses. That, and prohibiting washers, dryers and heavy duty _kitchen_ appliances. As far as damages to the apartment, I am probably one of the few renters in this complex that intends to leave it in the same condition that I found it in. Actually, better, because the landlord (dishonest property manager) refused to fix the front door lock that I didn't notice was loose (any idiot with a screwdriver could easily break in) because it wasn't noted on the move-in inspection I requested (having been raked over the coals by a former landlord when I left NYC). I fixed the front door and installed a steel strike plate on the back door (the deadbolt went into a drilled hole in the door frame (which had seen better days)! I had to rewire half of the outlets as the hot and neutral were reversed (landlord would send someone to look at it -- still waiting). I haven't had any run-ins with the landlord, as most of this has been below my threshold of annoyance and over a year ago, however I have heard stories of abuse and neglect. I have no sympathy for lying, stealing, cheating landlords that abuse their position to make their tenants' lives miserable. ** Definitely Not A Rant ** My "shop" is a spare room that has a well sealed door and two small HEPA air filtration machines (wife has mild asthma) and a shopvac with a micron filter. Overkill for now, though using the power saw would change that. I found an interesting link to alleviate some of the dust from the saw if I choose to set it up in the "shop":

on noise reduction (no details really):

[Larry C in Auburn, WA]

There will always be good/bad tenants and good/bad landlords. Regardless of whether you are happy or not with your landlord I was just suggesting you be sure you know what you're doing. Sounds like you think you're ok with your lease. Great! If you were my renter you'd be getting a hefty bill when you moved out if the carpet was laden with sawdust which it likely would be if you use a tablesaw in a carpeted room. Not to mention the extra cleaning to get the dust out of window channels, light fixtures, moulding, etc. Again, just a friendly comment that you should be sure you know what you're doing. When it comes time to pay the bill after moving out the court doesn't care whether you considered your landlord a "dishonest property manager". You do damage, you pay the bill.

The overarm guard is a great idea to cut down on the dust. With my tablesaw (without an overarm guard/dust collector) I get quite a bit of dust thrown at me even though I'm hooked up to a nice dust collector.