I Finally Broke Down and Did It.

jhiggins

jhiggins

Joined
Jul 11, 2003
Messages
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PREFACE: This post I decided to put into ShopTalk because it really does have everything to do with making knives: Personal health & Comfort. Read on, friends...

:)

So I put a #$@^% air conditioner in my shop today. Never thought I would have to do that, and always swore I would NEVER put an a/c unit in my house... anywhere I lived.

Oh really, you say. That Higgy is a durn fool you say.

*flashback*

Well I have to tell you, when I lived in southwest Texas for four years we rented an old ranch house that only had a swamp cooler. The stink from it made me sneeze and wheeze. I caught a bad lung infection, and was hospitalized, so we learned to live without it. I really miss those warm wonderful Texas breezes rolling in across the chapparal. *sigh*

Then I got stationed in Tampa, FL for the next few years. We had been used to heat, but the humidity drove us nuts! We stayed at a small apartment just north of the Tampa Stadium and used the a/c all the time there. Anyhoo, we only stayed there a couple months, and then got a house on base. The house was literally only a stone's throw from the shore on Old Tampa Bay. We soon got used to turning down our a/c and eventually learned to live without it. It was good times then.

After a move to Germany for the next 7 years, we finally moved back stateside and I landed in New England and we have lived here ever since. We've never owned a house here that had even as much as a window a/c unit, and I have never given much thought to ever having one.

*Flash Forward*

This season, I am sweating my cahones (huevos?) off every single day. Even the cool days are as humid as can be. The summer's have been increasingly wetter and warmer in this region. I blame global warming, but I can't say I am an expert on it.

So here I am for the third day this week, rubbing out blades in the shop. Shop temp: 75F. Shop Humidity: 70% Outside humidity/temp is 80/85. I have a dehumidifier running in my shop, and that keeps the humidity at bay, but only seriously dries it out if I put if at full-on. It'll suck the moisture all the way down to 40% or lower with no effort at all. The only problem is that it will also raise the ambient shop temperature to 85+ degrees. Very uncomfortable.

After downing what seems to be gallons of water already this week, and wrining buckets of water from my shirt and my hair, I said: SCREW IT>

Time to install some a/c.

I swallowed my pride and bought a new window unit and installed it in my only shop window. Now the shop temp is 70, and the humidity has dropped to 50%. I feel a lot more comfortable, and I can breath better. My shirt stays drier, and sweat now doesnt drip oonto the blades I am polishing. Oh I still break a sweat rubbing out a blade, but its definitely not profuse gushing torrents of perspiration anymore. Yeehaa!

Hey so I guess the moral of the story here is this. Make sure you are comfortable and safe. Safe means you aren't dehydrated or going to have heat stroke. Brian Goode got his shop cooled down, and I dare say that perhaps some of you also have "sweat boxes" you are working out of. Get some fans going, and some ventilation. Even old silly diehards like me can change. The cool part (pun-intended) is that now I feel like taking my time and getting everything just perfect before I move on. No rushing, my brothers... I'm playing it COOL today! :thumbup:

Hey, thanks for reading! :D
 
I am in St. Louis, Today it is 98 degrees outside, and there is no breeze, it's been this hot for a couple days and last week too, i haven't gotten anything done outside because of it, I run from my house to my car, my car to work and back. i am planning on starting to build a shop this fall and i will be sure that it will have a/c

glad to hear you are enjoying your new a/c, keep cool, keep safe
 
My Buddy has air in his tent!:D :D :D
Campground cgarges $5 for no juice and $9 for juice. DUH!!!
 
75F and 70% humidity was all you had? :eek:
Thats friggin paradise!
My shop doesn't have any air moving through it at all. Its been staying around 90-95F with humidity 70% and above for the last month outside. I don't know what the hell it is in the shop, but it feels worse sometimes :grumpy: I've been avoiding running the forge as much as possible.

There's no windows though, and they don't make a unit big enough to replace the garage door :rolleyes: or my ass would have bought an A/C a LONG time ago!
The heat doesn't bother me when I'm out baling hay or working outside on stuff like that. There's just something about trying to do work like knifemaking though thats miserable when you're wringing wet with sweat. Hands are slippery, sweats in your eyes, grinder grit sticks to ya :grumpy: Hows about I just come work in your shop until it cools off? ;)
 
The first summer after I built out my shop (room within 2 car garage) I was sweating profusely and it was around 100 most days. I decided in short order that if I was going to be able to use my shop at all during these long California summers, AC was a must. Congratulations on your sensible addition!
 
Matt Shade said:
75F and 70% humidity was all you had? :eek:
Thats friggin paradise!
Click to expand...

This temp and humidity combo really sucks though. You are always sticky and clammy feeling and hot-sweaty yet chilled at the same time. I hate it. I would rather have it hotter, to be honest. At least the humidity would be justified. :rolleyes:
 
Hey Cooks: Where in St. Louis are you. I too, live in St.ouis and have AC in my shop. Necessity here I think.
 
That's working smart, Jeff! ;)

I also had the 90 degrees F/85% humidity problem in my shop until last year.

The A/C unit and dehumidifier have already paid themselves off. I get more work done, the work is better quality, and I don't spend so much time fighting to keep rust off my machine tools and gages. (It's also healthier for any electronic equipment you are using like DRO's, electronic micrometers, anodizer power supplies, etc.)
 
I was hand rubbing a blade up to 3500 yesterday, went to get a sandwich and came back to a nice rust spot where I had dripped salty sweat on the blade. Amazing how fast it happened.....back to 800.....
 
Jeff, you might want to look into an air cleaner with a HEPA filter to cut the small dust and mold spores down, too, if you have a problem with them.
Delta, Jet, and a few other woodworking mfrs have them...
 
I air conditioned my shop when I built it. I live in Alabama and I'd cook in the shop without it. We have a four ton central unit for the house.
 
John L, I am in Affton/Shrewsbury area, with the weather we have been having it's definetely needed. where are you at?
 
When I built my shop I put in 5 roll up doors, So I can usually get some kind of brease throught it. It shure makes a difference if the air that is blowing in one door has a place to escape. 99% of the time I can get some type of brease throught the shop.
 
I would like to invite you all to south florida.

102 in the shade yesterday, 100% humidity. You walk through the woods and can watch the mosquitos rising up out of the layered pine needles on the ground.

cmon by... bring booze! :D
 
A dog was chasing a rabbit through the yard this morning and they were both walking. It's rained so much this summer where we live in Alabama that if you don't have air conditioning you'd have to keep the windows shut most of the time. It's to hot to leave the windows closed without air.
 
AC is a good thing :D I have two in my shop :D

I was fulltime for 10 years without AC before I got smart :(

Ya done good Higgy.

Don Hanson
 
If my shop had walls, I'd have AC, the shop I'm building will have AC, no chance I can survive another summer like this without it.
 
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