So stinking hot!

J

Jason Fry

Joined
Jun 5, 2008
Messages
3,215
It's hard to make myself work in the garage this evening. Still 101 degrees at 6:45 p.m.

Just so this thread isn't just me whining, anybody got serious tips for working knives in the heat?

Here's my only answer so far: drink twice as much as you think you need. Water, tea, whatever, but not alcohol.
 
I'm with ya on the heat Jason. It's 93.7 here at 6:45 with 62% humidity which gives a "feel like" temp of 109. About 3 p.m. we had a feel like of 117.

I grind some and then sit in front of a fan or go inside a bit and drink cold water. I have to stop quite a bit because of the sweat that drips on my safety glasses every time I look down :(

I wanna move North for the Summers soooo bad!
 
The heat and humidity in S Fla is crazy.
Along with staying hydrated I keep a small towel over my shoulder just to wipe the sweat from my face and eyes to keep my vision clear.
 
Lose the tea it is a diuretic. I avoid the garage on days like these. I am only out there from 5;00 am to 7:00 am to avoid the heat.
 
No such thing as getting use to it.Just got to deal with it.Water and more water.
Eddie
 
I have a 2 gallon insulated Rubbermaid water jug that I take outside and I have a drink every time I put he work back in the forge to heat back up. I find that getting into this routine helps me avoid getting distracted with the work and not drinking enough water.
 
Jason Fry said:
It's hard to make myself work in the garage this evening. Still 101 degrees at 6:45 p.m.
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Different people have different tolerance to the heat. I worked in my father's garage for 6 summers, in a part of the state that is even hotter than that. A big fan helps a lot and you could put that in your garage, move it around so it points right at you while you are working.

In Abilene the relative humidity is low enough that you could get by with an evaporative cooler. My father now has some of those in his garage. They are big ones, about 6' square, "portacool" brand.
 
Home depot now sells small personal sized swamp coolers from about 300 to 700 dollars depending on the size... A good solution that is not much more than a window unit....
 
Don't forget to eat. Nothing heavy, but you need lots of minerals and vitamins when you're drinking twice as much and sweating it all out.
 
I think we are a few degrees cooler down here by the coast but the higher humidity makes up for it. Fans, food in the stomach and frequent cold drinks help a bit but nothing really makes it bearable. I have started shifting my schedule so I am grinding/heat treating as many blanks as possible during the cool months. This allows me to work on handles in the summer (which I can do at night once it cools) and leatherwork (inside). Custom orders still have to be done in the heat, but I can get my "standard" blades stocked up in the cool months.
 
This summer has not been that bad here. Last year though it was awful. We had what I think was the longest run of 100 plus days in our history. I would go out at 5 am and it would already be 95 plus. I kept a fan blowing on my back constantly and drank water like no tomorrow. This summer has been very mild though. We are in the high 60's in the morning with most days topping at mid to upper 80's. Still drink a lot of water but not nearly as much sweat dripping on the grinder. I am into a move North and West as well though, just have to convince the rest of the family as well.
 
I go inside the house, which is air conditioned, and do finish work. I avoid the heat in the garage on really hot days.
 
Add a small amount of sea salt to water... I've been using this for about five years now, as a sub for replacing electrolytes. Started using it on long distance runs, when I was stationed in El Paso. The key is sea salt, not deiodized; the sea salt still has the minerals and all... I found that I eliminated the muscle burn from lactic acid, and stopped getting cramps in my abdomen. Don't use too much, just enough to taste it...
 
Try a cooling towel. There are several different brands on the market. Enduracool is one of them. I've been thinking about getting one since I live in sunny Florida. I found this video review of the product. Check it out.

(Not me in the video)

[video=youtube;CEF-LZd85Qk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=CEF-LZd85Qk[/video]

Apparently they sell it at Lowe's. Here's the specs, courtesy of Lowe's website:


  • When wet, cools instantly to 30° below average body temperature
  • Lightweight, UPF 50 protection; 80% polyester, 20% nylon
  • Chemical-free, re-usable and machine washable
  • When dry, this soft microfiber absorbs sweat
  • To activate: get it wet, wring out excess and snap 3 times to activate the cooling technology
  • Typically, the towel cools for up to 2 hours when wet; to reactivate, simply re-wet and re-snap the towel
  • EnduraCool towels are wearable cooling fabrics; wear these around your shoulders, neck, head or other hot zones
  • Comes with 15" x 12" bag with draw cord closure for secure storage and shoulder straps for easy carrying
  • Towel dimensions: 37" x 13.25"

$15
 
Big Chris said:
This summer has not been that bad here. Last year though it was awful. We had what I think was the longest run of 100 plus days in our history. I would go out at 5 am and it would already be 95 plus. I kept a fan blowing on my back constantly and drank water like no tomorrow. This summer has been very mild though.
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Same here in Knoxville; record highs all last summer, pretty mild this year. I'm fine with that but it makes me worry about next winter in my (unheated) shop. I moved away from WI for a reason! :grumpy:
 
Don Hanson III said:
Air Conditioning! Air Conditioning! Air Conditioning!
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If you want to spend the money, get one of those portable air conditioning units. I used to have and use one in my garage in Southern California. They work pretty good.

63c45ed0-c13d-4f98-8192-48483b88cdb6_300.jpg


I should mention that I also installed a solar powered roof mount venting fan. That really helped a lot. Plus it won't cost you anything to operate.

f3b42ae8-f724-4145-b2c9-8d51b709b5df_300.jpg
 
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