Sound proofing enclosure. Thoughts?

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whiskyrookie

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Jun 22, 2020
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So this may be a nutty idea, but I’m thinking of creating a small enclosure to minimize the noise that would be generated by my belt grinder. Nothing huge. Imagine a 5-sided wooden insulated cube with the 6th side open where I would be grinding. Just big enough to surround the grinder with a side that would swing open to facilitate belt changes.

Would soundproof it with sound insulation that’s framed and encased in plywood to avoid a fire hazard.

I fully expect it wouldn’t soundproof, but minimize the sound so that my neighbors won’t complain. I live in a row house with shared walls on either side of my garage.

Has this been tried before? What should I look out for?
 
I doubt it would attenuate the sound much. It would be better to get/male a quieter grinder.
 
Ear plugs are what you need. If grinding is a PITA due to noise, use them & you're good. I use the soft foam disposable plugs from Wally's World, compress them tightly, jam them into the ear canal & let them swell into place. Too bad I can't hear the music this way, but that's the way it works if the plugs seal well & do their job.

The dust is another problem, wear a mask!
 
Just turn your shop radio up really loud. This should drown out the noise of the grinder.
 
Have your kid's garage band practice while you grind?

Seriously, in buildings with attached units, it is pretty near impossible to prevent sound transmission of high pitched sound. Finding ways to lower the sound is best. One way that will work fairy good is covering the adjoining wall with a couple layers of old carpets. They act as great sound attenuators and absorbers. The thicker the pile the better. A visit to a carpet company may get you all you want for free. Offer a knife or two in trade and they may drop it off in your driveway until you tell them to stop.
You may need to cover the ceiling with a layer, too.
 
Soundproofing acoustic foam is available from the larger music stores, and from many of the Chinese sites.
 
Yeah id worry less about boxing in the grinder with noise dampening stuff, and instead focus on making the garages walls more soundproof.
 
Wasn't it the acoustic foam that caught on fire from pyro at the Great White show years ago? I would make double sure to cover it real good.
 
As mentioned, acoustic foam is cheap and highly flammable. Part of what makes it work is the configuration of the surface area, covering it up negates the property that makes it "acoustic." They make fire resistant acoustic foam, and the real stuff is not cheap at all. House fires, though, are terribly expensive. Test a sample before you commit to lining your area, both with a sustained spray of grinder spark and with a flame until ignition. I understand the desire to minimize the neighbor's discomfort, so if you decide to foam the walls don't forget the ceiling. Sound is incredibly sneaky at pushing energy though space until it can resonate a column of air in our eardrums.
 
Thanks for your comments and feedback! Even if it doesn't reduce the sound significantly, another side benefit is no more metal dust everywhere in my garage LOL...which would make my wife SUPER happy.

But yeah, unless I can find fireproof soundproofing material, with plywood cube walls, the cube may end up just focusing all the noise straight at me since that's the only opening for sound to escape.
 
If you build the box, put 1" or 2" Styrofoam insulation on the outside. That will help absorb sound somewhat. As you said, make it a dust collector and have the vacuum connected to the back of the box.
 
I’ve helped setup a few recording studios. There is soundproofing and sound absorption. Soundproofing is expensive and sound absorption is cheap.

use Rockwool in a plywood or OSB frame to help absorb the sound. Building the grinding enclosure out of these panels will help keep the sound down considerably at a very low cost. Here is a good tutorial https://fullenglish.co/blog/2016/8/13/sound-absorber

sound will escape from any cracks In the walls and gaps around the doors and windows. Make sure they are well sealed with caulk, foam etc. especially the garage door. I like to shine a bright work light inside the space at night and stand outside. You’ll see all the gaps light up.

going beyond absorption and caulking starts to get into more complicated construction including adding sound absorption or insulation to the garage walls, decoupling sheathing with Z clips and all sorts of expensive specialty products.

It will be cheaper and easier to gift the neighbors some knives and offer to keep them sharp. They’ll feel differently if the grinder is working for them.
 
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