Those of you who live where it gets realy cold, How do you manage?

weo said:
Not trying to derail the thread, but that's always been my question, how do you folks manage down there in the heat? You can always add more insulation or heat, but you can only cool down so much in the shop.
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I typically go make folders in @Alan Davis Knives air conditioned shop, or count it as a workout due to the volume of sweat. hah
 
Unfortunately I work out of an uninsulated garage. The last few days have been in the low teens Fahrenheit. I simply can't do any fine grinding right now. My hands go numb to quickly while dipping. I often have about 3-4 months of the year where this is the case.
On the other hand I have a bunch of steel to profile into blanks and I can wear heavier leather gloves for the rough out work. So I adjust what I can do. Since I'm a hobbyist it isn't the worst thing in the world. Obviously if this were a major part of my income things would be far different.
 
im in PA my shop was stick built 2x8" walls insulated and upper floor/roof is filled with R35 (36 or 38) i forget. i have a hot dawg propane heater on a thermostat. i fuel from 2 60LB tanks on an RV self switching valve. run one tank empty flip the switch and have the empty filled (went with 60s for ease of carry and setup cause 100lb ers suck to carry 100yds to the shop if the ground is soft and i cant drive on it) temp set at 40 over night and 60 during working hours and really if i want to go into the shop over the weekend that heater will take teh edge off in 30 min or less. i ahve thought about AC in the summer now and then but i am not ready to be called an old man or wimp yet for the 2 weeks a year it is "hot" round here
 
I don't get out to the shop every day, so when we get cold, I have to fire up the forge as soon as I decide I'm going out there. Depending on how cold it's been, I'll throw a 1 1/2" square rod and another 3 x 3 x 5" block in right away. In about 20-30 minutes, the forge is hot enough to forge (which isn't much longer than normal because I built it WAY bigger than I need),I take the steel out, put the block on the anvil and the rod is used to melt the slack tub. After about 30-60 min of forging, the grinder and drill press are warm enough to not have problems. But my shop is only 20x20, so it warms up pretty quickly.
 
Reading about all ya'll dealing with cold weather makes me realize all over again why I chose to live South of I-10 here on the Gulf Coast. When it gets below 30°F I consider it too cold to work, but that happens only at night. The summer heat is no real problem as it doesn't get to 100°F hardly ever.... and I just turn the AC on {g}.
 
I literally just work until my hands are numb and then I go warm up a bit haha. Uninsulated shop here too - last night was brutal at 10 degrees. Maybe 25ish in my shop? Lol. The only thing that seems to care is my propane tank for the forge. I have to set it in a bucket of hot water if I want any PSI at all!
 
Is this the kind of cold you are taking about?

My kids aren’t going to school and I won’t be in my unheated shop for a while.
 
My workshop may not be large and spacious, but at least it's warm. It's been around -5 degF around here and my workshop is fully insulated, and I keep it at around 60 degF, with the use of my kiln it'll climb to about 70 degF. Nice and cosy.

The workshop is about 225 ft2.
 
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my 10 x 12 shed is not insulated, I also keep a fan up against an open window for exhaust. It was un workable to wet grind 20 deg. or below. I bought a cheap little heater that connects to the top of my grill's propane tank. I just bundle up and use the heater to keep my hands warm...It is fine now even for grinding wet. I turn my grinder on low speed with no belt to let it warm up a bit before I go full blast. I have no idea if this is necessary or not. A nice insulated thermos of black coffee helps too. Two pairs of wool socks and thinsulate ll bean boots gives me about 2 hours before the toes are too cold :) I will take this over grinding in the heat of summer. It can be awful difficult holding steady with steel and fresh ceramics at high speed, while sweat is dripping into your eyes and mosquitoes are biting any bit of bare skin...lol
 
timos- said:
my 10 x 12 shed is not insulated, I also keep a fan up against an open window for exhaust. It was un workable to wet grind 20 deg. or below. I bought a cheap little heater that connects to the top of my grill's propane tank. I just bundle up and use the heater to keep my hands warm...It is fine now even for grinding wet. I turn my grinder on low speed with no belt to let it warm up a bit before I go full blast. I have no idea if this is necessary or not. A nice insulated thermos of black coffee helps too. Two pairs of wool socks and thinsulate ll bean boots gives me about 2 hours before the toes are too cold :) I will take this over grinding in the heat of summer. It can be awful difficult holding steady with steel and fresh ceramics at high speed, while sweat is dripping into your eyes and mosquitoes are biting any bit of bare skin...lol
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Do you find 10x12 is big enough? I don’t have much yard space and was considering similar size.
 
It is plenty big enough for a 2 x 72 grinder and a drill press. I also keep my belts out there and a couple vises on the bench. It has been much better since I installed windows on all 4 walls. Really helps to have some natural light. Exhaust for the dust is an absolute must, that small area will fill quickly when grinding handle material.
 
It got down to 50 last night, I was cold!

When it’s hot, the controlling factor is a fan big enough to keep the mosquitoes out. Under a tree canopy, they never sleep. Dang blood suckers.
 
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