Cold temps in the shop...

[Doozer]

So the cold temps are starting to creep in on us here in New England.... This is the first winter Ive really been into woodworking, and have some concerns about working in the cold.

I work in my garage, not insulated at all, 2 car detatched, with only a small electric space heater for warmth.. I dont mind me getting a little cold but how does the cold temps impact working with wood? Will the wood behave differently when being cut in subfreezing temps ??

I was gluing up an end grain cutting board today and realized on the bottle of titebond III it states to use at 45 degrees or higher (titebond II is 55 degrees). It was in the upper 40's today, but will be 30's overnight and getting colder every week.

I have a utility room in my house I can probably use for glue ups and finishing, but all cutting has to be done in the cold.

I guess it would be a good idea to bring all of the glues, waxes, and any other finishes into the house for the winter. Not sure if they will freeze and get ruined..

Id hate to have to close up shop for the winter because of the cold, what do all you other cold weather folks do in the winter?

[mlehikoinen]

I'm in the same boat. Although my garage is attached, I won't be able to use it because of the car. Who wants to park the car in the garage anyway? Lol

I'm thinking of moving my hand tools and bench inside to the unfinished portion of the basement. No really nasty noise that way.

Oh, if you have water stones, make sure you bring them in unless you want to be sweeping up gravel.

[muddlermike]

I had the same troubles when I started out, and concequently moved my shop from the garage to the basement. Around here, parking in the garage in the winter isn't really an option - more of a necessity.

Some things to consider:

Winter air tends to be dry, and many heating options in homes tend to increase humidity, so milling and cutting stock in the garage and then bringing it in doors may cause a moisture shift - enough to cause your joinery to be off and boards to warp. It seems when I've used my tools in the winter, they seem more prone to moisture build up and condensation. This has caused rust - even in the winter, probably due to the heating and cooling of the shop area. Like Mike mentioned, your waterstones can crumble with the freezing. And, as you've found, glues and finishes don't do well with lower temps. Finally, I was always concerned with my hands being cold and my judgement seemed questionable at times because it was so cold. All in all, I found it was either too hot or too cold in the garage 8 months out of the year, and so I moved the shop to the basement. Now, the only challenge is getting large tools and materials down to the basement and projects back up from the basement. Fortunately, most of my big tools weren't that difficult to get down there, and I usually cut down large materials in the garage before I bring them down.

That being said, there are other guys up here in the northeast that cope with the temps. Charger had a pellet stove installed in his shop, and mystyk had a wood stove put in. Stan out in Montana did a total insulation job on his and found it helped out a ton. Some guys swear by one of those new kerosine heaters (my grandfather used to use one and managed to not blow himself up). If you use a good dust collector regularly then your fire hazzard should be low, but it's still a big consideration with open flame. I used an electric/oil space heater in the garage. The fire hazzard was very low, but it didn't heat nearly enough once December rolled around. Short of insulating and doing a proper heating system, there's not much to remedy your problem I'm sorry to say.

if you do plan to use your tools, be sure to take extra care to protect them from moisture. And, watch you wood carefully when you bring it in doors after milling and cutting. And watch your fingers - when they start to get numb, well......

good luck - I hope you can work it out to keep woodworking in the winter.

[ztifpatrick]

So the cold temps are starting to creep in on us here in New England.... This is the first winter Ive really been into woodworking, and have some concerns about working in the cold.

I work in my garage, not insulated at all, 2 car detatched, with only a small electric space heater for warmth.. I dont mind me getting a little cold but how does the cold temps impact working with wood? Will the wood behave differently when being cut in subfreezing temps ??

I was gluing up an end grain cutting board today and realized on the bottle of titebond III it states to use at 45 degrees or higher (titebond II is 55 degrees). It was in the upper 40's today, but will be 30's overnight and getting colder every week.

I have a utility room in my house I can probably use for glue ups and finishing, but all cutting has to be done in the cold.

I guess it would be a good idea to bring all of the glues, waxes, and any other finishes into the house for the winter. Not sure if they will freeze and get ruined..

Id hate to have to close up shop for the winter because of the cold, what do all you other cold weather folks do in the winter?

You know I've had the same problem in my garage, every year it eventually gets too cold to work in there. The other day I was in Home Depot and they were selling these heaters that attach to the top of a tank of propane. I looks like a headlamp and you can buy it in configurations of 1 or 2. Have not tried it yet but I think it looks like it will do the job.

[bgrella]

So the cold temps are starting to creep in on us here in New England.... This is the first winter Ive really been into woodworking, and have some concerns about working in the cold.

I work in my garage, not insulated at all, 2 car detatched, with only a small electric space heater for warmth.. I dont mind me getting a little cold but how does the cold temps impact working with wood? Will the wood behave differently when being cut in subfreezing temps ??

I was gluing up an end grain cutting board today and realized on the bottle of titebond III it states to use at 45 degrees or higher (titebond II is 55 degrees). It was in the upper 40's today, but will be 30's overnight and getting colder every week.

I have a utility room in my house I can probably use for glue ups and finishing, but all cutting has to be done in the cold.

I guess it would be a good idea to bring all of the glues, waxes, and any other finishes into the house for the winter. Not sure if they will freeze and get ruined..

Id hate to have to close up shop for the winter because of the cold, what do all you other cold weather folks do in the winter?

I also work in a garage, but it is insulated. In the winter I use a propane heater to stay warm. When I need to do a glue-up, I will pre-warm the garage before. Same goes for finishing. I pre-warm, then turn off the propane heater while I finish, then turn the heat back on. So far no explosions!

[Pitts]

I moved to Hawaii. Problem solved. I grew up in Northern NH. The solution for me was a heavy duty wood stove and splitting lots of wood in the summer.

[Bobby]

Being in a desert area of CA, it does get cold but only down to 27 deg. or so in the winter. It still is uncomfortable to work without some sort of heat. Currently I use an electric radiant heater. Eventually I'd like to invest in a closed-combustion gas-fired heater designed for a workshop environment. But, for now the radiant heater is ok.

I'm also in the process of insulating my shop, and I'm including a radiant barrier foam. This will reflect the sun's radiant energy in the summer and keep the heat in during the winter. Be sure to leave a 3/4" airspace on the reflective side of the radiant barrier.

I'm also furring out the wall to make it a few inches thicker to accommodate more batt insulation. Sealing all the cracks in the shop envelope is key. If you want to go really far in this, you can add a heat-recovery ventilator that gives you outside air but sends it through a heat exchanger first so you don't lose as much of your heated air. This is good if you have a tightly sealed shop.

[Simon]

Same here in Quebec. I have a garage shop that has the inside closed up with dry wall and regular R20 insulation. I am lucky that the ceiling is 11 feet high so I have an electric heater fixed there (1500W 230v). I also have a dust filter fixed to the ceiling that, when running, makes the warm air circulate in the shop. I found it warms the place much faster and help sustain a more constant temperature.

The garage floor is concrete and has slopes going from the edges to the center drain. This is a nignmare for rolling tools around, is difficult to clean the dust off and is hard on my legs. So, my next shop upgrade is to build, on top of the concrete, a wood floor. I will then integrate insulation styrofoam that will also help with keeping the shop warm.

After that, the remaining problem is the garage door that does not close completely tight on the sides. But it's getting too cold now to work on that. It will wait until next spring :-)

Simon

[TomP]

My shop area as I vcall it is also in the garage shared by a car. I have a small heater and a radient like Bobby. That one hangs right over the area of the table saw. This time of year I work out there only on the week ends. When it gets into the teens I shut down. January and February are the worst. When we get a somewhat warm week end I will crank up the saws. I work out side on my real job, so I dress for the cold when in my area shop. I do find the older I get the harder it is to work in the cold. Like the mail person, nothing stops us fromm making saw dust

[Onboard]

Since the comments seemed to have shifted From: Issues in cutting wood and the performance of glue, and finishes in a cold environment (per Doozer) To: Heating a workshop, then I thought I’d throw in a reminder of a previous Shop forum post on shop heating. There are 61 comments on that post. FYI.

[Doozer]

Thanks for all the replies! I see Im not alone in the cold north! Currently we are renting the house we live in, so doing any major remodeling and insulating of the garage isnt going to happen. If we end up buying the house in the future things will be drastically different. But for now, I have to do with what i have.

I have seen those propane heaters in HD, but I just think of it being the same as a gas grill, which they say you shouldnt use indoors.... Ill have to look into that.

But I wasnt really looking for shop heating advice, as much as I was looking for what to expect when working with the materials in the cold, and going from cold outside, to heated inside etc.. But I do appreciate all the input!

[Onboard]

But I wasnt really looking for shop heating advice, as much as I was looking for what to expect when working with the materials in the cold, and going from cold outside, to heated inside etc.. But I do appreciate all the input!

I was hoping my reply would point out that the topic was getting off track but I guess I should have been more specific. However, the previous replies do point out the need to bring the temperature up in your shop somehow, during the winter months. Some comments did point the way to installing a heat source that could be taken with you if you move elsewhere.

Some of your questions may be answered in the following forum post: Workshop Temperature. AJ Hopkins has some relevant things to say. In another post: Garage Shop With Extreme Temperature Ranges. JohnnyNoName has a good comment on glue. As far as finishing, that would have to be done in a warmer environment, especially water based finishes. Most modern glues can handle at least one freeze-thaw cycle, but it is not advised to do glue ups in a very low temperature environment.

Hopefully you’ll get a few more replies on this.