I have added a Powered Tools and Machinery section to my website.
In this section I plan to add articles about the power tools and machines that I use in my workshop, with the modifications I have made over the years, along with the techniques which I hope others will find helpful in using them to dimension and create joinery.
The first article is just a baseline for the level of noise for the machines and power tools I have.
Derek: interesting thread, especially: "I tend to argue against the use of hearing protection which includes music or phone connection. The last thing we need when using machines is to be distracted from the task at hand … otherwise you might lose it."
Yes, I have tinnitus, too, but I blame mine on rock and roll music via Koss headphones from 5 decades ago in college. My power tools wouldn't do that to me. /s
We use the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Sound Level Meter (SLM) App on our iPhones.
Is the phone/app combination calibrated or certified? An earlier NIOSH study found that there were only four iPad apps that met the +/- 2 db required to meet OSHA standards. Some were pretty far off. Perhaps Apple implemented one of the better ones.
How would you calibrate and certify (rhetorical question) an iPhone app? A certified and calibrated noise dosimeter would cost a lot more than an iPhone.
Use the NIOSH app (ref. my former post on this subject). It's close enough for shop use, but not for a legal determination of putting someone on an OSHA hearing conservation program.
Yabbut, I can't ask Captain Kirk to beam me up from my iPhone.
You can buy a sound level meter for quite a bit less than an iPhone, even a used one without a Plan. The NIOSH SLM app only works on iPhones, and not on Android phones.
>>>How would you calibrate and certify (rhetorical question) an iPhone app? A certified and calibrated noise dosimeter would cost a lot more than an iPhone.
I thought perhaps Apple provided results of tests. If they had "some" phones tested they could describe statistics. It might be a good selling point for some since from further reading I find that in on average the sound level readings for iphone apps were better than android apps. This may be because android phones are made by a variety of companies.
NJOSH provides a very good explanation, to that same effect, on their website, explaining why their app is only available on the iPhone:
"iOS devices share common hardware and software architecture that is optimized for audio applications. Therefore, we have been able to verify that the NIOSH SLM app will perform as expected on any iOS device. On the other hand, the Android device marketplace is fragmented among many manufacturers with different requirements and specifications for microphones, audio/signal processing chips, and software tools. As a result, testing and verification of the accuracy and functionality of an Android-based app in our laboratory is not currently possible."
Nice article, Derek. I was impressed by the meter readings. I knew some of my tools were loud, but I never knew that loud. My circ saws, a Craftsman and a Bosch, are heinously loud, at least the 95 db you measured. I really think that a lot of that noise comes from the blades ringing, adding to the inherent noise of a universal motor. Thanks for this eye (
Another thing to consider about noise in the shop is the shop itself. If all your walls are hard surfaces, the sound energy machines generate cannot dissipate.
Curious to take some of your noisy tools out in your driveway and conduct the same tests.
Also, make sure you are holding your phone where your head is during operation of the machine. May make a positive or negative difference.
The blade you use in your circular saws, table saw, chop saw, radial arm saw, etc., can make a big difference. For example, in my table saw, my Freud blades, which have sound dampening features (sinusoidal slots filled with rubber), are significantly quieter than my Forrest WWII blades.
A router buried in a router table is quieter (and farther from your ears) than one you are holding in your hand.
A cyclone permanently mounted in the shop's attic or an outbuilding is quieter than one on wheels connected directly to the machine where you are currently making sawdust.
The worst woodworking hearing loss I ever received was due to hand tool use: I was getting help gluing up a cabinet, and my assistant used a mallet right next to my ear to persuade a joint to go together.
Helical heads on planers and jointers are quieter than straight blades.
If you process your own logs into lumber or turning blanks, or if you heat your shop with firewood, a battery powered chainsaw is significantly quieter than the equivalent gasoline powered saw.
If you work in your shop with the windows and doors open (in good weather or when you won't disturb your neighbors) you let some of the sound out before it has a chance to reflect back to your ears.
