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Knowledge You Can Build On — Est. 1998

Keeping Warm -- 3 tricks from the frigid North

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Keeping Warm -- 3 tricks from the frigid North

#1

Brad Vietje

Keeping Warm -- 3 tricks from the frigid North

Brad Vietje

>While my next shop will have radiant heat floors and a beautiful high-end lathe, the truth for many of us is an unheated or nearly unheated garage, and a very cold concrete slab. Here in Central Vermont, yesterday's high temp. was +3 F, and this morning it was -15. When its real cold, your feet and legs can ache, and I tend to get foot cramps, too. Those holiday deadlines just won't wait, so how do you stay warm ?

While the quartz radiant heaters that have been discussed before help a lot, they warm you, and whatever they are aimed at, but not the air or the floor.

Here are 3 ideas that can help a lot:

1. Aluminum socks -- No foolin ! You can get very thin socks from outdoor gear/Army-Navy/hiking & camping outfitters with aluminum threads woven into them. They are sort of shimmery to look at, and you'll never believe they work when you see how thin and whispy they are. They are really sock liners -- wear them against your skin under a good pair of closely knit wool socks, and they help a lot. The aluminum reflects your own heat back to you -- a sort of space blanket for the feet.

2. Nylons -- yup, knee-high nylons, like pantyhose. Again, and I'm going out on a limb here as a married, heterosexual male, but this is an old high school skiing trick -- they are used as a thin inner sock, between your skin and some good wool socks. The open weave of the nylon fabric acts like a thin layer of air between you and the itchy wool, and my memory is that it really works -- haven't tried this one in a number of years.

3. Chemical oxidant foot warmers. These are some sort of iron oxide granules in a sealed bag that when shaken and exposed to air, oxidize at a rapid rate (rust) creating heat. They work very well, but whenn placing them in boots, keep a pair of socks between you and the warmers -- you can get burned with these. You do want to avoid getting sweaty feet, as the moisture will eventually make you some sort of cold !

I've never been a huge fan of battery powered heated socks (standing on wires is no fun, and batteries don't last long in the cold.

Oh, and # 4 is to move south :)

Safe Spinning,

Brad Vietje

Thetford, VT

Re: Keeping Warm -- 3 tricks from the frigid North

#2

Thanks ! very good suggestions! -

Fred in NC

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Re: Keeping Warm -- 3 tricks from the frigid North

#3

mats and hats

Andy in Raleigh

>Using a mat is not only good for your back and feet, but also helps insulate you from the cold slab. I have the BJ's club (I think Sam's also carries them) mats mostly for cushiony comfort, but this time of year I can also feel the temperature difference.

I hate hats and rarely wear them. But when it is cold enough that losing body heat is a concern, they help a lot. I have seen some of the thermal photos that make the head look like a chimney. Lots of blood vessels near the surface, no fat (despite what a lot of people may tell you about me :) and plenty of exposed surface area make it the body's radiator.

Re: Keeping Warm -- 3 tricks from the frigid North

#4

Re: Don't wear cotton or cotton/poly blends.

Al Crandall

>I watched a show on cold weather survival and was struck by a statement made by the narrator. He said that cotton has absolutely no insulating qualities and that survival specialists call it "the fabric that kills". Even multiple layers of cotton will not keep you warm in severe temps. I have worn woven cotton sweaters in the summertime and they are wonderfully cool to the skin. Leave your jeans in the house when you head to the shop. I suggest wool and wool blends.

Re: Keeping Warm -- 3 tricks from the frigid North

#5

Joe Fleming

Re: Keeping Warm -- 3 tricks from the frigid North

Joe Fleming

>Or do what many snow birds do - move south! Arizona, Texas and California's desert are full of them right now. :-)

Joe Fleming - San Diego

Re: Keeping Warm -- 3 tricks from the frigid North

#6

XXXXL Panty hose...

BubbaBob

>...works wonders for warmth under football uniforms in years past, and in conjunction with bib overalls while in a tree stand waiting on a deer...

BubbaBob

Re: Keeping Warm -- 3 tricks from the frigid North

#7

I don't need that picture

Ron in Drums PA

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Re: Keeping Warm -- 3 tricks from the frigid North

#8

and a little lipstick to prevent chapped lips?

TD

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Re: Keeping Warm -- 3 tricks from the frigid North

#9

Re: XXXXL Panty hose...

JamieDonaldson

>Years ago I found a rubber pad with heating wires imbedded that works wonders on top of the thick rubber mat in front of my lathe. They are sometimes marketed for secretaries with cold feet, to be placed in front of the desk chair.

Re: Keeping Warm -- 3 tricks from the frigid North

#10

Panty hose really work!

Dominic Greco at home in Richboro, PA

>Brad,

My Dad used to work for American Bridge and Iron. Back when he was a young man, he got the chance to work on the Ben Franklin and Walt Whitman Bridge in Philadelphia.

One of the tips the old timers told him was to wear a nylon stocking over your head. Just remember to cut some eye holes. I remember him saying that it looked stupid, but worked like a charm.

He used to say that after working 200 feet above the freezing Delaware River in December/January, he'd never complain about the cold again. NOTHING could compare to how cold he was then. Brrr! I get chills just thinking about it!

See ya around,

Dominic

Re: Keeping Warm -- 3 tricks from the frigid North

#11

Actually, the panty hose thing...

BubbaBob

>...is famous...First publicly admitted by a guy named Willie Joe Something-or-Other that did a fair job throwing a football for a team named the Helichoppers or Bi-Planes or Jets or sumpin...

BubbaBob

Re: Keeping Warm -- 3 tricks from the frigid North

#12

Re: Don't wear cotton or cotton/poly blends.

Hovey Moore

>That is sort of true. Cotton is a poor insulator compared to wool or many synthetics. But the real problem is that once wet it holds the water and then helps to remove heat from your body. This is why it kills. Think about it cotton sweat pants and/or shirts do keep you warm when dry--just not when wet!

Hovey

Re: Keeping Warm -- 3 tricks from the frigid North

#13

Re: Keeping Warm -- 3 tricks from the frigid North

Kurt Aebi

>Brad,

Here in southeastern VT +9� high, I usually wear my Sorel pack boots to keep my feet warm. I have also routed my hot air ducts so that they blow across the floor of the garage. Seems to help keep my legs warm - does stir up a little dust, though. Only a decent idea if you have dust collection or sweep up the sawdust from your big machines regularly.

Re: Keeping Warm -- 3 tricks from the frigid North

#14

Brad Vietje

Re: Brattleboro, here I come !

Brad Vietje

>I always wanted to live in the South where its warmer -- that's it, I'm moving to Brattleboro -- hell, maybe even Greenfield !

Safe Spinning & Happy Holidays !

Brad Vietje

Thetford, VT

Re: Keeping Warm -- 3 tricks from the frigid North

#15

Re: Keeping Warm -- 3 tricks from the frigid North

Duane C.Leach

>In my shop I instaled a small forced air natural gass furnace. Just like you would find in a house. Before this I used several different kinds of heat. They each had problems that made them un usable. Also I turned the heat off at night and the shop got cold. The next morning it took a lot to reheat. Plus the moisture in the air would condense on the cold steel and rust it. So now I keep the furnace on 24 7.At night when I leave the shop I turn the thermostat down to 60 and back up the next morning with no condensation.

Something you might try for a floor mat at your lathe or where ever. Go to a farm equipment store and find a heat mat for baby pigs to lay on.Or something similer. It's like an electric heat blanket for your bed only this mat is made with tuff rubber instead of cloth.

I hope this helps

Duane

Re: Keeping Warm -- 3 tricks from the frigid North

#16

Re: Brattleboro, here I come !

Sue McLam, Orange, VT

>Hey, I'm even more north than you two Vermonters...maybe I'll move from Orange to Brattleboro too :-)

Sue

Re: Keeping Warm -- 3 tricks from the frigid North

#17

Re: Keeping Warm -- 3 tricks from the frigid North

Arch

>I'd forgotten how cold N.E. winters can get, but even slightly cold days seem more miserable here in Fla.

I don't mean to be a grinch, just to reiterate Brad's caution, even if it helps only one turner. Statistics suggest that some of you older turners will have undiagnosed diabetes or peripheral vascular disease so we all should use care about applying external non-body heat (heating pads, etc.) to the lower extremities for any period of time. This can numb the leg while calling for more blood flow than compromised blood vessels can supply. This is ischemia, but severe damage to tissue can occur without a pain warning.

Turn to Safety, Arch

Re: Keeping Warm -- 3 tricks from the frigid North

#18

snickering....out loud! : )

Jennifer@Indy.USA

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Re: Keeping Warm -- 3 tricks from the frigid North

#19

Re: Keeping Warm -- 3 tricks from the frigid North

Jack Stevenson

>Hi,

Out here in Oregon we use ground hot cayenne pepper in our shoes to keep warm. I was a skeptic until I tried it. Now I'm a believer. It is an old hunter's trick. Just make sure you have a sock between your foot and the pepper.

I extended the procedure by making some cayenne pepper tincture and taking a dropperful in a glass of water before embarking out to the shop. Works wonderfully...

Jack

Re: Keeping Warm -- 3 tricks from the frigid North

#20

Re: XXXXL Panty hose...

Barry Turner

>I've always heard (and believed), "If your feet are cold, you're cold all over!"