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Knowledge You Can Build On — Est. 1998

Cold shop floor? *LINK*

Posts

Cold shop floor? *LINK*

#1

Cold shop floor? *LINK*

Mike Schwing from Md.

>This is an unsolicited product recommendation.

Someone on another board was talking about how his floor/shop from the waist down was too cold to work in comfortably during the winter. It made me think of the absolutely wonderful heated floor mat that I have, and that no one should have to suffer cold feet (or legs) with this simple, pretty inexpensive product available.

Linked below, it is simply a heated floor mat that produced a nice warm radiant heat that keeps your feet wonderfully cozy, and naturally radiates heat upwards around your legs, too.

I keep mine at the foot of my lathe since that is where I spend most of the time. My floor is much too cold to stand on during the winter, even with a standard floor mat my feet get uncomfortably cold before long. The price on this website is $55 but it is worth at least double that!

It warms quickly, runs on very low wattage and I have forgotten to unplug it overnight without burning the house down. It only gets warm, not hot, and has a built in thermostat. I doubt I could more highly recommend this product for those in a similar situation.

Hope this helps someone. Link below.




No more cold feet

Re: Cold shop floor? *LINK*

#2

Re: Cold shop floor?

John Lucas

>Mike

That is exactly what I need, for now at least. My new shop is really cold. I bundled up to work in there last week and my body wasn't too bad but my feet were freezing. It won't do much good right now because I'm running all over the shop trying to get it organized but when I do get the lathe back in operation this will be the life saver(toe saver). John

Re: Cold shop floor? *LINK*

#3

Re: Cold shop floor?

TheHeretic

>I have found that a couple of inches of shavings on the ground works as well and costs nothing. I keep the rest of the floor clean except for the 2'x3' area where I stand at the lather. during the summer I keep it all clean.

Re: Cold shop floor? *LINK*

#4

Ditto on the shavings...

Spence in Rhode Island

>But keep a larger area covered. Not only keeps the feet warmer but also cushions better than one of those mats. A lot less pain in the legs after a long stint at the lathe. Plus Rocco the Wonder Dog finds it comfy too. LOL

Regards

Spence

Re: Cold shop floor? *LINK*

#5

Re: Ditto on the shavings...

Mike Schwing from Md.

>Oh I'm much too OCD to tolerate that. My shop floor gets cleaned almost hourly.

Re: Cold shop floor? *LINK*

#6

Re: Ditto on the shavings...

JL work

>You have time for that? Although with the various critters you have been finding in wood, I can understand the compulsion to keep the shavings down. After all, one of those things might be hiding in the shavings. Who knows, it might find Schwing leg tasty.

Re: Cold shop floor? *LINK*

#7

Floor cleaning

TomW in SouthJersey

>I'm with Mike on the cleaning part. As I was cleaning last night and emptying a very full shop vac I wondered how often others clean the floor. My shop is in my one car garage/woodshop/motorcycle shop and if I don't keep it clean it looks way too cluttered.

I do use the cushioned floor mats that lock together from HD but I like the idea of a heated mat. I also use a propane bottle top heater that gets my garage up to a toasty 80 degrees. A 20 lb. bottle lasts about a week of after work and weekend garage time.

Tom

Re: Cold shop floor? *LINK*

#8

Re: Ditto on the shavings...

John Lucas

>I'm with Mike. I clean up everynight before I leave the shop unless I have a production job going then I might let it go for a few days and then have one massive clean up. I get tired of tracking shaving into the house and I'm just too nervous about fire to leave it cluttered with flammable material.

My new shop is going to need insulation. I ran a kerosene heater and small propane heater all day and only got the shop up to 48. It's all going out the roof so that will be the first place I attack.

Re: Cold shop floor? *LINK*

#9

My name is Spence and...

Spence in Rhode Island

>I'm a slob. LOL I try to put things back in order about once a week or so. But then I can't find anything. LOL You guys would freak out. Since I heat with a woodstove all fire wood is inspected for turning potential so there are chunks of wood piled up all over the place waiting to be roughed out. Since at the moment its just me, my two sons and the dog living here tracking shavings thru the house isn't life threatening. Yup its a mess but its a comfy mess. ;)

Re: Cold shop floor? *LINK*

#10

Clean the shop floor?....you gotta be kidding.

TD

>Everytime I clean the floor I drop the next vessel and break it. I like the shavings almost as much as my little shop dog does. I have pieces that are drying in the shavings all over the shop. Once in a while when I clean out I find a vessel that I had forgotten I had roughed out. Last year while cleaning I found my old Powermatic 8" jointer. If you clean everyday you will never have these joys.

TD

Re: Cold shop floor? *LINK*

#11

I'am with Mike clean hourly

Bernie

>

Re: Cold shop floor? *LINK*

#12

if I don't I'll never have another joy

Mike Schwing from Md.

>Like my wife, for example!

My dogs don't like my shop, at all. Whenever I encourage them to hang out with me, the moment I turn my back they're skedaddling right back up the stairs.

Re: Cold shop floor? *LINK*

#13

Re: Cold shop floor?

Lou Bignami

>Interlocking rubber mats that are cheap from Harbor Freight worked when we lived in Idaho. They're nice padding now on the Oregon Coast, but it never gets cold here. Sold the lawn mower and snow shovel

Re: Cold shop floor? *LINK*

#14

George Balock

Re: Clean the shop floor?....you gotta be kidding.

George Balock

>If I didn't clean the shavings after every session the cats would use it as a litter box. UGH!

Re: Cold shop floor? *LINK*

#15

Re: Clean the shop floor - No Kidding

Mark Mandell - Gone Round In Jersey

>Gee, TD, after last eve's discussion on lung ailments, I'd have thought you were becoming a clean freak. Especially since walking on those nice dry shavings (thus grinding them together and on the floor surface) raises a cloud of super-fine wood fiber in the air that'll pack your respiratory system every bit as well as sanding dust will, maybe better.

M

Re: Cold shop floor? *LINK*

#16

Sweeping stirs up the dust!

TD

>

Re: Cold shop floor? *LINK*

#17

Re: Cold shop floor?

JamieDonaldson

>Hey Mike- I've been using a mat like that for more than 30 yrs! Back in the old days my photo office had a concrete slab floor, and we bought one for my wife's desk - they were selling the heating pads at a local office supply store. The original is still hummin' along, and I was standing on it about 10 mins. ago warning up my toes! It's plugged into the aux. tool power strip with the lathe lights, and when I'm through I flip the power strip and it off-good reminder for us old guys.

Re: Cold shop floor? *LINK*

#18

Re: Clean the shop floor?....you gotta be kidding.

Ruth Niles

>TD, I do exactly what you do and agree that constant sweeping stirs up the dust. I never confessed to burying turnings around the shop, as you do, because I knew the practice would be criticized, but now that I know you do it, I feel better! ; )

As to dust flying when you step on all those chips, that's really not the case. After a week or more, I take a dust pan, sort of scrape the top of the pile right in front of the lathe to make a comfortable mat, all the fine dust is compacted at the bottom not the top.

Re: Cold shop floor? *LINK*

#19

Re: Cold shop floor?

Jim Pugh, Ohio

>John, remember Moon boots? They work quite wonderfully on a cold floor. And a pair of silk blend longies keeps the legs warm as well. Will make you happy until you get your shop insulated and heated.

Re: Cold shop floor? *LINK*

#20

Re: Cold shop floor?

Duane C.Leach

>Back in the 60s we used a heated rubber mat for new born baby pigs when the weather was cold. You could also use the heated mats under water beds to stand on at the lathe.

Duane

Re: Cold shop floor? *LINK*

#21

Keith Tompkins

Re: Clean the shop floor?....you gotta be kidding.

Keith Tompkins

>now THAT was funny!