Worst offender??

Re: Worst offender??

John Lucas

>Spence

I'll try to remember to look tonight. There was an article on how noisy each machine was in one of my magazines. I think it was Wood but I'm not sure. In my shop the Planer is the noisiest but it only runs occasionally. The dust collector runs a lot and because I'm across the room from it I don't wear hearing protection like I don when I run every other machine in the shop.

Re: Worst offender?? - Router or Shaper

JL

>

Re: Worst offender??

Mike Schwing from Md.

>I wear hearing protection for much of my woodworking. ALWAYS when running the planer and tablesaw and usually when running the bandsaw. I can still here plenty well to discern the motor's change in speed due to feed rates, etc.. but it doesn't hurt my ears.

But the one that usually slips by is my powered sander/drill. It is way too loud and the dust mask I wear interferes with the hearing protector and face mask so I usually forego it.

I'd say the planer is loudest overall. Chainsaw next.

Re: Worst offender??

John K Jordan

>The music from the concert the guy went to last night, or from his car if he was the one I sat next to at the red light.

Seriously, you might consider getting a pocket-sized sound level meter. Some are only $100 or so or you might even find one for loan. Then visit a variety of shops and make level measurements.

I'm sure the levels will vary widely even for the same pieces of equipment. Things like feed rate, the wood itself, and the cutting tool will make a difference. For example, I've had some circular saw blades that seemed much louder than others.

JKJ in East TN

Re: Worst offender?? Most definitely a 12" RAS

Jonathan Spool

>

I Wear Earmuffs

Barbara Gill, Remlik VA

>My dust collector is outside but I would think it is a fine line between the tablesaw, router and CSMS. It would also depend upon the size and age I would think.

Planer loudest; router most piercing

John Trant (Baltimore/DC area)

>Volume, pitch, and duration of the noise influence the damage these tools can make to your hearing. In my shop, the planer is the loudest but its pitch is much lower and I use it much less frequently than my router table. On the other hand, the noise of the dust collector does not seem to be as harmful however it is on most of the time. The constant roar of the centrally located DC (at least in my shop) may be the most important insult to the hearing of the serious woodworker (unless you were smarter than me by putting your DC in a distant corner).

John

Planer, Router, Compressor

Randy Miller

>

Re: Worst offender??

Dave Winters, Steamboat Springs, CO

>I worked in an industrial shop for years and they used to have a guy come in and monitor noise and dust. Surprisingly, the loudest thing was always a compressed air blowgun.

Re: Planer loudest; router most piercing

Jorge Castaneda ~ Downeast Maine

>Yes,

Planers and jointers can be extremely noisy when working with wide boards, the whine of the router is very stressful to me, another big offender is my shop vac.

Jorge

Yup!

Ron in Drums PA

>

My Wife!!!

Ray Johnson

>

Oh Man!

Ron in Drums PA

>I hope she doesn't read this forum!

Re: Worst offender??

Glenn Madsen in the SF Bay area

>ShopVac! No doubt about it.

I forgot the Shop Vac!

John Trant (Baltimore/DC area)

>You are right about the shop vac. My kids are responsible for cleaning the shop and they will not even touch the shop vac because of the loud noise. I find it had to believe that manufacturers cannot significantly muffle the noise without affecting performance.

John

Re: Worst offender??

RonZ

>Hi Spence,

It could be hereditary as my wife's hearing problem is. She does say she doesn't have a hearing problem, we just need to speak louder. ;o)

For a turner, I think the main culprit is the dust collector. I just moved mine outside. I wasn't turning it on because it was too loud and then my lungs complained.

Re: Worst offender??

TomW In SouthJersey

>Spence - I have a hand held analog decibel meter I could lend you for the article research. It is reasonably accurate.

If you would find it of value email me directly with your mailing information. You can just mail it back once you've completed your research.

Tom Wright

Ear Muffs

Mike Rubes, Apex, NC

>I wear ear muffs for every power tool except the drill and drill press, grinder and lathe. Everything else, I wear the muffs. I would put my Craftsman shop vac at nearly the noisest thing on earth, followed closely by the Delta lunchbox planer/DC combo.

Good luck!

Mike

Lover of quiet in Apex, NC

Re: Worst offender??

jeff jilg

>This thread has somewhat morphed into hearing protection - to save hearing. Actually I do the same thing as Mike Rubes - I wear ear muffs for every power tool including the lathe. Instead of just muffs I have a set of Peltor Worktunes (radio + hearing protection). I keep them turned down low enough to still hear what's going on between the gouge and the wood.

Re: Worst offender??

MP Wall

>Huh what did you say? Occupational hazard, last I hear the place where I work is 70db most all the time and higher than that some of the time.

Little compressor is nosiest, then planer, then joiner, then ts, then dc and last is air cleaner. Lathe makes very little noise. I do wear some muff or plugs when I use most of my noisy machinery, been thinking about getting some of those shooting muffs that have a break point, when the sound hits x level they damp but you can still hear well below that point. Also been thinking about getting some of those koss muffs the bill as silence protectors for my daily train ride. (rant on) how people can stick speakers in their ears and turn up the volume until I can hear lyrics 15 ft away is way beyond me (rant off). MP Wall

XSWMBO

Fred in NC

>No more high powered sopranos ....

Wow!!

Spence in Rhode Island

>Thank you one and all. I had hoped to respond to each post on this but things here at home have kept me away from the computer. I have to say I'm kind of surprised that the dust collector isn't the worst offender. I still have to tally the list up but it looks like the lathe is quietist of the major shop tools. Well except maybe for my Grizzly. LOL I'm told that it sounds like its approaching liftoff.

This article is going to take a lot more of researching than I expected but which I look forward to doing. There are so many facets to this problem that its getting hard to figure which ones to go with. To be done properly it would take more than one article, I think.

One thing that can't be stressed enough is PROPER hearing protection. Its right up there with dust control. Believe me you don't want to end up where I and many others are.

Once again my thanks and you'll be hearing more on how this adventure unfolds.

Spence

Re: Wow!!

Glenn Madsen in the SF Bay area

>While you are researching, consider the notion that frequency and distribution play a part. The 'low notes' of my 1.5hp dust collector are not nearly as annoying as the high pitched whine that comes from other tools. As to potential damage, I don't know. Someone likely does.

Some days are hand tool only days.