what do you do in the "off season"?

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Armacielli

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I know winter temps make turning unpleasant, and some of us(like me) don't have heated shops. What do you all do to occupy yourselves when the shop is un bearable?
 
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House chores, computer chores, business chores.

I can't wait till it starts to warm up. I need to get some new pens on my website.
 
I walk in to my shop, look around, think, look around some more, think some more, touch a couple of things, then get back into the warmth. Then I do it all over again when I have warmed up.

Seriously, I catch up on all of my paperwork, sorting out tax receipts, reading th enewspaper and a couple of books, watch TV, spend hours on-line going through catalogues.
 
I have read so many times about unheated workshops on this forum. Are you ever forced to turn down the order due to the cold shop ? Are there no heaters or similar that would heat up the shops for reasonable price ?
 
I'm also fortunate to have a heated basement. My off season is in the summer when there is a ton of outside work to do.
 
3 socks,2 pairs of thermals, 4 shirts,3 sets of gloves,wool facemask with a tobbaggen hat . WE dont neeed no stinkin heaters! (just kiddin-Ilive in the south so i rarely see 30 degrees) Hey, get a winter place down here!
 
We recently had to buy a new furnace and A/C for the house. I kept the old one that was running OK, just old. There was no room in my shop so we built a platforn and all that was needed out side the door to the shop and my SIL is helping me install it . It is all connected and wired to a thermostat in the shop. We cut 2 12" holes in the wall for the incoming duct and the return. It is hooked up the the gas line from an old greenhouse we tore down and with a little creative ducting we should be able to hook it up this week. It once heated a 1700 sq ft home so it ought to be great for a 625 sq ft shop. I ain't waiting for no stinking global warming!!!!!

Now I'll be able to work on those mornings when it is in the 30's but best of all we can cool down the shop on those summer days when it get to 100+. We have lots more summer than winter.

We have to build an enclosure to keep this unit out of the elements but that will go fast. I seem to be doing things that make it look like I'm gonna be here forever. BTW, recent test have shown the doctors that I could benefit from a pacemaker and looks like that's gotta be done soon. Got to get that before I do my knee replacement. I am rapidly becoming a bionic man. Old age is not for sissies
 
Armacielli said:
I know winter temps make turning unpleasant, and some of us(like me) don't have heated shops. What do you all do to occupy yourselves when the shop is un bearable?
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Since my shop is in my basement, I do most of my Woodworking and turning in the winter months and in the nice weather, I am on the Golf Course :biggrin::biggrin:

John
 
  • I am lucky and have a heated shop and the temps in Sacramento don't usually get that cold during the day. It is a small 10x12 shop fully insulated so, I have heat in the winter and window AC in the summer. Right now I am in Meridian Idaho where it is about 30F so I am staying inside with the two grandkids. I am here for another week or untill their parents and brother return from California, 64F, where the little guy had some reconstructive surgery on his ear. So he is in my shop playing with wood scraps and his toys. Cant't wait to get home and have something to do, Barbie and Power Rangers is getting old.
 
Armacielli said:
I know winter temps make turning unpleasant, and some of us(like me) don't have heated shops. What do you all do to occupy yourselves when the shop is un bearable?
Click to expand...

I try to make it bearable. :)

The two halogen worklights mounted above the lathe provide a little heat. And I use two space heaters, one on either side, blowing right at me. A fleece jacket and a fleece "beanie" round out the wardrobe, and even with temps in the 20's or teens, I can turn just fine.

The summer is a different matter in my garage... it's regularly over 100 inside, which isn't very fun, so I tend to turn at night after the sun has gone down. Some day I'll put up sheetrock so I can make use of an air conditioner, but it probably won't be soon.
 
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