14 month old doesn't like Planer noise...

[Michael Schumacher]

Well - yesterday I took the day off to work in the shop while my son took his afternoon nap. I was able to get some resawing done and jointed some of the stuff, then it came time to run the planer. About 10 minutes into it, my wife came down and said it was bothering him. He gets just really upset over the noise. He's done this before, so I knew it was possible.

My shop is located in the basement of the house, where his room is 2 levels up from it.

Basically I know that I have to work with my wife to get him used to the noise, but it's really frustrating not being able to do work in the shop. Anyone have some suggestions of how to get him used to the noise? My wife stays home with him since we can afford to do that, so working when he/wife isn't home is nearly impossible since they are 95% of the time at home.

If you have some other questions, please ask away and I'll try to answer them.

Thanks, Michael

[Carlos Alden]

I would advocate to your wife that the more noise he learns to tolerate the better he will sleep as a child. This is true - babies that grow up in a home where everyone tiptoes around during naptime have a harder time sleeping as children.

But I also know what it's like to try and balance everyone's needs, not the least of which is your wife's sense of appropriate parenting. Try and work out a compromise based on the above information ("but Dear, it's helping him build character!")

[David DeCristoforo]

That's an easy one. Get rid of the kid. Or, if you really want to keep the kid, take the planner outside.

[Chris Kennedy]

Michael,

If you are in the basement, you might lower the noise transmission by closing off heating/cooling registers while running your planer. I bet some of the noise is being transferred through the ductwork (assuming you have forced air).

My boy used to get agitated with my small belt sander. All I can say is that he eventually got used to it (he's two now). I just ran it for short periods at a time at first, and it helped if my wife was holding him at the time.

Good luck,

Chris

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Try insulating the ceiling of the shop.

[Darryl Hazen]

Give him a pair of black "ear muff" ear protectors and tell him they are Mickey Mouse ears. He'll be happy wearing them and you'll be happy in the basement.

[Joe Chritz]

Suck it up because any rough times you have now are rough times you won't have at 14 years.

That is a serious answer and applies to all kinds of things.

The noise may be above the sleeping level depending on the area and layout but I would recommend running the planer and going into his room and see how loud it is. Anything above a dull roar (say television on medium loud) and you need to cut some noise.

Planers are loud, lunchbox planers are especially bad. I got DBa ratings over 105 on my ridgid planer.

Joe

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

That's a tough one. I did a "dry run" with my DC, table saw, chop saw, and planer. The planer is the only one that was "very noticeable" upstairs. Just a few thoughts - make sure the space between the basement and first floor is insulated; make sure all doors are closed; close all heating ducts (good advice from OP); see if there's any mod you can do to your planer (e.g. - I use a DC, so I'm thinking of removing the ejection fan from my DW735); put some sort of pads on the feet/legs of wherever the infant sleeps (might be the vibrations and not the noise); and lastly, just schedule your planing for short periods of time when wife and little one are otherwise occupied (and not trying to sleep).

[David Freed]

If you could use some "white noise" in his room, the planer noise would not be nearly as noticable. You could do something as simple as let a fan run in his room or use a recording of waves on a beach. I have used a fan before. It works quite well for many people and is a lot easier than trying to stop the loud noise.

[Mikail Khan]

Had a similar problem with my wife and child. I do my woodwork in my garage which is about 30 feet from my bedroom.

When I upgraded from a lunchbox to a stationary planer with a spiral cutterhead the noise level dropped significantly.

For a short term improvement ensure that your blades are sharp.

MK

[Tom Adger]

You have to keep your priorities in order. Either trade him in for a new one, or find a way to sound insulate your work area.

[Randal Stevenson]

Michael,

If you are in the basement, you might lower the noise transmission by closing off heating/cooling registers while running your planer. I bet some of the noise is being transferred through the ductwork (assuming you have forced air).

My boy used to get agitated with my small belt sander. All I can say is that he eventually got used to it (he's two now). I just ran it for short periods at a time at first, and it helped if my wife was holding him at the time.

Good luck,

Chris

Lots of good suggestions, but since you said his bedroom is two floors above, this is probably the primary noise source. Try moving some furniture or place some screens in front of the ducts in his room. I also think if you do the white noise thing, place that over by the straightest duct from the basement.

[Dave Verstraete]

Michael
+1 on the noise solution from Mikail. A spiral cutterhead stationary planer is much quieter than a lunchbox planer.

[Paul Demetropoulos]

Stop coddling him. If he won't sleep, bring him down into the shop and have him load and unload the wood rack until he's tired enough to sleep.
And tell your wife to stop being unreasonable. Coming down to the shop unannounced could cause a serious accident. Doesn't she know that? It's your house, well isn't it?

[Chris Gombola]

Perhaps give it a few more tries, maybe he will get used to it. We've been noisy around our 11 month old since he was born. He sleeps deeply now, we can run the vacuum 10 feet from his crib with only a thin door separating us and he won't wake up. He has never been disturbed by any of my tools. Different kid, sure, but he might get used to it.