How warm do you keep your shop?

[Steve Ash]

My shop is 32 x 48 x10 but has a insulated divider wall making it 32 x 32 that is insulated, I have a gas furnace that I took out of a house I remodeled that was still in very good shape (propane) in place and piped outside ready for a regulator and tank. However I haven't taken the last step and actually get it hooked up and working so I have been using a 40,000 btu kerosene reddy heater....maybe next year I'll get it hooked up and hopefully gas prices go down.

[David Fried]

For the winter I moved a few tools into my uninsulated, unheated garage as the shop has no heat. The furnace for the house is in the garage and that keeps it above freezing. I just picked up a small propane heater that screws onto the top of a propane tank. Since I'm not barbecuing I can get double duty from the propane tank. It probably gets the garage up to around 60 when I'm out there.

[Jim Fancher]

My garage ... er, shop basically stays whatever temp it is outside. Since I'm in Houston, that means 100+ in the summer and 50 in the winter.

[John Miliunas]

Hot Dawg, propane fired heater for me. The shop is insulated, but not as well as it could be and on "the schedule" to add more in the ceiling. The HD is equipped to handle an external thermostat, so I got a setback unit. It cycles down to 50 for the night and throughout much of the day. I leave work at @2:30pm and that's when she kicks back to "comfort heat" at 65. I work an hour away from home, so by the time I get there, it's nice and comfy.

[Russell Svenningsen]

Baseboard heater in my new shop. Fully insulated......to the gills! It is nice and toasty in there. I keep it at about 50 when not working, 60 when I am. Us big, furry guys don't need too much extra heat!

Last night, I spent about 2 hours in there after the kids went to bed, putting a new table on the radial arm saw. Came out nice, but I was working hard to get it done, and really broke a sweat. Looked at the thermometer........80!!!!

Seems the wife had gone in there during the day to grab a screwdriver, felt a little chilly and turned up the heat. I didn't notice it until a half hour or so into it. She told me she turned it up because she didn't want me to get sick.

Can't fault that gal, she's alright in my book.

[Kurt Aebi]

My shop is an uninsulates 2-car garage (20' x 36') with a 11' x 16' addition on the back gable end with the overhead doors on teh other gable end. I have a kerosene fired forced hot air furnace I salvaged from my F-I-L's when he replaced the furnace in his house. I didn't run any duct work and just have a couple of L's out og the top of the plennum and run it when I am going to be out there. if the temperature is above 15° it takes about 1/2 hour to get it the temperature up to 50°, but the floor (cement) stays cold for a long time -have to wear my Sorel pac-boots to keep my toes warm. Improvements will be made this summer to make it better.

[Frank Pellow]

Baseboard heater in my new shop. Fully insulated......to the gills! It is nice and toasty in there. I keep it at about 50 when not working, 60 when I am. Us big, furry guys don't need too much extra heat!

Last night, I spent about 2 hours in there after the kids went to bed, putting a new table on the radial arm saw. Came out nice, but I was working hard to get it done, and really broke a sweat. Looked at the thermometer........80!!!!

Seems the wife had gone in there during the day to grab a screwdriver, felt a little chilly and turned up the heat. I didn't notice it until a half hour or so into it. She told me she turned it up because she didn't want me to get sick.

Can't fault that gal, she's alright in my book.

But, 80 degrees Farenheit is much too hot for a shop in the winter . You might get sick

[Mark Singer]

A couple of suggestions,

1. Build your shop in a great climate like Southern California...it never rains here

2. Work fast enough that your body heats irself and the shop at the same time.

3. Don't wear long clothes that can get caught in machinery

4. Don't wear no clothes...other parts of your anatomy can get caught in machinery

5. Should we start a nude woodworkers forum...interesting idea

[Greg Mann]

My shop is in the unfinished part of my basement and shares space with the two furnaces that heat my house. It is below grade on three sides with the finished part of the basement being a walkout with Soutern exposure. Ironically, the coldest days around here usually have the cleareast skies, and therefore sunshine. My heating system never runs on those very cold but bright days, but after dark is another story. The second furnace is for our upstairs loft and bedroom, but we have found it to be redundant and have not used it for several winters since heat migrates through the loft and into our bedroom. All the vents to the basement are closed as well, since it heats up during the day, even when somewhat cloudy, as the structure is basically a heat sink. I would remove the second (upstairs) furnace in a heartbeat but would lose the AC in the process. The long and short of it is my shop is always comfortable as a byproduct of what is going on in the rest of the house. Now, if I could just take over the rest of the basement for shop space....

Greg

[Frank Pellow]

...
Now, if I could just take over the rest of the basement for shop space
...
Greg

Go ahead Greg. Do it.

[Frank Pellow]

A couple of suggestions,
5. Should we start a nude woodworkers forum...interesting idea

Not in a Canadian winter!

[Larry D. Wagner]

I keep mine at 48-50 during the non-shop hours(during my real job) and usually work in 58-65 dependant on what I'm doing. Recently it has been between 0 & 20 outside when I get a chance to work in the shop, so even 50 feels pretty good.

Larry

[Doug Shepard]

Well this morning my shop (unheated, uninsulated garage) was up to a whopping -6F. You didn't have an option for that on the poll, so I didn't vote. Unless the outside temp reaches at least 40F not much WW gets done. If it's 40+, then my propane heater has a chance at warming the shop up to something that will allow me to work. The heater usually gets things up to around 55-60. Glue-ups or finishing either have to wait until warmer weather, or if small enough are taken inside. December thru Feb are usually no-gos. In the meantime, I'm staying warm & cozy inside and trying to learn TurboCad, so it's not a complete loss.

[Dave Richards]

45°F when I'm not out there and I usually run it up to 65° to start with and back it off as I get working. By the time I'm ready to quit for the day it's usually at 60° or so.

[Bob Nieman]

Unheated, uninsulated garage in the south AND the west, but that doesn't mean it is warm. Lows can be in the mid teens and are often below freezing. The lights won't come on because it is too cold (or too hot in the summer). Might eventually redo the walls and insulate, add outlets. Might even try to heat it (although cooling in the summer would be a better idea), since there is a gas line plumbed to the garage for a one time water heater and drier. Not a lot of room for an AC unit though and electricity is precious. An evaporative cooler would be a cheap way to cool but the humidity would be bad for the wood and the tools.

Just last night my wife wanted to talk to me about my using her cutting table to clamp some boards...