Child proofing a basement woodshop. Help me choose a strategy.

[Tony Roun]

Hi all- I recently moved this summer and am finally getting around to the woodshop configuration now that the living spaces are settled in. The shop is in a bonus room under my garage. It connects to the rest of my basement through a lockable door, and also has a walk out door to the back yard. I am beginning to run circuits and started to think about my three young children and their eventual curiosity about the shop. I'm excited to have them learn and participate, but do worry that they might be able to access the room on their own and am not sure if I love that. My previous shop was a standalone barn that I simply locked. I am contemplating my options, which include making the shop a keyed lock to get in from the basement, or possibly locking the circuits. Has anyone ever put switches inline with their 120v circuits and locked the switch cover so the power was basically off to those circuits when you don't want it on? As I am writing this, I am talking myself into just locking the doors to get in and keeping the key to myself, but figured I would see if anyone has had other strategies. Thanks in advance!

[Tony Roun]

Also wondering if having a deadbolt locked basement door is a problem for egress in case of emergency? There is another basement door that walks out from the basement into the backyard as well as some windows in the basement so the bonus room door is not the only egress, but still not sure if it is a good idea.

[Fred Falgiano]

What about a subpanel in the workshop that you keep locked? The subpanel itself would be handy (having access to shop CBs without walking to main panel) and it would add a way to lock out your equipment.

[glenn bradley]

Agree. A master switch for machines and lockable storage for sharp things could be you answer.

[Brian Deakin]

(1) Alarm the workshop
(2) Make a rule/law .All tasks which could be dangerous to the presence of children can only be undertaken when the children are not at home

[Jim Becker]

Sub-panel with a master cut-off switch (lockable) to deal with electrical and keep sharps in locked areas. Securing the doors is a good idea, not just for your kids but for other potential "intruders".

[John Lanciani]

If you lock everything up, kids will find it the one time you forget. My personal opinion is that education and stern enforcement of the rules is a much better long term strategy.

[Bill Dufour]

Subpanel for lights, alarm, air cleaner, ventilation etc. feeding another panel for outlets. but run that panel from a contactor. Then switch the contactor with a key operated time switch that shuts off after say 3 hours. That way you do not have to remember to turn off the power every time.
I suppose these days the key switch could be a keypad or a remote keyfob from the house.
Schools here had to rewire shop classes so they run outlets on a contactor that disconnected if power was lost and did not reconnect automatically. The teacher has to tell all students to turn their switches off and stand back while he turns the power back on.
Bill

[Don Jarvie]

Get a lock for the door and unplug everything at the end of the day. As was mentioned above educate them.

[Bill Dindner]

Get a good lock that locks automatically when the door is closed. Don't take any chances, even with proper safety education, kids are kids, and you are not going to educate your kids friends. Turning off the master electrical panel is a good idea as well, putting away sharp things is a nice thought, but we all know how things get when you leave for "just a minute" or you think the kids are busy with something else.

they have some nice electronic locks that you can set to your fingerprints, worth looking into.

[John K Jordan]

...I am beginning to run circuits and started to think about my three young children and their eventual curiosity about the shop. ...I am talking myself into just locking the doors to get in and keeping the key to myself, but figured I would see if anyone has had other strategies. Thanks in advance!

I approach this with training, physical protection, and appropriate supervision. My kids are grown but I'm protecting grandkids and farm visitors now.

I lock the shop with Schlage keypad deadbolts: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0026SZNW4

These are extremely quick to unlock and lock - just a few quick key touches and a quarter turn, maybe 3 seconds. I never have to have a key with me. I like these so much I put them on the house as well.

Quick to exit in an emergency. (Don't forget emergency lighting for finding the door and getting up the steps. In the shop I use a battery unit with lights and a big red EXIT sign with an arrow. These things are cheap.)

If there is only one entrance you do need to have a key available somewhere in case the battery dies. So far, the 9-volt battery has lasted 4 years on the one on my shop I usually use multiple times a day. I put these on multiple entrances to both the house and shop and the chances of multiple batteries dying at once are slim to nothing.

A lock like this would be perfect if it could be set to automatically lock every time the door was closed!

Another thing you could consider - a motion alarm that alerts you if someone goes through a door or enters a space. Not as good as a lock and you might not hear it in the shower but might be helpful.

If cutting off the power I'd use a suitable disconnect rather than repeatedly flipping a breaker since breakers are not designed for that.

Also, don't forget that cutting the power to receptacles and large power tools does not help a bit with things like battery operated tools and hand tools with razor sharp edges and stacks of heavy things that can fall over and temptations of things to climb on and dangerous chemicals....

JKJ

[Frederick Skelly]

I use these. Link

Put them through the holes in the plug and a kid who wanders in cannot plug the tool into the wall. They require hand strength to open - more than my little neighbors and cousins have. I buy them at my local hardware store and they are about 3" long and about 1/10th inch thick. But the picture at the link above will give you the idea of what to look for.

If I could, I use these and a lockable electrical subpanel together - two layers of protection.

Fred

[Darcy Warner]

If you lock everything up, kids will find it the one time you forget. My personal opinion is that education and stern enforcement of the rules is a much better long term strategy.

This is what I have found to be the best. I have 3 kids, 11, 7 and 6. They spend a lot of time in my shop, I have big stuff, moulders, rip saws, etc. Everything is always on. I started early telling them never to push any buttons.

I have yet to have one of them mess with anything. They know better. My 11 year old is allowed to use 4 machines on her own.

[Mike Heidrick]

Never locked my girls out. Nothing is a mystery they cant ask me about. They know if they are curious about something they just ask. They know more about shop safety than 90% of the men I know lol. Guarantee the men are more curious than they are too.

[Bill Adamsen]

All great ideas on a very important and often overlooked topic. My 3-phase is on a separate panel and I shut that off when out of the shop. But the single-phase would be hard to shut-off without killing the lights and furnace. I clearly need to think harder about this topic like most of you guys have.

Fred ... do you have a photo of how that cowling pin works?