Who builds in there basement

[T Folts]

I've been setting up shop in my basement and was wondering how hard is it on the rest of the house.
So far I have been building jigs, form and stuff to make takedowns and the wife has commented about the
dust on her treadmill down there and asked if this was going to make the hole house a mess.
My basement is open so I was thinking about either build walls in 1/3 of the basement or hanging plasic just to maintain the dust from going upstairs.
Terry

[Steve B.]

Kinda weird that you asked.  10 minutes ago I finished for the day laying a new floor in the basement in order to build bows and arrows.  I pulled up the carpet and laid down a floating synthetic floor with wood look...easy to clean.  

I'm building selfbows and have a daylight basement so plan to work out on the patio as much as possible and always when rasping.  But I will do everything else inside, weather not permitting.
I will hang cloth from the beams, on either end of the room, if dust becomes a problem.
If I was running power tools then I would definately use vacuum and plastic.

[Pat B]

If you can isolate your shot it will make life easier at home. Shops can be dusty and somehow it always makes it upstairs.
  My shop is in the basement but we heat with a wood stove so it camos the basement dust!  d;^)

[Jered Shofner]

I don't have the problem with dust in other parts of the basment, but I have the shop walled off, a dust collecter at the machines, and an air filter. Just get the dust into the machines and keep it out of your lungs.

[George Tsoukalas]

I do. Dust can be a problem but my wife doesn't complain much. Only my stuff goes on there anyway. My shop is in the corner. I put up some plastic sheeting strips on one side and some plywood on the other. Keeps the dust from the rest of the area pretty much. Jawge

[Eric Krewson]

After I moved into my new house and before I built my shop I made bows in the basement, what a mess.

I hooked up a big shop vac to my bandsaw and belt sander and still had the place covered with dust. The dust migrated upstairs to the dismay of my wife.

Because I have a daylight basement I worked on the patio outside the basement door as much as I could.

[44charlie]

i hear ya! i just started using a large box fan with an air filter on it. i run it when i work and it draws the dust.
i've been thinking of some plastic walls also. i sweep and vac all the time and have a rug to wipe my feet on before going upstairs.
at least when i'm in the basement my wife knows where i am. according to her i live down there! lol!

[Doug S]

I used to but got tired of the dust. Also had a small tumor removed from a lung (never smoked).  Which made me wonder about breathing that stuff.  You need good ventilation unless you have a great breathing mask. Still vent it well. Be carefull

[Pennsyltuckey pete]

I use a powerful shop vac in my shop which is actually a bedroom and conveniently blame the dust on the pellet stove in the winter and the woods that surround the house in the summer.  It is all about spin!

pete

[T Folts]

That's a good one Pete,I would try it but no wood burner down there. I have my shop vac that I move around as I'm using equipment and that helps alot.
I think I'm gonna try a box fan with a filter to help keep the air clean.

[jsweka]

I bought my house because I liked the location and it had a nice yard to shoot in (Yes, I even told our realtor that was a requirement).  The house itself is a 100 year old plank house with a limestone foundation that leaks anytime it rains hard.  That's where I build my bows and I have my workbench positioned just right so I can stand up with my head between the hand hewn timber floor joists.  I'ts a mess down there and I do the shop-vac hooked to power tool thing too.  It sucks, but I bought the place before I got into bow building.  Six years later, and two kids added, my wife and I are now thinking about either adding on or upgrading. The upside of adding on is that I won't have to move and will keep my mortgage under control.  The downside is that I still have a crappy basement/workshop.  If we do decide to move, I will need to add a workshop space to the requirement of a yard to shoot in.

[DEATHMASTER]

The dust WILL migrate up and on everything.
I had a dust collector and filters on all vents for the furnace and wood stove fan. The smell from stains and paints are also a problem.
Wife said get out so I started a 36x42 "small workshop in the yard.LOL
Wife commented that it looked bigger than the house. What is a guy to do when the pex floor heat is down and the ceament is on the way.LOL
Made a seperate area to paint and stain so I can still run machines when stuff is wet.
Hope to finish this summer. Building as the money allows.

Tim

[Roy from Pa]

Like has been said, doesn't matter what ya do, the dust will find it's way upstairs into the house.  

Build a shop outside, seperate from the house.

[tah-gah-jute]

i've been working on bows in my kitchen,don't have a basement.waiting for it to warm up a little to work in the garage where i normally work.

[Mike Most]

Interesting post, so my 2 cents,

 I built this fabulous 30x40 garage in 91 (it would solve all the issues) It is full of politely, (stuff).

I am in the process of building a 16x16 wood only shop and a major requirement for me is Air-conditioned space.

 Summer heat is brutal, as this past summer the larger building averaged 118 with the windows (and doors) open and 130 up in the rafters. (AC in the larger building would be like having 2 houses.)

You get about 5 minutes before the sweat starts drippiing off  your hands.....

Oh yeah, it doesnt make any diff if the mess in the basement or in the garage I still hear about it... Gotta love the bows.....  

[shaft slinger]

I had a shop in my basement and you can't stop the dust from coming up stairs, i had every type of dust collecting machine i could get and it still made it to the house.
    Yeah, last june i had 1/3 of my left lung removed.
   Fiberglass and carbon dust is a killer,  be careful what ever you do.  Harold

[bamboo]

my shop is an out building--but its amazing how much dust you are tracking around on your shoes--you can follow the tracks on the blacktop!!

[Chris Shelton]

AHAA lets set up shops in the atic

[walkabout]

i build in our basement, actually adjacent to one bedroom and underneath another. keep the bandsaw and table saw hooked up to a shopvac to collect dust, and keep one shop vac extension fixed near the belt sander. most of the dust stays in there, so long as i make sure to dust myself off and leave my shop shoes at the entryway. as far as smells, i cut and sand/grind bone and noone complains. i dont run the tablesaw at 1 am of course, but when i do run it all i hear is that its a good thing all that space and all the machines arent going to waste.lol