[rginns]

I grew up with my dad never wearing safety specs, gloves or ear defenders. Always using angle grinders, bench grinders etc...

8 years working offshore, getting regular hearing tests and the odd bit of tinnitus and I'm now a dust mask wearing, ear defending, eye protecting kind of guy. You only have one set of ears (well, the inner ear hearing thingmy whatever its called.

... As well as one set of lungs, eyes, fingers etc... I'm always paranoid of dusty environments so almost always wear a mask, the stuff gets everywhere even with decent extraction

I had always assumed that plain sawdust was pretty inert, but heard this year it can be nasty too?  I've got a cartridge type mask, but should really order some new filters.

Wonder if they're as hard to come by as the black nitrile gloves are just now!

I've found most consumables pretty difficult to come by easily this year!
I'm pretty sure all wood dust is hazardous and can be carcinogenic by all accounts. It simply not pleasant to breathe in and is rather not take a punt!
I bought a full head mask (trend airshield pro) thing with a motor on it but it's a right faff so mostly just use the 3m sealed masks, they're very good actually.
I wonder how many people have never changed the filters on those things!

Father in law was a model maker for many major films in the 80’s on until CGI took over (Labyrinth, American Werewolf etc..) and has bad lungs from all the solvents and stuff used in the studio and on set.

He also has lots of tales about Hollywood stars and a working environment with coke breaks. Think fag breaks but the white stuff 😀

Ha, I bet they're some good stories! I saw the Labyrinth a couple of weeks ago with the kids, absolute classic! Ahead of its time 👌

[Paul B]

The one thing I didn't have on yesterday as Captain PPE was a dusty mask and I found myself spluttering only to turn around and find the track saw had spat the dust bag off!

 

[M1V0]

Trawling through ~50 pages of information seems a touch overwhelming right now, particularly for a single question: what sheet materials do people use? 18mm Plywood (hardwood or softwood), OSB3, etc. etc.?

[Steve R]

18mm birch ply is industry standard and best but 2x ish price of bog standard stuff.  'hardwood' ply is typically softwood inner plys with a wafer thin hardwood veneer on the faces.  Any 18mm ply fine really but I'd say it's worth getting sheets with smooth faces (ie. not sheathing ply) and semi-decent quality so it's not full of voids.  OSB or any chip board type sheet not really up to the job - screws will tend to pull out.

[rginns]

Look out for 'marine ply' which is usually very high quality. It's not cheap but you usually get what you pay for with plywood.

18mm birch ply is industry standard and best but 2x ish price of bog standard stuff.  'hardwood' ply is typically softwood inner plys with a wafer thin hardwood veneer on the faces.  Any 18mm ply fine really but I'd say it's worth getting sheets with smooth faces (ie. not sheathing ply) and semi-decent quality so it's not full of voids.  OSB or any chip board type sheet not really up to the job - screws will tend to pull out.

I once had an incorrect delivery of OSB so I decided to make a little 15° wall with it, never had any problems! I wouldn't want it on a steeper wall though! 😬😬

[M1V0]

Right on, thanks for the clarity chaps!

[Fultonius]

Right on, thanks for the clarity chaps!

I could only get softwood shuttering/structural ply from wickes back in the first lockdown - rancid stuff!

Marine is great, but any good quality WBP will have plenty of glue and strength.

[SA Chris]

I was given some pre-T nutted OSB, and on my 26 deg board I've never had a screw pull out or any other issues. It's not the best stuff to climb on, but it's a lot better than I expected, and the surface has a bit more friction than ply. If I was starting from scratch I'd go ply though.

[Fultonius]

Heating options....

Our garage is:

• Large  (36m^2 with a pitched roof)
• Leaky (not damp, but a wind whistles through the gap between the roller door and the lintel
• Uninsulated

We've not needed any until now, so realistically it's going to be 4 moths of the year, 2/3 sessions a week. Google says 10KW is about what's required. Our garage supply is not great, it suffers voltage drop even with 2kw connected...

What's the gas use like with a small garage heater? I've seen a few propane ones on gumtree.

[mrjonathanr]

Heating options....

Our garage is:

• Large  (36m^2 with a pitched roof)
• Leaky (not damp, but a wind whistles through the gap between the roller door and the lintel
• Uninsulated

No idea about gas, sorry. I’d be thinking about insulation/ gap filling. https://www.screwfix.com/p/soudal-genius-insulation-foam-hand-held-750ml/25943?tc=DB9&ds_kid=92700058176434284&ds_rl=1249416&gclid=CjwKCAiAwrf-BRA9EiwAUWwKXoucne93XaWHsWNvPS6ohZtfpbIhbLTdQNHQW5W2EcoX1iFEBX2DkhoCAYAQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

[Fultonius]

It's totally free standing and separate from the house, so has no heat source whatsoever.

[tomtom]

Andy Popps board was  in a double garage - and he had one of these in there (or something like it)



It wasn't at all toasty from memory - but standing near it while resting was alot nicer than without... Though I think these heaters can lead to condensation a bit etc... (from student house memories...)

EDIT: Seems you can get a 10kw fan assisted space heater for less than a ton (make sure they come with the regulator and gas hose though..)

[moose]

In my experience, portable heaters are good when immediately alongside, but the heat is near imperceptible from more than a few feet away.   Worthwhile to warm fingertips between goes but don't expect to feel comfortable!

[Fultonius]

Just had a session there, got well warmed up inside first and it wasn't too bad, so might hold off. Wood holds at least don't feel too cold!

[Bradders]

For the cold just treat it a bit like an outdoor session; down and thermals etc. Keeps me plenty warm enough during a session.

Main issue for me atm is humidity. When it's up in the 90s several holds feel really damp from condensation, particularly those made of oak. I've been told that open grain woods like oak are bad for this, whereas closed grains like beech are much more resistant.

A friend who has a similar shed based board told me he put his space heater in the shed for an hour before a session and it dropped the humidity down 18%...worth a go I reckon.

[SA Chris]

so realistically it's going to be 4 moths of the year, 2/3 sessions a week.

Not sure small insects flapping about will help much.

I've got one of these type things plugged into an extension lead.

https://www.outdoorcampingdirect.uk/benross-400w-ptc-plug-in-heater-with-led-display-black.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIxdrq1bvO7QIVlJ3VCh26ywrfEAQYBCABEgKoS_D_BwE

enough heat to warm hands and shoes up a wee bit, but not much else.

[Fultonius]

so realistically it's going to be 4 moths of the year, 2/3 sessions a week.

Not sure small insects flapping about will help much.

I've got one of these type things plugged into an extension lead.

https://www.outdoorcampingdirect.uk/benross-400w-ptc-plug-in-heater-with-led-display-black.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIxdrq1bvO7QIVlJ3VCh26ywrfEAQYBCABEgKoS_D_BwE

enough heat to warm hands and shoes up a wee bit, but not much else.

I've ordered moth balls. 50mm, beech, just needed to holes in them and now they're great foot holds.

Currently just using my 2KW heat gun as a shoe-warmer and occasional hand warmer if really cold. Goot use what you got eh?

[SA Chris]

Aye, goot to.

[andy popp]

Andy Popps board was  in a double garage - and he had one of these in there (or something like it)



It wasn't at all toasty from memory - but standing near it while resting was alot nicer than without...

Yes, sounds like a very similar scenario: uninsulated, free standing double garage with pitched roof. We used a heater just. as pictured by Tom, just off to the side of the board. It definitely helped, even if it could still get very cold in there sometimes. I think the board would have been unusable on occasion without. Cold feet were a bigger problem than cold hands to be honest. We probably got through a couple of bottles of gas a winter, so it wasn't expensive.

[GazM]

I'm in the same camp as Bradders. My board is in the shed with no heating or insulation, so just layer up and warm up and you'll be fine., Although cold feet can be an issue on proper cold nights.

On a cold damp winter day I'd be concerned that the sudden temp rise from switching a heater on would lead to condensation. In the shed it's really noticeable when a warm front comes in after a cold spell. My resin holds go to shit but wooden holds are generally ok.

[Bradders]

On a cold damp winter day I'd be concerned that the sudden temp rise from switching a heater on would lead to condensation. In the shed it's really noticeable when a warm front comes in after a cold spell. My resin holds go to shit but wooden holds are generally ok.

My instinct was the same, but I think it's such a dry heat it actually does the opposite and dries everything out. I bought this thing a couple weeks ago; stick it on low for an hour and everything will be dry, even where they were really pretty wet before.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08HM1Q4T9/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_8Om2Fb1G4X5CJ?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

[Paul B]

On a cold damp winter day I'd be concerned that the sudden temp rise from switching a heater on would lead to condensation.

Mine has been fine (unheated) until last session when my good lady required the garage door closing. It didn't take long for conditions to go to 

[webbo]

Those of you who have a board in a shed, how big is your shed and what size and angle is your board.
I’m being told my board won’t fit in the garage so the missus is suggesting a shed or cabin thing instead.
Any advice or thoughts thanks.

[Fultonius]

Those of you who have a board in a shed, how big is your shed and what size and angle is your board.
I’m being told my board won’t fit in the garage so the missus is suggesting a shed or cabin thing instead.
Any advice or thoughts thanks.

You have a board already?  If so, shed needs to be: size of board + a bit. HTH. 

[webbo]

I have the boards that were a 16 foot wide and 12 high or length of board. It’s been a 40 degree board twice of a 45 degree board once. I was thinking that sheds tend to come in standard sizes, so hence my question.