What should the ultimate rocket shop have?

My electrical plan calls for everything surface mounted to make changes and repairs easy. There will be both 110v and 220v outlets mounted all along the walls along with dedicated circuits for things like the table saw that don't move.

The shop will be heated at least minimally 24x7. Drastic changes in heat cause condensation that rusts cast iron.

My current basement shop has epoxy paint. I am not planning on it in the new shop as I plan on installing a wood floor to be easier on the feet.

Brian Elfert

Large size is no longer an indication of a good ballast.

You want electronic ballasts instead of the old magnetic ones. Electronic ballasts are absolutely silent. They are also smaller than magnetic ballasts.

Lowe's and Home Depot both sell flourescent fixtures with electronic ballasts. They cost about an extra $10 or so. Home Depot has an $8 shop light with electronic ballast.

I spent $20 each to replace the ballasts in my existing lights. It would not have been much more to get new lights, but I saw no reason to junk existing fixtures.

Brian Elfert

Yes but if it just for a shop, you could disable the heating elements. Depending on the unit, you may be able to het a heat pump without the electric heating elements.

In areas like Minnesota, a heat pump probably won't do much good in the winter. In the south, it might be all you need for a vast majority of the year.

Phil Stein

Brian Elfert wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@corp.supernews.com:

Check out Wood Magazine articles on shop design.Every so often,they pick a type of space that a homeowner might convert to a woodworking shop,and redesign it,and invent all sorts of neat ideas for storage and there was a paint booth in one that was fairly compact.

Heated fluid lines in the floor. It provides the most consistent, comfortable, QUIET, heat from ground level up, stays warm the easiest, and is one of the cheapest forms of heating. The manner and devices used for heating the fluid before it cycles through the flooring loops varies.

The cons are it takes a whole lot more prior installation and needs a relatively sure and stable foundation. Also, fluid type matters. Water will freeze and bust a floor if heat is not kept cycling, but other fluids can be used.

I have seen installations that cycle hot water lines from the hot water heater through the floor on a thermostat. The lines are heavy duty flexible tubing, and were embedded in an 6 to 8 inch thick cement floor with wire mesh and rebar for strength. The basement was so consistently warm that my friend built a "cold porch" underneath his existing porch with a doorway cut through the basement wall, so that the freezer wouldn't be fighting the heated floor.

~ Duane Phillips.

How is it any less expensive to heat with? I've kinda been thinking about this sort of heat, but I have some concerns.

I would still need to deal with ducts for air conditioning.

I've been heavily involved with a Scout camp that uses this type of heat in two buildings with a wood boiler. One building was built first and it has an air handler with a heat exchanger. The first building works great. The second building has the tubing in the floor for radiant heat. It takes forever to heat up and doesn't stay warm with scouts going in and out all day long. They used to start the heat on Friday morning and let it go out Sunday, but now they have to run the boiler almost all the time.

I don't want to leave the heat on high all the time so I don't have to wait forever for it to heat up.

Brian Elfert

My primary hobby is metalworking. I recommend hanging out in the metalworking newsgroup if you are seriously interested in learning about metalworking and to get leads on what to buy and where to look. You might even find someone local to help you out if they are also interested in rockets. FYI, I built estes kits in the 1960s as a kid. Lost most of them. Loved the X-Ray.

I highly recommend one. They are great for shaping G10 fins. I use my 1 inch the most for general work. A 2 inch might be more appropiate for rocket work.

I would also recommend a band saw.

chuck

I know some good metalworkers that have both metal working machines and woodworking machines in their shop. A little common sense is required to make it safe. Like don't hook up a grinder to the same dust collector as the wood machines! If you are getting sparks off a lathe you are doing something wrong! These guys also have torches and so far they have not burned the place down yet.

However these guys tend to do a lot less woodwork than metal work and they maintain a very clean shop (ie no sawdust on the floor). If you do a lot more woodwork, I would suggest that you cover the metal lathe to keep it clean. The oil on the metal machines attracts dust which can be a problem because some wood contains acids that promotes rust.

chuck

You do not get sparks from a metal lathe. If your shop is full of fine wood dust, you are more likely to ignite it with a power switch on any power tool than you are with the metal cutting process.

The main concern I worry about with my shop is the wood dust sticking to the lightly oiled surfaces on the lathe. It is a good idea to wipe it down often, or keep it covered. I actually cut wood on my metal lathe occasionally, and that usually results in a thorough cleaning. But it's not as bad as graphite.

Oh - if you do choose to make EX hardware, you're going to want a bandsaw. I use a regular bandsaw with a metal blade, but if you have the room and the funds, you can get a bandsaw specifically for metal.

My builder said radiant heat would be 2.5 X what "normal" heating costs were. Here in northern Illinois, you get forced air natural gas. Pluses: you get to use the duct work for AC, which you do need during the summer. Minuses: drafts, and if your HVAC guy can't do it right, balancing the system badly leaves you with either overheated or underheated rooms.

Persons interested in following the Wabbit saga of workshop building are invited to visit:

Look for the slide labeled "The Basement" under "Preparing the Base" to see the future home of the Wabbit Wocket Worshop, all 14 x 28 of it.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Mark B. Bundick mbundick - at - earthlink - dot - net NAR President www - dot - nar - dot - org

"A dark night in a city that knows how to keep its secrets, but high above the quiet streets on the twelfth floor of the Acme Building, one man is still trying to find the answers to life's persistent questions. Guy Noir, Private Eye."

You have hit some of the other issues (cons).

- All rooms should have some form of ventilation. Closed up rooms are not healthy.

- It does take longer than other methods to get up to temp, but maintaining that temp is cheaper afterwards. It is NOT ideal in rooms that are direct access to major temp differences... in other words, basements good, entryway within 12 feet bad, unless you have an entryway supplemental heater.

In the right application, it is great and saves $.

I was merely responding to:

Radiant heat can be taken from many sources, (heat pumps, hot water lines, attic exchangers, etcetera), and does not necessarily need open flame or heating element. But in my opinion is NOT a whole house/building solution. I would not recommend it for a shop either.

On your Scout building problem, due to high traffic, they should add a double entry door with a heat blower rated only for the entryway space. This would solve the heat-loss problem and still be cheaper than operational costs of central heating the whole place. The last problem is the wood boiler... I can see why you don't want to keep 'stoking the stove' when nobody is home. They need a different heater source that can throttle on need to keep warm but not constantly on.

My 2 cents.

I personally would use heated floors only in a basement that is at least 3 feet deep.

~ Duane Phillips.

If you're using an air-sourced heat-pump, you're right.

Ground-source heat pumps, OTOH, have the coils buried about 8-12 feet below ground level... where the temperature is pretty much constant year-round.

The server stack in my home office. Three machines, two UPS, two routers, and their associated power supplies generate plenty of heat.

Just build yourself a server farm!

Chuck W Sharc, NAR Section 613

Sharc, the section where two out of three certification flights always work just fine!

Couple of things that would go in my ultimate rocket shop

1. Those retractable extension cords mounted at strategic locations above every work surface.

1. A deep sink

2. Beyond the benches, lots of shelving .
3. A bathroom - I hate the middle age sprint...

I built myself a second full size work bench, and I'll never go back.

too small!