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wood chip crisis

E

ebrannon

Joined
Oct 22, 2009
Messages
79
Likes
1
Location
Milford, PA
Well, my wife is about ready to kill me.

My shop is in the basement, and since getting into woodturning like a crazy man, I turn out a trash can full of wood chips a day.

Here is the problem. When I come up for air, I track wood chips all over the house. The biggest problem is my socks. They seem to stick to them like velcro. I usually wear crocs while turning (spongy and comfortable on my feet), but they get full of wood chips. I would hate to start wearing high top boots in the shop. It is too cool in my basement shop to go with out socks, so does anyone know of a sock or solution to this family crisis?
 
Get divorced, it worked for me. Just kidding of course. I have decided that wood shavings will cling to anything no matter how hard you try to remove them, UNTIL, they get near carpet. There's some external force, yet to be discovered by Steven Hawkings, that causes these 2 items to attract one another.
With tennis shoes the gaiters that hikers wear to keep their pants from getting wet work pretty well. With Crocs I don't know, you might still get shavings in the missing heel.
 
John is right, wood chips constantly get where they don't belong, though myself I don't think it's an external force. Wood chips are in fact intelligent - you will have noticed that they work in groups, never alone, and they do it on purpose.
They do like socks, especially wool socks, and they cling on tenaciously until you're in the house, where they immediately jump off.
I have found no 100% solution. The air hose gets most of them and I don't come up for air much .. just for lunch ... and I stay off the sofa and the like until I'm all cleaned up.

My arrangement with my bride is that if I leave a trail then it's my job to notice it and then I get to clean it up at the end of the workday. Seems fair enough.
So far so good. :)
 
Buy a dust brush or an air compressor. You can turn naked if you want, but the shavings are still going to stick to something. It is amazing where you will find them. OF course, if you turn naked, there are other dangers that might be worse than your wife. ;)
 
Obviously you need to toughen up a little so you don't wear socks in the shop.

The option which we use is shop clothes. There are two hampers outside my shop. One with clean shop clothes and the other with dirty shop clothes. My lovely wife washes the clothes separately so shavings don't get attached to other clothes.

The best answer is to make items for your wife so that the shavings become collateral damage to the process. Make "presents" which your wife can give to her friends. Be sure to make her some nice pens in her favorite colors. When your wife sees you go down stairs make her think of the wonderful "stuff" you are making for her instead of the shavings you will be trailing through the house.
 
Chips

Sounds like a multi-solution. 1.) Sell house 2.) Sell wife 3.) Sell wood turning stuff......kinda seems like you are not willing to change anything..... wife will possibly be charged with murder....shallow unmarked grave will never be found, as it will be hidden by mountains of sawdust, shavings and chips!! Headstone will likely be a worn-out rusty hulk of a lathe, and a pair of very smelly socks and crocs.
Should you somehow survive this transistion, create many flower beds, thereby giving your wife something to do, and a neat repository for the tons of shavings, etc., plus, you can build your dream shop separate from the house, complete with living quarters!:D:cool2:;);)
 
Socks hampers (like Gynia's hampers) at the foot of the basement stairs. Change when you go down, and again on the way back up. Best to pay attention when one's wife is "concerned" about something.
 
tracking chips

In the winter, what tracks chips for me is the tread on the ath shoes,-so I try to stomp and scrape them off at foot of basement. Before I leave shop, I take my shirt off and shake. I wear nylon pants that are much below the ankle and protects the socks. When wearing shorts, it may be a problem but then I wear sox that just come to the ankle. Now chain sawing is a whole different ballgame,. Gretch
 
deeper doo doo

Well, I think I am going to have do my turning in hip boots or chest waders. This morning my wife found "wood chips" on the sofa and blamed me. I said it was the dog, who must have walked trough the chip pile in the back yard, and NOT ME. NO, Honey, NOT ME!!!!!!!!

Help! I need to save my marriage!

Well, on the other hand, I do like my woodturning hobby. Maybe I could adjust to be alone Yippeee!!!!!!
 
Gil just hit the nail on the head. If you get her involved picking shavings out of the carpet will be something you do together. Kind of like weeding the garden or washing the dishes. :)
 
ebrannon said:
Well, I think I am going to have do my turning in hip boots or chest waders. This morning my wife found "wood chips" on the sofa and blamed me. I said it was the dog, who must have walked trough the chip pile in the back yard, and NOT ME. NO, Honey, NOT ME!!!!!!!!
Click to expand...

The old "blame the dog" dodge. You ought to be ashamed.

Just wait until she finds a stray shaving in her unmentionables. After a long search. You'll be more uncomfortable than she, and for longer.

I forego socks, wear Crocs or Birks which stay at the bottom of the stairs when I'm roughing. The outer layer of clothing stays there too, pending shake and blast. The dog stays out of the shop.
 
There is another option: you could go down to the local watering hole and drink beer all day and ...... Would the wife like that better than the sawdust in the house?

Whenever my wife complains about all the wood turning I mention that she always knows where I am and what I am doing. She pushes the garage door opener when she wants something as that seems to be the only way to get my attention.

I am a regular dirt magnet it seems. If it isn't wood chips, it is mud or something like that. Put that with the white rugs my wife "HAD" to have, and I get the lecture on a regular basis. I tried for dirt colored rugs.

Air compressors are the best I have found. The dryer seems to filter out most of the woodchips that stick to my clothes.
Hugh:D:D:D
 
Not having a wife, it isn't as much of a problem, but I still don't like them too much in my house. Having a set of the Tyvek painters overalls (they go all the way down and cover the shoes) would help, but I am a 'hot' person, and would over heat 98% of the time. I am in shorts. I do wear a turners smock which covers most of my upper body and is easy to remove. The air hose gets most of what is on my head and in my beard, and off my shorts. The socks are another matter. If you have smooth nylon ones, the shavings will blow off easily. Other than that, I have a broom handy (long handle so I don't have to bend over), and it gets about 95% of what is stuck to my socks.

robo hippy
 
I have a pair of low cut slip on rubber gardening shoes that stay in the shop. My jeans cover my socks, so I don;t have that problem.
In warmer weather, If I am wearing shorts, I slip on a pair of nylon warm-up pants that cover the tops of the rubber shoes, the chips don't stick to those.
I have turned in 'faux' crocs, and regretted it. The little holes in top fill up with chips and stick to the sox.
My problem tends to be chips in the hair, or chips that sneak down inside my T-shirt, in spite of smock, and get released on the bedroom floor at bed time.

Good luck, and keep turnin'

Bob
 
Maybe you could try woman's pantie hose? The "sheer" kind. It is silky and smooth. Shavings would slide right off. LOL.
 
I have dropped too many sharp and dull tools and other things to even think about turning barefoot or in sandals. This from an old hippy who went barefoot for several years.

robo hippy
 
chips in socks?

C'mon guys let's get serious here. Chips in socks my better half can tolerate, it's the two pounds of assorted chips and shaving that fall on the bedroom floor from inside my shirt when I go to the shower that really annoys her :D. After 22 years of woodturning you would think she should have gotten used to it by now:)
 
My main 'studio' is our attached garage and I've the same problem. Only thing I use that hasn't been mentioned is I've one of those very thick fiber door mats that has an open weave, and it works very good at cleaning off the bottoms of my shoes. The air compressor works well for everything else save all the pockets on my cargo shorts or pants. I picked up one of those giant packages of duct tape at Costco and started taping all my pockets shut before turning.
 
Sure glad we're not so fussy. With my wife's gardening activity and two dogs in and out of the house all day, a few wood chips are barely noticeable. I do use shop vac and compressed air and dump the T-shirt (inside and pocket) before coming in from the shop. When my jeans come out of the dryer they have nice clean, dry chips in both front pockets.
 
Wood chips

No, it's time for YOU to get sreious, Allan! Seems like after 22 years you would try to meet her half way. That means clean out the places that are causing the problem. I ALWAYS duct-tape all pockets shut, duct-tape pant cuffs, wear long sleeve shirts, un tucked. When I am done for the day, I clean out all nooks and crannies, run a comb thru my hair, and use air gun ......carefully on all else. I always keep a spare change of duds in shop for when I am spinning particularly yucky wood with lots of sap. I found that it does not take a lot to keep the home fires glowing happy, instead of burning mad. Just a note from a "been there, done that"....as for footwear, I use tall western style boots, year-round, with pants cuffs on the outside. Safe and very comfy all day. Get with it, dude, and happy turning!:cool2::cool2:
 
Western boots under the jeans when it's cooler, topsiders without socks when it's warmer (have to take them off and shake them out). Somehow shavings still find their way in a trail up the stairs though...
 
Alan I'm pretty sure a HAZMAT suit would do the trick. Also keeps you safe from chemicals, breathing dust, and being attractive to any women.
 
First of all let me start with the truth. 'Woodturner's wives are the best people on earth'

My generous and beautiful wife of 24 years took me to show me the new carpet she picked out. Then she pulls out a sandwich bag full of shaving she scooped up off the floor in my garage shop. She spinkled a few on the sample in the store and said 'Ok, that doesn't look too bad'.

That is a long way from about 10 years ago I thought I'd help with some laundry. I collected a load of whites including there usual items work socks, t-shirts, tity whities, etc. I few days later she stormed home from work as upset as I have ever seen her. She was mad, real mad. Apparently a wood chip from my Saturday work clothes had co-mingled with the lining of her female support device. It could not easily be extracted during her day so that little chip continued to poke, scratch and generally irritate her all day long. I still do laundry but our 'personals' long longer go for a ride together in the washer.

Frank
 
skin irritation

Frank Kobilsek said:
Apparently a wood chip from my Saturday work clothes had co-mingled with the lining of her female support device. It could not easily be extracted during her day so that little chip continued to poke, scratch and generally irritate her all day long.
Frank
Click to expand...

Been there,done that. I now turn without the encumbrances!!!! No one there to care, and my cats don't mind!!:DGretch
 
Bill Grumbine said:
You can turn naked if you want, but the shavings are still going to stick to something. It is amazing where you will find them. OF course, if you turn naked, there are other dangers that might be worse than your wife. ;)
Click to expand...

kevinkabby said:
Maybe you could try woman's pantie hose? The "sheer" kind. It is silky and smooth. Shavings would slide right off. LOL.
Click to expand...

I double dog dare anyone out there to post a picture of themselves in either/both of these two solutions.;)
 
problem sounds familiær, I solved it by chance, bought some new trousers and didnt get them turned up, apart from looking sloppy, the shavings problem was more than halved. (I still have to hoover the house once a week:mad:)
 
Curtis Fuller said:
I double dog dare anyone out there to post a picture of themselves in either/both of these two solutions.;)
Click to expand...

Please don't.:eek:

My gardener, Moe deLon, suggests using wood chips as mulch. I keep a plastic bag in the shop, and collect chips with a dustpan and whisk broom. At the end of each session, or more often if necessary, I transfer the bag's contents to a wheelbarrow for distribution. On turf grass in particular, it's best to limit the blankets to about 1 inch thickness, to prevent matting by rain. Occasional mowing, or treatment with a leaf blower, accomplishes this. The chips are allowed to decompose, and create new topsoil. Mixing with pine straw is beneficial.
 
I had the same problem - turning in Crocs and socks. I solved it (95%).

I had my wife cut the legs off an old pair of jeans at the knees - split them up the back - hemmed the edges - sewed a tab about 4-5" long on one side at the top and then sewed velcro on the tab and opposite side. I wrap the "leggins" around my legs just below the knees so they hang down over the shoes/crocs and secure with the velcro. Presto:)
 
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