I'll have a shop

[rhetoric]

I am purchasing a new home that has a good sized wood shop out back -- about the size of a two car garage. I would like to take a shot at mandolin building (perhaps starting with a Stew Mac or an electric mando) and I'm wondering about doing luthery in a shop that isn't always going to be heated. The shop has a wood stove but we have hard Rochester NY winters and anything I left in the shop would get pretty cold. I have no clue what the means for woods, glues, stains, finishes, etc. (Can you tell I don't know much about woodworking?) I could put the shop in the basement, but the space would be smaller and the mess more irritating to my wife. (If you don't think irritating my wife is really a big deal you've never been married.) So what would you advise?

[Ken]

In my current house I work in the garage with just a wall mounted space heater, which I don't want to keep running all the time. It does take extra effort in the winter, all glues and finishing materials are in the heated house, wood parts are brought into the house and allowed to warm up, and move if they are going to move, before glueing. Finishing is done in the garage after cranking up the heater and getting everything hot, and then making darn sure I turn it off before spraying. Drying of course takes place in the house. In the summer I have to be very conscious of humidity levels. But all the machining and hand work is done in the garage, and so far, with the lack of other options, it works. If you have the basement to use, that sure would be a lot easier, but also being married, I do know how important it is not to irritate one's spouse.
Ken

[sunburst]

The advantages of keeping dust, noise, fumes, etc. in a separate building from the house tell me you'd be better off with the shop in the building, not in the basement.
Things that need to be kept from freezing can be kept in an insulated plywood box of almost any size with an electric heat source. The heat source can be a light bulb, or something more sophisticated.

In fact, a gas or electric heat source for the whole shop can keep the place at...say...50 degrees 'til you go in and build a fire. If you've ever tried to use very cold power tools even in a room that has warmed up, you know how cold your hands can get, and how long it takes all that metal in all those tools to get to a comfortable temperature.

[Greenmando]

Back at the end of the 70's when many tools were being made with plastic handles we laughed thinking they would not last, I enjoy them now in the heat and cold. My hands hurt too much to use some of my older tools.

[John Bertotti]

Use the shop. I've gone the basement and bathroom route and it stinks. The dust permeates the whole house one way or another. I notice, since I've been to busy to do any building, that out house hold sinus problems have dramatically decreased. I will still build indoors but I have no choice yet. John

[bmac]

Central or 24 hour heat has only been common for the last 75 years or so. With your workshop you are way ahead of most of the mando builders reading your question. Use the shop and store freezable liquids inside the house.

Most wood workers would love to have your problems.

[CHIPS]

Faced with the same situation myself, I enclosed and insulated one corner to make a room about 10'x12'. With a workbench and some shelves, it makes a tight but comfortable work area. I heat it with a small space heater.
I keep any paint, finish, etc. or anything else I need to protect from temperature changes in there. And most of my work is done at the workbench.

For work with the large shop tools, I'm at the mercy of the seasonal temperatures.

If you're only worried about freezing glues and finishes, you might think about something smaller. Say a free-standing shelf unit with doors, and a small heater in the very bottom.

[Rroyd]

I second the comments about using the shop; I knew a fellow who built an airplane (full size, a piece at a time) in a spare bedroom, and the dust and fumes just about killed his family off. #A few rubber mats or floor coverings#at your work areas to keep your feet from getting cold, and a good hot fire in the woodstove (getting rid of the evidence of your mistakes) and you can work comfortably. #Make the area that is heated all the time big enough to hang drying instruments and you are all set to go.

[rhetoric]

Glad to know I have good problems. I'll use the shop. Thanks for the input. It'll be awhile, but I'll post pictures.

Paul

[krishna]

I would love to have a problem like this.I realize you have already decided.If money to rebuild is available,and you figure to build a lot,I would insulate, vaperblock,do all the electrical, and get a propper heatingunit. I know a luthier that uses a wood stove in his outdoor shop and it seems to work. I would also buy a drum humidifier,and if nessessary,a dehumidifier. I know in my old basement shop , I needed both.Good luck! (man,,,,, I wish ....)