14 month old doesn't like Planer noise...

[Michael Schumacher]

Well - yesterday I took the day off to work in the shop while my son took his afternoon nap. I was able to get some resawing done and jointed some of the stuff, then it came time to run the planer. About 10 minutes into it, my wife came down and said it was bothering him. He gets just really upset over the noise. He's done this before, so I knew it was possible.

My shop is located in the basement of the house, where his room is 2 levels up from it.

Basically I know that I have to work with my wife to get him used to the noise, but it's really frustrating not being able to do work in the shop. Anyone have some suggestions of how to get him used to the noise? My wife stays home with him since we can afford to do that, so working when he/wife isn't home is nearly impossible since they are 95% of the time at home.

If you have some other questions, please ask away and I'll try to answer them.

Thanks, Michael

[Carlos Alden]

I would advocate to your wife that the more noise he learns to tolerate the better he will sleep as a child. This is true - babies that grow up in a home where everyone tiptoes around during naptime have a harder time sleeping as children.

But I also know what it's like to try and balance everyone's needs, not the least of which is your wife's sense of appropriate parenting. Try and work out a compromise based on the above information ("but Dear, it's helping him build character!")

[David DeCristoforo]

That's an easy one. Get rid of the kid. Or, if you really want to keep the kid, take the planner outside.

[Chris Kennedy]

Michael,

If you are in the basement, you might lower the noise transmission by closing off heating/cooling registers while running your planer. I bet some of the noise is being transferred through the ductwork (assuming you have forced air).

My boy used to get agitated with my small belt sander. All I can say is that he eventually got used to it (he's two now). I just ran it for short periods at a time at first, and it helped if my wife was holding him at the time.

Good luck,

Chris

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Try insulating the ceiling of the shop.

[Darryl Hazen]

Give him a pair of black "ear muff" ear protectors and tell him they are Mickey Mouse ears. He'll be happy wearing them and you'll be happy in the basement.;)

[Joe Chritz]

Suck it up because any rough times you have now are rough times you won't have at 14 years.

That is a serious answer and applies to all kinds of things.

The noise may be above the sleeping level depending on the area and layout but I would recommend running the planer and going into his room and see how loud it is. Anything above a dull roar (say television on medium loud) and you need to cut some noise.

Planers are loud, lunchbox planers are especially bad. I got DBa ratings over 105 on my ridgid planer.

Joe

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

That's a tough one. I did a "dry run" with my DC, table saw, chop saw, and planer. The planer is the only one that was "very noticeable" upstairs. Just a few thoughts - make sure the space between the basement and first floor is insulated; make sure all doors are closed; close all heating ducts (good advice from OP); see if there's any mod you can do to your planer (e.g. - I use a DC, so I'm thinking of removing the ejection fan from my DW735); put some sort of pads on the feet/legs of wherever the infant sleeps (might be the vibrations and not the noise); and lastly, just schedule your planing for short periods of time when wife and little one are otherwise occupied (and not trying to sleep).

[David Freed]

If you could use some "white noise" in his room, the planer noise would not be nearly as noticable. You could do something as simple as let a fan run in his room or use a recording of waves on a beach. I have used a fan before. It works quite well for many people and is a lot easier than trying to stop the loud noise.

[Mikail Khan]

Had a similar problem with my wife and child. I do my woodwork in my garage which is about 30 feet from my bedroom.

When I upgraded from a lunchbox to a stationary planer with a spiral cutterhead the noise level dropped significantly.

For a short term improvement ensure that your blades are sharp.

MK

[Tom Adger]

You have to keep your priorities in order. Either trade him in for a new one, or find a way to sound insulate your work area.

[Randal Stevenson]

Michael,

If you are in the basement, you might lower the noise transmission by closing off heating/cooling registers while running your planer. I bet some of the noise is being transferred through the ductwork (assuming you have forced air).

My boy used to get agitated with my small belt sander. All I can say is that he eventually got used to it (he's two now). I just ran it for short periods at a time at first, and it helped if my wife was holding him at the time.

Good luck,

Chris


Lots of good suggestions, but since you said his bedroom is two floors above, this is probably the primary noise source. Try moving some furniture or place some screens in front of the ducts in his room. I also think if you do the white noise thing, place that over by the straightest duct from the basement.

[Dave Verstraete]

Michael
+1 on the noise solution from Mikail. A spiral cutterhead stationary planer is much quieter than a lunchbox planer.

[Paul Demetropoulos]

Stop coddling him. If he won't sleep, bring him down into the shop and have him load and unload the wood rack until he's tired enough to sleep.
And tell your wife to stop being unreasonable. Coming down to the shop unannounced could cause a serious accident. Doesn't she know that? It's your house, well isn't it?

[Chris Gombola]

Perhaps give it a few more tries, maybe he will get used to it. We've been noisy around our 11 month old since he was born. He sleeps deeply now, we can run the vacuum 10 feet from his crib with only a thin door separating us and he won't wake up. He has never been disturbed by any of my tools. Different kid, sure, but he might get used to it.

[Ron Dunn]

What's more important - your planer or your son?

I suggest you find other planing arrangements. If not, how will you feel when your son comes to associate you with things he hates?

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Kids are great, yes? My 7 month old freaked out at the dust collector noise a time or two, but I found a cure. She was sick one day, and really fussy. Mom and her where tired of each other, so I took her and we went to the shop. Just walked around, looking at stuff. Of course she wanted to touch everything, so we spent a bunch of quality time out there, checking out the difference between cast iron, various types of wood, ect, and just basically having a good old time.

She calmed down and really was having fun. Later, her and mom came to visit while I was actually working, and I had the machines running. She was completely different around the noise. Calm cool and collected as a baby can be. Probably had nothing to do with me, but I like to think it did. Maybe showing your son whats going on in the shop will help?

[Ed Sallee]

It'll probably be a noise that he'll grow to love to hate..... I'm 47 years old and hate the noise too.... Rumor has it, my Dad would run his tools too when I was a tot.... It's all part of growing up in a woodworking family!

One day, hopefully, your youngster will grow up to love to hate the noise too! He's off to a good start.

[Mike Schueler]

I have a 6 month old that apparently doesn't mind the noises right now, but I am sure that can change as he gets older.

I really hate the idea he might associate me and or woodworking with unpleasant noises/memories.

Seeing as how babies don't sleep constantly, maybe working on something else during nap time? I do that sometimes, like sharpening chisels or putting tools away/reducing clutter, until naptime is over.

I could see how the high-pitched screechiness/screaming of the planer could be scary if you are a little kid, sleeping, and getting weird dreams from it.

[Doug Shepard]

If you could use some "white noise" in his room, the planer noise would not be nearly as noticable. You could do something as simple as let a fan run in his room or use a recording of waves on a beach. I have used a fan before. It works quite well for many people and is a lot easier than trying to stop the loud noise.

That's actually a lot more effective than it sounds. I used to work in an office building that piped white noise over the PA 24/7. You couldn't make out the conversation 3 desks away. You could hear voices but you coulnd't tell what was being said. The system went kaputt for a few days once and it was unbellievably noisy. All of a sudden you could hear a couple hundred people all talking at the same time.

[Michael Schumacher]

Okay, I'll try to go through the list of suggestions and reply to them

1) I was going to ask about the stationary planer noise compare to the lunchbox I have - Some have said it's a big difference - I'd LOVE to get a new tool, but we don't have enough money right now and projects around the house need to come first.
2) Someone mentioned about the DeWalt having a "fan" - does the Delta have this too? Mine is the two speed version, can't recall the model of it right now
3) Outside - SNOW...COLD...Heavy Lunch box planer to carry upstairs...We just got 6-8 inches of snow here in Omaha. It's an option and I'd consider it, but doing just one board might not be worth it.
4) Insulation - Nope - the room has drywall on the ceiling, it could be taken down and put insulation in, but that is not really worth that.
5) Ducts from the forced air - there is one in the room and could be carried up, so putting something over the vent (that is on the ceiling) might be worth trying
6) Maybe this week I'll have the wife take him out while I'm home and run all the tools and go to his room to see what the noise level is.
7) Have wife hold him and do short bursts of it might be the best choice I think, she's willing to do this as she knows that woodworking is important to me.

I know he'll grow out of it - just hope that I don't have to resort to have half the shop out in the garage do to the noise level being so bad.

Michael

Oh - I just remembered - the church has a DB meter...I could "borrow" that and bring it home to see what the noise level actually is and then go upstairs and register it and maybe get a better idea of how bad the noises are.

[Carlos Alden]

Another vote for white noise. Try this:

http://www.amazon.com/Obus-Forme-Therapy-Relaxation-System/dp/B000FJQYPQ/ref=pd_bbs_7?ie=UTF8&s=hpc&qid=1234713440&sr=8-7

I tend to have terminal insomnia: I fall asleep very easily - out like a light - but wake up at 4 in the morning at small sounds, especially if there's anything on my mind from the daytime (think you're having fun with a baby? I've got a 17 year old and 20 year old at home...). I bought one of these units and it just sounds like a low fan, but it really, really works to mask small sounds.

The one I referenced also has a bunch of sounds - waves, wind, etc.

Carlos

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi, lunchbox planers are very loud, and they get louder when you use dust collection.

Your ear is also much more sensitive to frequencies in the mid to high audio range, so the problem of lunchbox planers is compounded.

Replacing the planer is one step that you indicated isn't possible now, so it will have to wait.

- getting your child used to noise is one useful approach

- evaluating how loud it is in your childs bedroom is also a good approach. Have you wife plane some wood while you check out the bedroom. You may be surprised at how loud it is, or find that you have a resonant frequency from the planer.

Children do become acclimatized to normal household noises, however you should check to see how loud it really is.

Regards, Rod.

[Jeremy Rayburn]

My five month old's room is just down the hall from my garage, and so far so good. I can run the dust collector and a tool and haven't woken him up yet. The wife is a different story. I do however bring him in the shop when I need to work and he's awake, but rarely turn anything on. When I do need to turn on a machine with him outside, this has worked pretty good for short periods of time.....

[Don Eddard]

Jeremy, that's a great picture. :D May he be that happy always. :p

[Michael Schumacher]

Yesterday afternoon I went back down into the shop, went through everything and got stuff ready to plane down. Took the heavy beast outside and put on top of some saw horses. It was cold, but he didn't wake up from the noise. One thing someone mentioned about the noise it makes with it hooked up to a dust collector - I wonder if that is part of the problem, as this thing does create a bunch of dust/shavings, which I wouldn't want to run in the shop without the collector on it.

I guess we'll try to get him used to the noise, otherwise I'll just get all the parts and pieces ready for planing and do it outdoors - providing it isn't snowing or raining.

Michael

[Shawn Honeychurch]

Give him a pair of black "ear muff" ear protectors and tell him they are Mickey Mouse ears. He'll be happy wearing them and you'll be happy in the basement.;)

Yup, works perfectly with my 5 year old daughter, and now she enjoys coming to Daddy's Shop even when I am running the power tools. She has her own pair of ear protectors and wears them in the shop, or puts them on at night sometimes when she can't fall asleep. Pretty soon she'll be running the RAS all by herself.