Another Layer of Safety

[John Altberg]

Whenever I relay a story to my wife about someone else's mishap in their shop, she always comments that if something ever happened to me I could be gravely injured and she would have no clue until I didn't surface for either a meal or a bathroom break. My shop is in a detached garage behind the house. In the summer the overhead door is up and I can be seen from the house. The dead of winter is another story as the door is firmly shut and I get very irritated when she raises the door to check in and all of my precious heat rushes out! The solution? I have found a wireless camera that will network to our computer and to an iphone, ipad or android via a free app. If all goes well, Beatrice will be able to check in on me peridiocally whether she is at home or out and about. Once it is up and running I will report back.

John

[Marty Eargle]

That's certainly a smart idea for anyone. Being a young man, I live above my family's detached garage and have my shop in it as well. And as a college student that is constantly on the go, I've heard more than once from my mother that she worries about not knowing if I get an injury.

Maybe I'll start streaming my webcam while I'm in the shop.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Please let us know. My shop is detached and the garage door is on the opposite end.

[Jim Burr]

At first I was thinking "why does my wife need to see me? I'm in the shop!" Then I thought back to '01 when I ran my hand through my tablesaw...I like your idea!

[Steve Vaughan]

Please let us know what you set up, and how you went about it, including what kind of camera (if that's ok). My shop is in our 2-car garage, attached. The door leads from it straight into the kitchen. I'm constantly back and forth, in and out, sometimes. But there are other times I'm out there for hours and hours, whether my wife's working or not. Someone came up to me a few months ago and asked if I was ever out there by myself and then asked what would I do if I had a severe cut or got a big strike on the head. Your problem, and what you're doing to fix it is another reminder of something I'd never given much thought to. Thanks for the info and keep us informed, please.

[charlie knighton]

good idea.....

[John Altberg]

Update. I finally got the aforementioned camera up and running in my garage and could not be more pleased. It is a D-Link DCS-930L, purchased on Amazon. Set-up was a breeze and the interface on the computer and iphone is quite simple. The feed is high quality color and even has sound. Since the garage is a bit far from the house, the image buffers a bit, but no big deal. My wife only needs to see if I have gone down, not watch endless hours of shop work!

[Roger Chandler]

Great tip on shop safety, John.........thanks for that info.........sound like a super idea!

[Tom Winship]

Okay, John, you have gone and done it! My wife was looking over my shoulder when I opened this, naturally she had to look at every post and wants me to do same thing. I told her she could come out and sit on the stool in the shop and watch me.

Seriously, something we all need to think about. (And do something!)

[ray hampton]

now that you got a camera in your shop, you can throw your wife a kiss when you see her watching you

[Barry Elder]

Great thread! Thanks for the information!

[Greg Just]

John:

Thanks for sharing as this is a good idea in any workshop, not limited to us turners. Perhaps the moderators can share the post.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Thanks John for sharing the info. Like Tom W. my wife saw this post and says you will do something like that. She said she gets tired of coming out to the shop to see if I am ok about every hour. My shop is 40' from the house and my garage door faces away from the house.

[Ronald Campbell]

John great info. Can you tell me, my shop is 100 yards from the house will it stream that far. Can you get others that can also watch.
Ron

[John Altberg]

John great info. Can you tell me, my shop is 100 yards from the house will it stream that far. Can you get others that can also watch.
Ron

Ron,

The camera runs on your wi-fi. To watch the cam, one must have the software or app installed and be provided with the user id and password.

[Rich Aldrich]

Cool idea. One cant be too safe. My only issue is my wife already keeps such a good eye on me, I dont know if I could handle that she can watch me in my shop too. Seriously though, I will tell her about this idea and see if she wants it. I also have a detached shop about 180 ft from the house. No one would know if something happened.

[Mike Cruz]

Great, now my wife will be able to see me napping, see what a mess the shop is, and laugh at me as bounce around the shop aimlessly. But I suppose that beats the alternative scenario where she doesn't see me when I NEED her to...