Cold Weather Work

[cwasil]

I'm up in south central Wisconsin and it finally seems to be winter. I'm wondering who out there has to deal with elements and what type of work do you (can you) do in the winter. I'm in an unheated garage and even with three space heaters it never really gets "warm". My major concern is basically the finish I put on the pens. I currently use a CA finish but I was about to attempt a sanding sealer of some sort. I was thinking that the prep work would be easy enough to do in the winter time (drilling, glueing barrels & milling) and that I could even turn the blanks down to size and, at that point, put them aside until warmer weather. If anyone has a good, proven "cold weather" finish, I'd love to try it. The beauty of pencrafting is that you should be able to get a finished product in less than an hour.

 

[DCBluesman]

The problem with the cold and most finishes is that they are either water-borne or solvent-borne. To effectively cure, they rely most often on evaporation. Two products that are able to somewhat get around the issue are the friction finishes, which rely on you providing the heat build-up while the piece spins against a cloth, and epoxies, which cure by the chemical change that occurs when a resin contacts a hardener. At the very least, you can protect your turned barrels with a good friction finish, to be followed by a finish or top coat when the shop warms up above 60 degrees F or so. Just a thought.

 

[Fred in NC]

I agree with Lou, and I also have an unheated detached garage for a shop in NC. It has been COLD !

At this time I am cutting and drilling in the garage, and I bring the blanks inside for glue-up, then back to the garage for turning. I don't put a finish on unless I can get the temperature up to about 60 deg. Otherwise they go in the plastic bags that kits come in, and I finish them later.

Needless to say, I have experimented a lot trying to find a good solution. One very high-tech tool that I have used at times is a HAIR DRYER, in the low setting. It has helped me get out of a bind when I have to finish a pen.

I have a couple dozen acrylic blanks that I am planning to work on soon. Since they only need polishing, I don't think I will have a problem with finishes.

Of course, since my lathe is on wheels (see in my photo album) I could always bring it into the house for finishing. That is if there is not a lot of snow outside !!!

By the way in case you are wondering, my garage has only a roll-up door. I cannot use gas or kerosene heaters with the door closed, and they don't do any good with the door open. Catch 22.

 

[jkirkb94]

I'm feeling lucky here in Okla. We just got our first cold snap and it is 27 degrees outside as I type this. I have my little space heater going on the high setting in my mostly insulated shop and the thermometer says 53 inside it. I guess I need to finish the insulation job. I don't fully have electricity running in the shop( just a 12 gauge cord running to it) so I have to be careful what is running or I trip the circuit breaker. Thanks guys for the finish ideas since I might also have to worry if I can't get the shop warmer.
Kirk [8D]

 

[cwasil]

Thanks you guys. At least it sounds like I can apply a friction polish to the wood to protect it. I felt so bad for your 27 degrees as I woke up this morning to -6 degrees with a 20 mph wind []. Something tells me though that I won't (gasp) be turning much until it warms up a bit though.

 

[Scottydont]

I use a Marvin quartz heater/light combo right above my lathe. The rest of the the shop is cool but nice and toasty at the lathe. Lee Valley has great prices on them. I hear some Lowes carry them (not mine.)

I just painted and MDF cabinet that would normally be dry to the touch in 2-3 hours and it's more like 1-2 days. I need to get it done so I can get it out of the way and turn some pens!

 

[Gary Max]

Lets see tonight freezing rain then three inches of snow. Friday and Sat it's going to get down near 0. And to think that I moved hundreds of miles south for this---should of keep going.

 

[smoky10]

Gary,where you came from may get 10" of snow and -10 before it warms up. Besides, look at all the hills you can go sledding on.[]

 

[jkirkb94]

Just got through spending about an hour in my shop. It's dropped to about 19-20 degrees outside. It looks like the warmest my shop is going to get is about 50. I guess I will try to finish the insulating Sunday. Temp in OKC is supposed to be in the 50's. Not going to bitch about the cold in the shop since many of you have colder shops [] Keep warm.[] Kirk[8D]

 

[jwoodwright]

It's damn warm out, Snows all melting, Roads all slushy, regular Heat Wave and almost 40 degrees. Took off my coat, was sweating![]
You gotta love Alaska...[]