Joint and Plane by hand or machine and how your neighbors feel about the noise

i have been working out of my garage for atleast three years now and the only complaint i get from the neighbors is why i haven’t made them anything yet. go for it, it’s your house , as long as its not to late or to early they cann’t say anything.

-- Roper - Master of sawdust-

I have no complaints from the neighbors, but then again – they have a harley, so usually they can’t hear me anyways when their motor is on.

I did buy my planer (dewalt 735) from a guy that ended up not being able to use it because of neighbors complaints about the noise it makes – the planer is by FAR the noisiest machine (at least the lunchbox/smaller planers)

-- When in doubt - There is no doubt - Go the safer route.

I also work from home and my neighbours have complained. And I do alot.
I just told them It;s too expensive to buy and I enjoy making it myself. They havent said a word since.

-- "Even small steps makes a distance." (Shawn Phillips, musician)

As for planing by hand – it’s quieter, and more enjoyable than pushing wood into a machine. however, if I need to mill many pieces at once – I’ll go with the power tools.

I use hand planes if I only have 1-2 pieces to mill, or if the pieces are too small for the power machines, or for finishing (I always smooth parts after they come out of the planer/jointer as it produces a smoother surface for gluing)

-- When in doubt - There is no doubt - Go the safer route.

So it seem like there is no way around planing with a machine if I dont want to spend days on end surfacing rough lumber? Is it possible to get a good one for cheap…i know thats an oxymoron but thought I’d ask anyways. Would you recommend just getting a planer and joint by hand? Or just a jointer? I’d rather not piss off my neighbors if at all possible. I did read somewhere about a guy who’s neighbor complained, so he made them a nice piece of furniture and they haven’t complained since and actually will come over to see what he’s working on…but seeing that I still have a lot of furniture to make for my wife (2 night stands, coffee table, a few picture frames) I’m not sure i’d have time to make neighbors anything.

Anyone do any special insulating in workshop to drown out noise from neighbors?

I dont care if I annoy a few of my neighbors since one mows their yard at 7am on saturdays and another washes his cars with the car stereo blasting (with lots of bass). Personally I’d rather have a high pitch whining noise than deep bass that travels much further and I can feel inside or outside the house and my dog goes nuts over.

The only neighbors I care if I annoy is my next door neighbor who is a police officer who works late nights and sleeps during the day and to make matters worse their master bedroom is 10 feet from my garage, and another neighbor who is always outside gardening and is a very nice old lady. Gardening is supposed to be peaceful and quiet so I doubt she enjoys the loud noise. I work with the garage door closed when using power tools to help minimize the noise and hopefully once I insulate the attic and garage door it will be even quieter outside but I doubt it.

talk to them… see what they think. communication seems like a better solution than a guessing game.

a planer WILL be noisy. but it’s the fast way to get parallel lumber for use in construction. I’ll be honest – I’m ok with jointing a board manually, but I don’t care much for thicknessing with hand planes, especially when they are numerous.

-- When in doubt - There is no doubt - Go the safer route.

Next time I see my next-door neighbor outside I was planning on letting him know about my new hobby and to see if I’m making too much noise and to let me know

There should be a ton of guilds and such in your area –
Talk to them and see if someone has the planer you like (or close)
I have the Dewaly 735 – it does a great job but is really loud.

My suggestion is to get one for an hour or so and put it in your garage and turn it on, then go outside and have a listen.
I found that the high pitch whine doesn’t seem to penetrate the walls as much as you might expect. In fact from the attached garage it doesn’t bother the family watching TV in the house either. Perhaps you do this test along with your nearest neighbor and see what they think.

Just my $0.02

Dave

-- Its never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

Thats sounds like a good idea dave. My wife says she can hardly hear me routing in garage which is surprising, so maybe it is ok outside. I need to have her or neighbor stand outside while I have garage door down.

Next dillema for my new hobby…. I have a Mustang and wife has a Grand Am so neither is suitable for transporting wood around (5ft max). Last time I bought a lot I had to rent a truck from U-Haul. I’m thinking of buying a cheap truck for larger hauls so I dont face this dillema everytime I want to buy wood. I dont want to get rid of the stang :(

I found a workshop at an Art School that does Adult Night classes that charges $20 for 3 hour sessions but is free if you are a member. Anyone from Indianapolis know of a guild?

I current do my work on an apartment balcony. No complaints from the neighbours. I think its about respect. I have the right to make noise during the day, but at the same time, I am aware of them and will hold off on firing up a power tool if I know they are relaxing on their balcony.

Hand tools are great for this kind of scenario and a great way to refine my skills.

I would say talk to your neighbour, in all honesty you can make noise during the day without a problem, but if you talk to him first I’m sure you could figure out a compromise. Better that than piss him off and have him handing out tickets everytime you back out of the driveway!

Wow! You woodwork in an apartment? Now thats impressive. I’m surprised you’re allowed to.

For wood – put a class III hitch on the grand am and get a 4×8 trailer like you see hauling riding mowers and golf carts around. It is light enough that you can tip it on its side for storage.

These are not good if you need to hit the interstate though with 12 inch tires
Friends here use one for transporting his motorcycle when visiting family out of state that he got from Lowes.

I have an old 88 F150 that I have had since new, which I ALMOST traded with the cash for clunkers program but couldn’t pull the trigger. Too much sentimental attachment to watch it be crushed….and then have a new car payment on top of that sealed the deal.

-- Its never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

Yep the planners are noisy, but also, your not going to be running it every day all day long. maybe an hour here and there. in your garage with the door open, it really shouldn’t be much noisier that a loud lawn mower for your neighbors.

-- Talent on Loan from God - Rush Limbaugh ----------www.genesiswoodworks.com----------

i live in a fairly dense neighborhood and havent had any complaints about my loud ryobi planer (yes, you can get them “cheap” – check craigslist for used ones!). then again, i also have people using gas powered lawn tools at 7-8am on weekends, so….

another thing is, and this is truly objective, i much prefer the sound of creation-based tools to destruction based tools. ie, the whine of someone milling lumber for their deck vs the rumble of stupid lawn mowers. :-)

First, it is commendable that you care about your neighbors. We have a few on our block that perpetrate all sorts of impositions on the neighborhood…(noisy cars…loud music..barking/loose dogs..smoking engines…). Luckily, in this area…homes are on 3 acre minimum lots…and the noise is not as distracting as it would be in the postage stamp lots in most subdivisions. With that said…the best advice so far is to communicate with your neighbors…ask for their insights/suggestions as to how to not impose on or disturb them….This way you can all enjoy your properties. There will always be the few that won’t help or participate…those you will have to write off and just insure that you are responsible and make sure you start at a reasonalble hour and stop at a reasonable hour…with that done then you have gone as far as you can at that level. The other option would be putting up some noise dampening – you could install accoustic tiles or coatings on the wall (some can be expensive though)...or build an accoustic box over the planer (another expensive option)...frankly…I would try to work it out with my neighbors….

-- Woodworking.....My small slice of heaven!

You guys have been very helpful. I think I’ll feel a lot more comfortable now knowing others have had similar issues. I plan on speaking with my neighbors next time I see them. It’s no urgency as I won’t be making any loud cuts for a few weeks. I started off really good though with my next door neighbor, the police officer. Him and his wife went out for a few hours and left their dogs in their fenced in back yard (smart move). One of their dogs heard me working in my backyard next door and freaked out. She actually kept jumping on the fence and broke off a single fence post and squeezed through, then their other dog, and then their cat. I heard all this while working in the garden and ran out to try and trick them into running into my backyard before they ran into the busy street very close by. I left them a nice note on their door explaining the situation and that I had their dogs in my yard for safe keeping until they returned. They were very appreciative, so maybe they won’t mind too much about loud noise ;)

Also thanks for letting me know I can get a cheap planer to start. I own a few Ryobi tools and have slowly been replacing them as I learn about features they lack that I want or need and realize you get what you pay for with tools. Still though, I have found that they are great tools to start with and learn the basics on and you certainly can’t beat their price.

I do not own a planer or a jointer. Up until recently, I did it all by hand, but I was only making small items. I recently started building some furniture and it got old real fast. I currently pay $45 a month go to a nearby woodworking studio twice a month for 3 hour sessions. I get to use all the machinery in the studio, including the bandsaw. It’s all much nicer equipment than I would ever buy. I do my milling there and bring the pieces home. I touch everything up with handtools and do all my joinery at home. Note this is a studio where I took a class once. It’s a bit of a drag to have to be organized, but it’s a good value for me. I save an incredible amount of time for the money.

If you do buy a jointer and planer, consider getting helical cutter heads. I understand they are considerably more quiet.

I rent an apartment that is a live/work type of mill conversion, so I have a studio space in my apartment. I have put a big emphasis on handtools; in part to reduce the noise my neighbors have to bear. I can tell you, though, that chopping out dovetails is not quiet at all. :)

-- Disappointment is an empty box full of expectation.

Dave, the Hitch idea sounds great. I’m just not sure where I can store it.

Jsheaney, I have found The Indianapolis Arts Center that offers woodworking classes for adults and you can use that studio for free 3 hour sessions once a week for members of the Arts center ($45 a year) or whoever is currently enrolled in classes. If not, it costs $20 for a 3 hour session. I haven’t seen their studio yet but its only 30 minutes away from me so I may do that for bigger milling projects and use of their bandsaw which I want so bad but am waiting for a good, large one to do bookmark type cuts and curves. The cheap ones I’ve seen only have a 2-4 inch opening so I’m holding out for a 14” or so.

Eric, The one question I have would be, since you live in a close neighborhood, are there any restrictions, such as an HOA or POA. If there is, there is usually some restictions concerning noise etc. Your best bet though is talking to your closest neighbors. I use a planer in my garage and found that you can hardly hear it past the first house. Your police officer would be the biggest concern( not that he’s a policeman, but that he sleeps during the day and his bedroom is so close to your garage. If he can live with it, the heck with the others. Good luck and let the saw dust fly!.

-- John @ Myrtle Beach

To me all 10 to 13 inch planers are screamers. Buy a quality 15” planer, with a big external motor, it’ll be much quieter. A friend of mine did that, and he can plane all day in his basement while the baby sleeps upstairs. Same with jointers, by the way. Those with the small, hi-speed internal motors like Sears and some Deltas will blow out your eardrums. Wish I had a decibel meter to measure how much quieter the older external-drive machines are, compared to the whining of those internal motor models.

-- If Stradivarius was alive today, he'd be using Gorilla Glue.

Huff, we do have an HOA, but I believe they just limit noise to certain hours as far as I’m aware. I’ll have to find out for sure but I’m usually done by 8pm at the latest anyways just to be respectful of others.

Poopiekat, great nickname by the way, do 15” planers with big external motors cost more? I’m guessing a 15” internal or external motor costs quiet a bit which is something I can’t do right now.