Power Hammer Noise Control

[markh]

I'm wanting to set up a shop in my neighborhood and, of coarse need to keep the noise down. I've got about 3/4 of an acre to play with. I'm already in contact with a sound insulation company and think that the only problem I'll have is the banging of my power hammer. If I were to pour a seperate, 3" deep slab, would that help? What about hard bolting a 4"-6" thick base plate to the existing power hammer base to increase the mass under the ram? Any suggestions or ideas would be really appreciated. thanks

[MooseRidge]

Probably the biggest thing to check out would be the local ordinances regarding "quiet times"..... Many areas have specific hours they REALLY enforce the laws....

At our current house, one of the neighbors does motorcycle repair/customization out of his garage (or runs a chop-shop, not sure which!), and ALWAYS shuts down by 10 PM.....

[Jose Gomez]

How thick is your existing power hammer base? And what size and type of power hammer are we talking about? Are you in the middle of the city, or in more of an out of town setting? I live on the edge of Las Cruces NM and have a 155 pound Big Blu, a KA-75, and a 25 pound Little Giant planted on the corner of my 1.2 acre lot. I have learned that there is no stopping the noise from the 155# hammer. It even shakes things in my house which is 100 feet away! The KA-75 is not as bad, but is still clearly audible in the house (or so my wife says). The Little giant is not so bad, especialy if I am using the drawing side of the combodies at anything under full throttle. It dose get loud if I switch to the flat side of the combo dies, but the slab under the Little Giant is 16" thick 29" wide and 53' deep, so there is a bunch of mass under the hammer to help soak up the hit.
Im with MooseRidge on this. I don't worry about the sound, but I am sure to stop running the power hammers after 8:30 or 9 out of respect for the neighbors (and local law enforcement).

[dablacksmith]

also how are your neibors??? if your reasonable on your hours and are nice its usualy not a problem in my opinion.I had a 50 lb little giant that sat within 2 ft of property line the neabors garage was 7 ft away! It was a attached garage and no complaints in fact I asked if it bothered him and he said "what hammer?" he had a garage band that would practice on weekends tho so he might not hear so good anymore!! The secret I think is be concencious and work reasonable hours ..good luck!

[ThomasPowers]

Soon as you open the doors/windows for ventilation most sound insulation for wall and ceilings is useless. Isolated mass for the hammer foundation will help.

[Minotaur]

Originally Posted by markh

I'm wanting to set up a shop in my neighborhood and, of coarse need to keep the noise down.

I'm facing the same situation at the moment. I'm planning to build a smally hobby shop next summer and I'd like to get power hammer as well (see Russian hammer thread). There are two different things you are dealing with a power hammer: noise and vibration. Neither of the two will make the neighbours happy.

To kill (or at least reduce) the the vibration I'm planning to make a 2 cubic meter (roughly about 2 cubic yards) concrete inertia block under the hammer. The block should be isolated from the floor but also from the ground. I'll probably use EPS frost isolation plates for that.

Noise is a bit trickier. As noted once you open a door or window the noise will get out. And even if you keep them shut you will still have a chimney. Anyway, I will try to make the walls as silent as resonable possible. I'll probably go for a double wall construction with triple gyproc sheeting on both sides and about 15-20 cm (6-8 inc) insulated air space between them. That should theoretically give a 40 db noise reduction even at 30 Hz (and better above that).

[Glenn]

A row of trees between you and then neighbor will stop a lot of noise, as will a solid fence.

You may want to look at the ground conditions where the hammer is located. Loose ground will absorb the vibrations, where rock will rattle the neighbors teeth. Water levels in the ground may be a consideration.

[irnsrgn]

Put a layer of sand and gravel in the hole before pouring the base and use that compressed foam insulation on the sides of the hole, making sure you put at least 2 thicknesses of concrete expansion joint stuff between your existing floor and the hammer base. Also put 2 layers of soft 2by lumber between the concrete base and the hammer, one laid longways, the other crossways and bolt the hammer to the slab with some valve springs from a big diesel engine between the hammer base and the anchorr nuts. Use self locking nuts . Remember the ceiling, a good noise reducer used in some plants that have large stamping equip and hammers is they hang cloth banners from the ceiling with a weighted bottom in a random pattern thruout the building. Noise is vibrations that move thru the air and bounce off of flat hard surfaces, or resonate thru them. Inside sheeting with lots of holes will stop most of it. You might try pegboard fastened to firring strips attached to your regular walls. 2 by 6 walls with fiberglass insulation will also hinder noise transfer thru your walls and depending on the size of your shop a window airconditioner will keep it fairly cool.