wood floors

[Old South Creations]

for those of you who have wood floors in your smithy... any accidents? wish it was concrete or dirt?

I've recently moved and I have a building on my property with a wood floor that I can use as my smithy. Is that a mistake? I had a dirt floor in my last smithy. Just curious what you guys think.

[joshua.M]

i have never had a wood floor, but at the moment i have a crusher dust floor right now and anything that hits the ground can be lost for ever

[ThomasPowers]

Is it a finished wood floor? If not you could mop it with a borax solution to improve fire resistance. My last shop had a concrete floor with 70 years of old oil and grease build up on it and I never had a problem, though I put it out numerous times.

[joshua.M]

Thomas, what is the concrete like to work on? i've heard that they can be hard on knees and your back, just wondering for future reference.
Josh

[seldom (dick renker)]

i have a concrete flor in my shop and i hate it, but it came that way. i put down a rubber mat an inch thick that i had left over from horse stalls. it is right where i stand at my forge and anvil and makes a world of difference on my feet, legs and back. if i had my druthers i would havea dirt floor.

[ThomasPowers]

My next shop now has dual mode floors 20x30 concrete and 20x30 dirt. I notice a definite difference working on the dirt floor with my feet and back much happier. OTOH I worked 20 years on a concrete floor and survived and it is much easier to move equipment around on.

[Old South Creations]

Is it a finished wood floor? If not you could mop it with a borax solution to improve fire resistance.

it is unfinished. what would the borax solution consist of? besides borax , of course

[ThomasPowers]

water, you used to soak cotton shop aprons in a borax/water solution for fire resistance; washing them removes it but it's cheap and easy to redo and they can be thrown directly in the washer as borax is sold as a laundry detergent booster!

[Pat Roy]

My first shop had a wooden frame floor. I didn't have a problem with burning the floor because I put down cement board in the area where the forge was and where I might weld or cut with the torch. The problem I did have was the bounce when I was hammering forcefully on the anvil or treadle hammer. The whole building would begin to flex, floor and walls included. Loose items would bounce around and items would fall off shelves. My new shop has a 6 inch concrete floor. I have very comfortable work boots and haven't notice a back, hip or knee problem. If it comes up, I have a pad to put down.

[Old South Creations]

thank you Mr Powers

[r smith]

it is unfinished. what would the borax solution consist of? besides borax , of course

I believe add borax until no more will disolve in the water, so a heavy concentration of it.

[matto]

the problem with most concrete shop floors is not the concrete floor it is what pat roy has brought up it is the shoes or boots on the feet that cause most problems. "if the foundation sucks the building sucks" shoes/boots are your bodies foundation and shock absorbers.
my family started a blacksmith/machine shop in 1903 and always had concrete floors. the floors did get covered with grease oil scale and everything else. but they always had good boots.

[Dan P.]

I have wood floor between my anvil and my fire. I believe wood floors were popular for shoeing rooms. I have no problem with what wood floor I have. The puffs of smoke let me know where the little bits of offcut have landed!
I would repeat that concrete floors are harder on the feet. If you have a concrete floor, you'll need good boots (see post above)!