Frosty Posted September 6, 2008 Share Posted September 6, 2008 (edited) I know it's fairly pricy, but in floor heat is a very efficient way of heating. It also requires proper insulation of the grade beam and slab to avoid losing the heat to the surrounding ground. We are using this method more frequently for commercial applications in my area. In floor hydronic heat is pretty common hereabouts as it's very efficient, especially in shops. This is me laying the 3/4" Pex for the hydronic heat. It also shows the 2" sq floor sockets. They're set flush with the floor on a 4' grid and connected to a sub-floor exhaust system. They'll hopefully do all sorts of good things for me, first by providing a downdraft exhaust system so I can get rid of smoke and noxious fumes without having to change out all the air in the shop a couple times. Welding/cutting table is a bar grate over a plenum, it's legs pluginto the floor sockets. Additional exhaust can be provided with flex hose to where it's needed. It'll also draw the cold air off the floor instead of the warm air away from the ceiling so your tootsies will stay warmer. While the air on the floor is maybe uncomfortably cool it'll be a lot warmer than the ground and will serve to keep the floor warmer than it would normally be. The exhaust system is about 8" below the slab. Then the sockets will support all sorts of handy things like pedestal tools without bases to trip over, scaffolding, odd sized/shaped tables and floor size jigs. The sockets are also grounded together through welded rebar so I won't have so many ground cables to trip over. I've already used them and the porta-power to straighten a twisted corner column for the shop. I'm sure other uses will occur as I use the things. (I surely do hope so anyway) Frosty Edited September 6, 2008 by Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironantlerforge Posted September 6, 2008 Share Posted September 6, 2008 Here is a pic of my shop that I just took last week. I also included a shot of my latest project :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meancoyote Posted September 7, 2008 Share Posted September 7, 2008 This is my spread out cluttered mess, and this is the new shop Im building,will be kinda round, and everything will have a place, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Martin Posted September 7, 2008 Author Share Posted September 7, 2008 How old is your daughter, I'm gonna guess by the clothes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted September 8, 2008 Share Posted September 8, 2008 Here is a pic of my shop that I just took last week. I also included a shot of my latest project She's got your smile and nose. Normally I'd insert a wisecrack here but I'll give you the "guy with a new baby" break. I just finished the main work on the new shop heater. I still have a fan or blower to mount on the heat exchanger, louvers for the front and a secondary air intake at the coupling for more complete combustion but she's essentially done. Oh yeah, I'll ram an inch or so of fire clay/sand mix in the bottom to prevent burn through in a couple years. The heat exchanger is a cut down 55gl drum with a 15gl grease barrel through it's center. The coupler allows the exchanger to be turned so a blower on the back can direct heat where I want it. The louvers will allow me to aim the warm air at the floor or through the vent to the machine shop room. (as yet built) Another thing I'll do but maybe not on this stove is put a couple loops of copper tubing in it so I can heat the slab. That'll work a lot better on a vertical barrel stove but time was getting short on this season so I just bought a kit, put it together and built the exchanger. Anyway, that's one more pre-winter project in the books. Installation next, once ALL the paint is burnt off! That's what I'm doing in these pics, burning the paint off, looking for smoke leaks and generally observing how she burns. I do this with all the stoves I make. I HATE fire related surprises! Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welder19 Posted September 8, 2008 Share Posted September 8, 2008 Frosty, those 2" floor sockets are an awsome idea, one more thing to include in my plans for my new shop, the heated floor is already on there, I am gonna have an outdoor wood furnace to heat the shop and house but I will still have a woodstove inside. Are you going to have any type of caps or plugs for the floor sockets? welder19 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sask Mark Posted September 8, 2008 Share Posted September 8, 2008 In floor hydronic heat is pretty common hereabouts as it's very efficient, especially in shops. This is me laying the 3/4" Pex for the hydronic heat. It also shows the 2" sq floor sockets. They're set flush with the floor on a 4' grid and connected to a sub-floor exhaust system. They'll hopefully do all sorts of good things for me, first by providing a downdraft exhaust system so I can get rid of smoke and noxious fumes without having to change out all the air in the shop a couple times. Welding/cutting table is a bar grate over a plenum, it's legs pluginto the floor sockets. Additional exhaust can be provided with flex hose to where it's needed. It'll also draw the cold air off the floor instead of the warm air away from the ceiling so your tootsies will stay warmer. While the air on the floor is maybe uncomfortably cool it'll be a lot warmer than the ground and will serve to keep the floor warmer than it would normally be. The exhaust system is about 8" below the slab. Then the sockets will support all sorts of handy things like pedestal tools without bases to trip over, scaffolding, odd sized/shaped tables and floor size jigs. The sockets are also grounded together through welded rebar so I won't have so many ground cables to trip over. I've already used them and the porta-power to straighten a twisted corner column for the shop. I'm sure other uses will occur as I use the things. (I surely do hope so anyway) Frosty Very nice Frosty! That looks like it will be a very nice shop. Are you using a boiler system, or geothermal heat or some other method for you in-floor heating? I have a friend who is in the planning stage of building a house that will use geothermal heat. It sounds like a nice alternative. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted September 8, 2008 Share Posted September 8, 2008 Yes, the sockets are capped flush with the floor. They're not receiver tubing though, that's way expensive, they are 2 5/8" heavy wall giving them an ID of just under 2 1/8". The 2" sq. has a little slop but 1/8" wedges take care of it nicely when I need solid. Eventually I'll have a boiler of some type but for now it'll be the barrel stove. Hopefully next summer I'll get a chance to build a vertical barrel or can pile (24" dia x 7/8" wall steel pipe, bridge foundation left over) stove and install the heating coils for the infloor heat. The existing heat exchanger will go on the vertical stove. I've considered geothermal, compost, waste oil, coal, wood chip, etc. heat but lack the resources at the moment to play with any of them. In any case a couple inches of urethane will make it pretty economical to heat. That's down the road too though. As it stands the gasser rapidly brings the shop to uncomfortably warm. Of course that's anything much over 65f for me. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironantlerforge Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 How old is your daughter, I'm gonna guess by the clothes. 2 months... and can scream louder than my chop saw :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Martin Posted September 9, 2008 Author Share Posted September 9, 2008 That's a nice touch. Especially at 3 morning. Little sister for me. Lol. But that was four years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Falzone Posted September 21, 2008 Share Posted September 21, 2008 This is my shop space for now - one corner of my classroom. All this stuff was left over when my school used to be a Jr.High. Then it closed down and re-openned as an Elementary school (K-8). Little did they know they would one day hire a teacher who would happily put all this to use. I love my classroom -16 meters long, full woodworking at one end, and a sheet metal shop at the other (minus welding equipment) with huge project tables inbetween for assembly work (or teaching as the case may be). The only thing I need to do is figure out how to take it all with me if I ever leave. My future projects is the convert my drive-shed into a home smithy (with my woodshop in the basement - once I figure out how to keep it from flooding when it rains) Aeneas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Falzone Posted September 21, 2008 Share Posted September 21, 2008 I just posted this on another thread "Keeping the neighbours happy" but i figured it applied here as well. I live just outside of downtown Hamilton, Ontario in the burbs. I have neighbours to either side, a back alley and neighbours across from the alley. I've been thinking about this very question lately - ever since I got it into my head to turn my drive-shed into a smithy (Oakhammer Forge ). The plan is to use ONLY charcoal and propane (I want to set up 3 workstations, one charcoal and 2 propane for when my students/friends come over so we can work together). I'm planning to make 2 ammo can gassers and a brick forge with an over/under great bellows for the charcoal. But I'm thinking of designing my brick forge to be dual purpose so that I can run coke occasionally as well -NEVER coal, even in a steel town like Hamilton. That means 2 tuyeres (side and bottom) and some kind of gate systen for the air feed. The problem is I am in NO WAY zoned for this kind of thing so I have to play really nice with the neighbours. I can see it so clearly in my head that I can almost hear the ring of the anvil. I can't wait to make this real. I've slowly begun to gather equipment together. One day ... hopefully soon. Aeneas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Martin Posted September 21, 2008 Author Share Posted September 21, 2008 Good luck, make all the close neighbors, spike knives, or like meat flippers or split crosses. Or invite them or their kids for some forging one time. Peace Treaty. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Martin Posted November 17, 2008 Author Share Posted November 17, 2008 Here's an update of my shop. Picture 1: Forge running today, burning wood to warm the shop. Picture 2: A few of my leaf springs, my two extra postvises, a lot of files in that red container, and two pair of kaowool gloves. Picture 3: Safety equipment, mask, glasses, ear plugs, aprons Picture 4: some of the hammers Picture 5: assortment of steel Picture 6: coal bin, post-vise, tools for post vise Picture 7: drill press and bench grinder Picture 8: kinda shows you everything on the bench Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 Looking good John. You'll get much better accuracy from the drill press by sliding the arm back to the balance point. Those sure are handy suckers though. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finnr Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 Looking real good there John! Finnr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petere76 Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 Gents, A quick shot of the shop, lay out table, post vise, two anvil stations HB and a PW, forge, work table and assorted equipment. some made, some donated by friends and all well used. Does the collecting ever stop... not likely. Best regards, Peter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devon blacksmith Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 My forge workshop the outside Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
divermike Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 (edited) here is the pic of mine I posted on the gallery, and a pic of Big Red, my sweet darling, er.. um tire hammer, heh! sorry it's blurry, when I look at her I get all.... well you know Edited December 3, 2008 by divermike bad pic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irnsrgn Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 My First demo shop set up in a Hilton Inn Ballroom for the 100th National Blacksmiths and Welders convention around 89 or 90. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yesteryearforge Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 YesterYear Forge Mike Tanner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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