Work Shop Noise Measurements

Mark Johnson

Mark
Corporate Member
Now that the house is finally finished, I have started to put together my basement shop. This is a first for me as all prior work was done outside or in a garage that shared space with everything else we owned. Part of my effort is to reduce noise in the shop space for myself because I spent a summer in while in college counting the blows underneath a pile driver (which about like being beside a cannon when it goes off). My hearing took a beating out of that summer. Even though I always wear hearing protection (if I am going to spend much time cutting using both ear plugs and muffs), reducing noise is a big deal. Here are measurements from my equipment and results of some attempts to reduce noise levels. All measurements were made at my ear level when I am operating a piece of equipment with the exception of the dust collector where I measured at the table saw location.
Table Saw ( Hammer K-3) Concrete floor- sheetrock and block walls
On wheels & standard front feet - 88 dba
Vibration dampers under wheels and feet - 84.7 dba
10 inch blade 84.7 dba
12 inch Silent Power blade 84.7 dba
added a horse stall mat under the saw 84.7 dba I was surprised at this making no difference
lining the saw cabinet with noise dampening material (like used in cars) NO DIFFERENCE

I made no attempt to surround the saw exterior with a noise blanket because there are just too many places for noise to leak out that really do require access.

Jointer Planer (Hammer 16 inch) 71.8 dba running no wood, 78 with dust collection & jointing in progress

Band saw
Running 83 dba, cutting 85 dba
Installed stall mat under the saw 81 dba
Installed noise dampening material on saw door 80 dba

Dust Collector - Onedia V system 3 hp - 74 dba (nothing else running)

Miter Saw
Away from the wall 90 dba
Next to the wall 92 dba


Obviously I need to look at materials on the wall s that absorb sound, but that don't collect dust!

Hope this helps someone else.
 

Raymond

Raymond
Staff member
Corporate Member
Mark, what about the ceiling above your head? What is insulating noise from your basement and the house above? That is something that will make a difference to your wife.
 

Mark Johnson

Mark
Corporate Member
The sheet rock is hung on a spring channel and there is fiberglass insulation (R 13 I think). That noise is actually not a problem, not is noise to neighbors as most of the shop is underground with the only exterior opening outside at the back of the house toward the woods.
 

Bas

Recovering tool addict
Bas
Corporate Member
Thanks Mark - good info. One thing to consider is putting the dust collector in a separate closet, to reduce the cumulative effect of the DC and the tool. Also, sound absorption is highly dependent on the frequency. For example, the low rumbling of a DC requires mass, such as a double layer of sheetrock, which doesn't attract too much dust fortunately.
Finding material to address high pitched sounds without attracting dust, that'll be an interesting challenge.
 

Willemjm

Willem
Corporate Member
I always wear Bluetooth hearing protection. I got a 3M set at Lowes, it filters the sound out pretty good, allows incoming calls and I can listen to anything through my Iphone.
 

Gofor

Mark
Corporate Member
Egg flats may work to diffuse the noise, eliminating a lot of reflection. A quick search showed them to be available for about $.20 each for a 30 egg flat if bought in quantity ($7 for 35 flats)
 

Mark Johnson

Mark
Corporate Member
High pitched sounds are tough because the sound wave is so short that any opening allows it to escape. This makes point of origin elimination dependent on full enclosure which is not practical for any woodworking tool I know of except a CNC. Best adsorption materials are open cell foams with as many variations in surface as possible (like pyramids); however these are major dust collectors and present a fire hazard unless you use a melamine foam. At this point, that is too expensive for me to try as a single sheet can be $300.
 

Phil S

Phil Soper
Staff member
Corporate Member
I use the Bose noise canceling wireless headphones - they are incredible
 

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