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Garage

shop heating j

Take Off The Chill

Make woodworking in the cold a bit more comfortable with electric heat.

My first shop was in the corner of the garage. Unfortunately, like most garages, it got too cold to spend much time doing woodworking when winter came around.

The nice thing is that doesn't have to be the case. Don't worry — I'm not talking about installing an elaborate system to keep an entire

REFLECTIVE

panels direct heat into room

shop warm. Heating just a little space may be all you need. And since most shops have electrical power, heaters that simply plug in are a quick and easy way to take the chill out of your shop.

Benefits. There ane a number of benefits to using electric heaters in your shop. Flip the switch and get near-instant heat. Plus, you can plug one in anywhere there's an outlet.

Most heaters can be mounted overhead, on a wall, or even set up on your workbench. (A tip-over switch shuts the unit off if it's knocked over.)

Planning. Before you buy a "space" heater, do a little planning first. To start with, small electric heaters aren't designed to warm up a large shop. So, it's best to concentrate the heat you need into a smaller work area.

One way to do this is to move your tools a little

NOTE:

RADIANT HEATERS CAN BE FLOOR. WALL, OR CEILING MOUNTED

Q RADIANT HEATER

closer to each other. You might lose some elbow room, but only having to heat a small area more than makes up for the inconvenience.

And keep in mind that not all woodworking requires balmy conditions. Glueups and finishing are the most finicky So, it's a simple matter to concentrate the heat where you're completing those tasks.

Once you've determined exactly where you need some heat, the next step is to select a heater suited to the task. As you might imagine, you have a few choices.

RADIANT HEATERS

One of the simplest heaters to use is a radiant heater, like the one pictured above. Also known as an infrared or quartz heater, it has a reflector panel behind the heating elements to direct heat toward objects in the room (Figure 1).

Think about an asphalt street during the summer. As the sun beams down on it, the pavement gets so hot you can see the heat rising ("radiating") from the road.

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ShopNotes No. 89