Official Luthiers Forum!

Hey, guys. I'm wondering if anyone in here has ever had to work out of a room with carpeted floors... Obviously there are things where carpeting really wouldn't matter much such as bending or gluing. But I'm wondering if there's any viable way to get around the sawdust problem because once it gets into the carpet, it tends to be a nightmare to get out. Tearing out the carpet isn't really an option at this point. I'm just wondering because this is probably the most convenient room for me to work out of.

Has anyone had to deal with something like this?

(FYI, I'm thinking of converting my bedroom into a shop and sleeping on the couch outside or something. ^^;;)

Michael my friend I have a carpeted shop and the carpet happens to be white as well.

Originally when I set up the shop I was going to rip out the carpet and then it occurred to me that I might as well get the benefits of the carpet and rip it out when and if it needs it.

In over a year of use, 5 guitars built in this shop, the carpet is fine and I am very glad that I kept in installed.

One of the benefits is that like anything else in a shop that is absorbent carpet will help keep the RH more stable then a bare floor. It's also nicer to stand on and easier on the joints.

I do vacuum it as needed and I am careful when I get dust such as ebony to vacuum it up immediately so I don't trample it into the carpet. I also spilled some HHG on my carpet and it came completely out, a month later, with steam cleaning.

I do tend to work neat though and clean up any mess that I make at once since I have to breath this air in my condo. Here is a picture of my shop.

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Ann Arbor Guitars

I dont care how many times I see that, I am still amazed. I have to come to Michigan and get a lesson or two from you Hesh in shop keeping.


Youre the man!!

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Reguards,

Ken H

Uhhh.... Hesh, that's not a shop. It's a clinic!

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now known around here as Pat Foster
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http://www.patfosterguitars.com

Hesh, if you don't mind me asking, how thick is your carpet? Also, do you not have any problems vacuuming sawdust? I would think that it'd be difficult to get it out of a carpet. What kind of carpeting do you have in your shop?

I know I am definatly the " anti" -hesh .......

I second that! Your shop is really clean.

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-Rob Eckert
Ann Arbor, Michigan

Hesh also has a Festool vacuum that seems to be on this side of very impressive and worth all them big bucks.

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Aoibeann

I used to do a lot of woodworking in a carpeted room. I covered the entire floor with cardboard boxes(flattened out of course) and duct-taped the boxes to the trim where the walls met the floor. When I finally moved out of the place & pulled up the cardboard, the carpet was still brand-new looking.

Hesh' shop is so clean, my favorite story is when Hesh told me about how horrified he was by the filthy operating room he was in when they did his breast enhancement!

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Billy Dean Thomas
Covina, CA

"Multi famam, conscientiam, pauci verentur."
(Many fear their reputation, few their conscience)

Michael the carpet is nothing special, just a medium pile carpet with pad under it.

I think that Lillian hit the nail on the head - for a shop vac/dust extractor I use a Festool CT-22 HEPA vac that I hook up to every tool I use. So I never create any clouds of dust with this vac. For a floor vac I use a Dyson, also a HEPA rated vac. The point here is that the HEPA vacs just don't strain the dust and redistribute it in the shop - they contain it....

The operation that I do that creates the most dust is thickness sanding but the Festool takes it all in and the surfaces in my shop remain very clean. Great vac.

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Ann Arbor Guitars

Hesh - I have the Festool also - great vac system. I made it better though, but adding a Dust Deputy to it. I sit the Dust deputy on top of the vac and strap it in, then run the hoses from the vac to the deputy, then to the machines. Don't have to buy anymore bags for the festool and the suction is always "fresh bag" strong. I ran it on my thickness sander without the Dust Deputy, then with it - noticeable improvement!

I would think in a carpeted shop, that you will want to be extra careful about dust. Exotics will get down in the fibers and eventually mold growth and other nasties will become an issue. Not to mention the possiblity of insects finding their way in...

Of course, in an operating room environment such as Hesh's, I suppose none of that is an issue.

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Mitch

Move in with Hesh!

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

I'm building in my condo's finished basement. It has berber carpets, and if I vacuum as soon as I make a mess and avoid trampling it in, it comes right up. No issues what so ever.

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Rob

Hi Rob! I don't think that I have ever welcomed you to the OLF! Great to have you here.

My experience with vacuuming up right away is the same as yours - no problem what so ever.

Condo builders unite!!!!

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Ann Arbor Guitars

Thanks for the info, guys. I guess I'll see what I can do to invest in a good vacuum. This opens up some more space for me since I can now work out of several rooms instead of a single cramped space. I'm wondering if I should try to do my sawing and sanding in a spare tiled room in the basement while doing most of the assembly in my carpeted bedroom. Even with a good vacuum, I'd still be a bit nervous about excessive amounts of dust. I mainly wanted to be sure about using a carpeted room because my bedroom is by far the easiest of the space I have available to me to control the environment in. I'll post some pics of the different spaces and maybe you guys can give me some ideas. ^^

Here are some pics of the 3 potential spaces that I'll have to work with. None of them are very large, but I think if I can figure out a way to utilize all of them, I might be able to set up something reasonable..

Michael my friend the laundry room is far bigger then my first shop, a bathroom that I built 10 guitars in.......

And no carpet either which is a good thing. Even though I have a carpeted shop that would not have been my first choice.

If you do use the laundry room just be mindful if ever using chemicals with explosive/flammable vapors that the water heater is an ignition source. Be sure to get a good fire extinguisher too and locate it near the door. My buddy Pat here on the OLF watched my back and suggested that I do this too.

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Ann Arbor Guitars

Laundry rooms also could be a source of humidity problems. Large variations over periods of laundering.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars