Cutting down the noise. HELP!!!

Gallery, Projects and General > How do I??

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lordedmond:
first of all Kitchen cabinets are very resonant devices like a drum, you have them fastened to the wall that will transmit the noise/vibs to the house structure ( have you got cavity walls or are they solid ) here in the UK the older type of what we call terraced houses ( row of houses ) the kitchen or then known as the scullery was only a single brick wall

is it machine noise or you filling and hammering again a free standing structure will transmit less

as other have said run the machines and go next door and listen

Stuart

Russell Nash:
It's a single slab foundation. THe house walls are solid stone with about 20cm between the separate houses.

The bench holds my power miter saw, bench sander, drill press, and scrollsaw.

Does anyone know of a website that discusses this in detail?

lordedmond:
Ahh its the brown stuff butchering devices that are causing the problem along with the common foundations

thats why you always see workers in the brown stuff wearing ear defenders :doh:

IMHO they are noisy machines and create a lot of high frequency noise , metal working do dahs work at a much lower speed and produce less intrusive noise

If you had stated the type of equipment in your first post you would have got a more useful answers

sorry but I do not know of any site that would be able to help try googling for workshop sound suppression equipment

Stuart

BillTodd:
Having endured 16 months of hell from a noisy neighbour (had to threaten to sue him to fix the problem!), my sympathy lies with your neighbours ;)

First - engage your neighbours, talk to them ask them to help you solve the problem.

Second - it is not the level of noise that will be the problem, it will be the duration and repetition that causes them grief. If you can limit your noisiest periods to day-times and weekends it will keep them happier.

Third - it's much nicer to work in a quiet environment so, making sure your machines are not too noisy is always best .

It is possible to keep anything quiet; I've been on a film-set standing next to a truck mounted multi-kW generator and not been aware that it was even running. I've been in sound studios watching a drummer through a window beat the hell out of his kit in perfect silence.

There's only one way to stop noise - Mass and Isolation (I know that's two things, but they are intrinsically linked).

There will be both vibration and air-borne noise from your machining.

Fixing the airborne noise is about stopping it escaping and absorbing it, so double/triple glazed windows (that are shut while you're working ) and doors that are heavy and well sealed (look for 1/2 hour fire-check doors).

Carpeting, soft furniture curtains all help to absorb the noise (not all are conducive to machining so do what you can).

To stop vibration, mount your light-weight gear on heavy plinths (something like a couple of layers of granite work-top) float the plinth on rubber matting (e.g. carpet underlay - with more between layers. 200kg of granite takes a lot of energy to vibrate so, your small lathe/mill will not move it much and the rubber will stop that small movement being transmitted to the neighbours :thumbup:

As Stuart says, cabinets can act like resonators and make the sound louder - and open frame with shelves may be a better option.

I happy to suggest more if you need it :)

[edit]

--- Quote ---I have the thing all put together very securely, and I get almost no vibration in my coffee cup on the counter top. Before I start ripping the whole thing apart, I wanted an idea of how isolated it needs to be.

--- End quote ---

That suggests to me that the floor and wall is adding mass to your workbench - not what you want! Pull the cabinet away from the wall and separate the bench from the floor with rubber mat. If possible add mass to the top of the bench (assuming it is strong enough) . How about a couple of cheap paving slabs under the work top ?

andyf:
I'm pretty sure it will be noise and vibration transmitted through the structure which is the cause, Russell. Barring open windows etc, airborne soundwaves would have to vibrate your stone wall, which would have to vibrate the air in the gap between the houses, then that would have to vibrate the neighbours' stone wall, which in turn would have to vibrate the air inside their house. Given the relative density of air and stone, the attenuation would be enormous.

I think the only guidance you are likely to find on the Web is advertising material like this very fancy system, which needs a compressed air supply: < http://www.globalspec.com/FeaturedProducts/Detail/BRDNoiseVibrationControl/Lower_Noise_Levels_Protect_Machinery_Foundations/199536/0 > .

Simple resilient rubber-type mounts would be easier on the wallet, and I'm sure they would greatly mitigate the transmission of noise and vibration if used beneath the feet of your benches and to secure your benches to the wall. Come to think of it, it would be easier and less disruptive to put them between your machines and the bench tops. That would have the added benefit of reducing the noise within your shop because the benches would no longer act as sounding boards.

As I said before, experiment by standing your machines, without bolting them down, on layers of old carpet or on rubber car mats to see if that helps, before spending real money.

Andy

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