Creating Your Work/Home Atmosphere

Your comfort should be a priority when working from home. News and views from the DustyNewt Workshop 02/04/2026

Feb 04, 2026

Today’s “17 Step Commute” Dashboard…

Temp: Currently 40 degrees. High of 68 today 😎
Humidity: 1 on the “Soup” scale. (1=light broth, 5=thick chowder).
Today’s Playlist: Canadian Shuffle (Guess Who, Rush, BTO, etc.).
Conditions: Cool sunshine 😎
Estimated Travel Time: 17 seconds
Food: Apple and peanut butter toast for blunch. Take-out tonight...?
Coffee Level: 1/4 Tank

Creating Your Work/Home Atmosphere

Your comfort should be a priority when working from home. Even if you have customers actually stopping by, you can dress in your clunky clothes. It is your uniform, now. We shop for home clothes at thrift stores and save our store-boughts for excursions into the world. My XXL, “One-in-the-Oven⬇” t-shirt was a hit with the neighbors. Just make sure what you wear is safe for the machinery you may be using. Loose sleeves, jewelry, aprons, etc. love to get caught in sharp spinning things

Your shop climate should keep you comfortable, but friendly to your craft. Here in Florida, as hot and humid as it is, we have restrained ourselves from air-conditioning our workshop, as the nature of wood reacts to temperature and air moisture changes. The dust we make would require frequent filter changes. Also, the shed “breathes” through the million cracks and lost knotholes of its siding and the newts have their established routes. It would need to be entirely rebuilt. On particularly hot days, we can always take a break and duck in the house to chill awhile.

Our HVAC System

While working, we rely on fans to cool and blow dust out into the world. We only get a few days a year when shop heat is desired, so we only keep a small space heater for when we will be in one area for a while, like when sitting at the scroll saw for a couple hours or sanding a batch of keychain or chopsticks. Be mindful not to let it get near combustibles (BOOM!) or accumulated dust, and UNPLUG it when not in use!

We find the following points mandatory to a comfortable home shop.

Ventilate to stay healthy. Whether your craft creates any nasty fumes or not, it is ultimately important to keep the air moving outward from your space. We no longer use aerosol finishes in our regular processes, but when the occasional need does arise, we spray at the open door with fans at our back, blowing outside. The shed breathes quite well, so a couple of well directed squirrel-cage fans keep any fumes and airborne dust outflowing.
Dust collecting is easiest at its point of origin. While it sounds great to have a central dust collector system, with tubes run directly to each tool and blast gates to control the flow, the expense and bother of installing it in the space of a small shop is not warranted. In my opinion, a portable shop vac (or two) is sufficient, if run simultaneously with each machine. It only takes only a few seconds to switch hook-ups to most of your dust-making machines. This is particularly needed when sanding, which produces fine dust that seeks to float into your airways. Tools like table saws, lathes and planer/jointers quickly make piles of larger particles and chips that may impede the performance of the machines themselves. We use a simple two-stage collection bucket that is easily filled up and dumped without having to clean the vac and filter every time. A 10 foot hose reaches most of our main dust makers.
Tunes are a “must have” in our space. They set ambience, create energies and inspire on a subliminal level. We use a bluetooth speaker and our phone to listen to whatever we are feeling at the moment. Since the shop vac is rather loud, we use noise canceling headphones (also bluetooth) if we’re running it for 20 minutes or so. I sometimes stand at the sanders for 3 or 4 hours, shaping and smoothing chopsticks and keychain names. The headphones keep you in the groove and protect your inner ears from the damage that the dBs from the vac will do (as long as you are reasonable with the music volume).
Lighting is getting more crucial for me. Age has determined that we need more light to see our work, so we have additional task lights on areas that require detailed work for hours at a time. Cheap, clamp-on LED lights are easy to place in key locations, just mind where their cords go.
Refreshments are required. Staying hydrated is crucial here in the summer and coffee is a must year round. Find a relatively clean and out of the path area to consistently home your coffee, snacks and water. This will reduce the consummation of dust, avoid knock-overs and the occasional dipping of your paintbrushes into your drink.

Comfort promotes inspiration. It is part of why you are doing what you do. While there may be times when you still have to suffer, the knowledge of its impermanence and the option to correct it is in your hands.

Peace in Wood ~ Scott

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