This weekend I finally moved my small air compressor from inside the shop to inside the stairwell that leads to the back yard to make it quieter. The stairwell is one of those typical metal hatches that lead to basements, and has a solid wooden door at the bottom as the entry to the basement. I have been meaning to make this move for some time, but I finally did it.
The old stairwell has very rotten wooden stairs in it (another thing on the "project list") and one of the bottom stairs is on a rusted hinge that allows the stair to swing upward. Obviously someone in the distant past used to store something under the stairs. This spot has now become the home for my compressor.
I ran a flexible air line along the ceiling from the workbench to the stairwell, and drilled a hole above the door frame to allow the hose to pass through the wall to the compressor behind it. I then ran a heavy duty 12-gauge extension cord under the door for power. A power strip on the "inside" end of the cord gives me on/off control without opening the door.
Works and is VERY quiet. I will now use my compressor much more often.
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About mattsanf
Matthew Sanfilippo is currently Executive Director of PSII (Pennsylvania Smart Infrastructure Incubator) and ICES (Institute for Complex Engineered Systems), and Associate Director of PITA (Pennsylvania Infrastructure Technology Alliance) at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU).
Prior to CMU, Matthew was Director of Applied Technology for Michael Baker Corporation, a large engineering and energy services firm. Matt managed a technology consulting division for Baker including Geographic Information System (GIS), software and web development, multimedia, virtual reality (VR), visualization, Global Positioning System (GPS), mapping and surveying services.
Before joining Baker, Matt was an Innovation Director for Redleaf Group, a Venture Capital/Operating Company focused on Information Security, Supply Chain, Network and Mobility Solutions. While at Redleaf, Matt managed technical due diligence for seed-stage investments and coordinated relationships between Redleaf and their partner companies after investment.
Prior to Redleaf, Matt was CIO of GZA GeoEnvironmental Technologies, a Boston-based engineering firm, and operations manager for their Internet start-up division that focused on web-technologies for health and safety and manufacturing metrics.
Matt is current board member and past Chairman of the Board for the Botanic Garden of Western Pennsylvania, a board member of the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation (PHLF), and a former member of the Information Sciences and Technology Advisory Board for the Pennsylvania State University Beaver. Matt is also a former Vice President of the Pittsburgh Chapter of the Association of Internet Professionals and former Vice President of the Board of Trustees for Baker Combined Charity of Pennsylvania.
What a relief that must be to get the compressor out of the shop. I wish I could figure a way to muffle the sound from the dehumidifier in my basement.
It is!!
The more time that I spend woodworking the more the “noise” of power tools bothers me. One of the advantages of hand tools.