Having woodworking as a hobby is fairly common nowadays. But the problem with woodworking indoors is that it is simply a health hazard. In this article, we’re going to provide you with a superb alternative to indoor woodworking so that you can make incredible pieces of art with wood without any problems.
Why woodwork should be done outdoors.
Woodwork should be done outdoors so that any sawdust is moved away from the user in the open air. This prevents the user from breathing in fine dust particles which can lead to more serious health issues.
Where should I do my woodwork?
The best place to do woodwork is outdoors. Without any space problems, the whole wide airy atmosphere around you, you can concentrate on doing work without any hassle. You might be asking, why woodwork should be done outdoors.
Well, the main reason for this is that the wastes and byproducts of wood are dispersed and do not cause problems for the worker. Along with that several space benefits and the fact that you can use multiple larger tools outside, woodworking is ideal outdoors.
With the advantages of being outdoors, working with wooden building materials for sculpting, carpentry, and making cabinets is easier and saves a lot of time and effort as well.
Of course, I don’t mean working in the sun or rain. Any roof coverage with open walls would be perfect.
But wait, there’s more. Just knowing that woodworking could be done outdoors, isn’t it?
We’re going to explain to you exactly how woodworking is done outdoors along with the problems of indoor woodworking, how outdoors is better than indoors, what tools can be easily used outside, and what benefits woodworking outdoors provides to the average woodworker.
How Is Woodworking Done Outdoors?
Woodworking doesn’t change drastically, it’s the same principle and the same subject. You’re still going to be working with wood as your primary material.
However, one thing that does change is the versatility and possibilities of creation. Outdoors, you can do woodwork using the same materials, types of wood, etc. but you can use bigger tools and equipment because of the fact that you have a larger space and bigger area for working now.
Using bigger tools and machines such as the Band saw and the Radial Arm saw is fairly less noisy and easy to maneuver in a larger area to cut precise curves and edges. Another thing is that outside, the scale of your projects is much more immense than simply just little crafts and arts made in a wood workshop.
So, with the help of excessive tools, and a bigger creativity area, you can work on outdoor and indoor projects that require space, precision, and comfort all at once.
Benefits Of Woodwork Outdoors
Most probably, you understand how woodworking is conducted outdoors now, but to address minute doubts, we’re here to provide you with a detailed beneficial explanation.
Creative Possibilities
Whatever you might be working on, when you have a larger workspace, you’re more productive. Because of the increased airflow, increased comfort, and moving space, your brain feels more productive and latches onto greater ideas.
Using these ideas, you can create better woodwork. You can be more creative and innovative with your builds and possibly create a unique patented work of art. The simple thing is that being outdoors, the creative possibilities of woodworking are endless.
Larger Working Area
Having a small workbench in a small workshop indoors is going to limit your workability. This is one of the most important benefits that outdoor woodworking provides.
With a bigger working area, you can simply get a larger workbench, get some friends down, and truly have fun while making your woodwork projects.
Along with that, due to the larger working area, you can also use bigger equipment and tools including the table saw and such. So this is another reason why woodwork should be done outdoors.
Outdoor Projects
When you’re working in a cramped up indoor space, the most you can do is make indoor projects like a chair or a small table or something creative and useful like a shelf, etc.
But this limitation is taken away with the help of outdoor working. Outdoors, you can focus on and create amazing pieces of art including sitting benches, playthings as well as beautiful large sculptures that you can place outside the house and even inside.
So you can make different kinds of projects with the help of outdoor woodworking.
Construction Scale Increase
You might be thinking that woodworking is just a hobby and you don’t need to increase your skills in it. Well, believe us when we say this, anything especially woodworking should be considered a serious profession.
Because carpenters can make a fortune in today’s world. So, if you want to increase the scale of your construction skills, you’ll be able to achieve that because outdoors you won’t be restricted in your project types and sizes. And you’ll be able to make bigger wooden products as well.
Safety Benefits
With the use of proper equipment and safety masks etc, you can help yourself away from harm’s way. However, in a closed space you’re still subject to more chips and health hazards coming your way.
So, working outdoors would reduce the smaller space problem and you’ll be able to work from a safe distance so that you do not get caught by any wood waste or byproduct while making amazing woodwork projects.
How Bad Is Woodworking Indoors?
Well, I am not opposed to people who work with wood indoors. I actually still do it myself. But the thing with woodworking indoors is that it’s fairly limited.
You might be able to craft something cool and effective indoors but the scale would be minuscule or just personalized. But you won’t be able to make larger projects.
For these larger projects, you won’t be able to use materials in your limited space and using your smaller sized tools and machines. Along with these few, here are some of the major problems of working with wooden material indoors.
Point of Operation Hazards
First, let’s talk about what the point of operation is. The place where the worker is going to work from on different wood cutting and shaping machines is the point of operation.
As there is no extra space in indoor workshops and there are restrictions and problems, a small slip of the mind might cause you to hurt yourself and cut a finger. The chances of point-of-operation hazards are reduced by a long shot with woodworking outdoors.
Safety Hazards
While working with improper lighting and claustrophobic environments, there is a multitude of safety hazards that might come your way while woodworking indoors.
Most of these hazards come from tripping or the like due to being cramped in a small workspace.
Prolonged Health Issues
Woodworking can produce a lot of problems along with the beautiful artwork that comes as a result of your efforts. The most common one is problems with the presence of sawdust.
In smaller and closed spaces of indoor workshops, sawdust doesn’t have anywhere to go due to ventilation issues. Therefore, a part of it can go into the inner atmosphere and could get into the body as a result of breathing.
Prolonged exposure to sawdust can cause breathing problems and other health problems for workers.
Chipping And Waste Injuries
Working with wood can result in chipping and production of other wastes like wood dust as we spoke earlier. This could also cause instantaneous physical injuries. Chips can end up flying off and piercing the skin or other sensitive areas of the body and cause bleeding and such.
Even the dust can go into the eyes of the worker if they don’t care properly and don’t keep a working distance from the material and machines.
Cleanliness Issues
This is a major issue when it comes to working with any material, let alone wood. The dust and the wastes are immense in proportion and cause a lot of untidiness and uncleanliness in the workshops.
All of this dirtiness can make the environment of the workshop very polluted and thus cause incredible walking and moving issues as well for you if you’re working on the wood yourself.
These are only a few reasons why woodwork should not be done indoors and why alternative environments should be chosen for sculpting and carpentry along with other types of woodwork.
Comparison Of Outdoor Woodworking & Indoor Woodworking
We’ve now talked about both the benefits of outdoor woodworking and the problems that we face with indoor woodworking. Let’s compare different factors between the two places to fully get an idea of where you should place your tools and workbench for your next wood project. We’ve tested both the environment in a couple of major factors.
Ease of Working
When it comes to having woodwork as a hobby, it only makes you feel happy and it’s easy to do. So the environment where you do the work needs to be comfortable to make the work easy and cheerful.
When we work with wood in a closed space, we have an idea of the scale we can work with, however, this scale is usually smaller. With a smaller scale, the wood can be easily worked with. So, in case of ease of projects, indoor woodworking can have a small advantage.
But in the long run, ease of working includes work safety and breathing room as well, and in that case, outdoor woodworking is the best option and indoor woodworking isn’t as flexible. Therefore, in terms of the majority of sub-factors of ease of working, Outdoor woodworking is a better option.
Versatility of Projects
The versatility of projects depends upon the environment completely. Although indoor woodworking can provide a series of smaller benefits and productive projects, it is incapable of offering bigger projects to be made.
However, with the help of outdoor woodworking, you can make any wooden elements whether they’re for in-house placement or outside decoration. So with the versatility of projects, we have another reason why woodwork should be done outdoors by you.
Basic Outdoor Projects To Start With
Now that we know that you’ll be able to get more out of woodworking if you work outdoors, we wanted to give you a head start by telling you about a few common projects that you can start your outdoor woodworking with.
Wooden Bench
One of the most basic outdoor woodwork projects is a wooden bench. With the help of the basic tools, you can cut and shape different pieces of strong wood like cedar or redwood and just start your building journey.
A wooden bench is a good starting point for you because it is easy to make and it is very useful. You can place the bench on your porch or your garden and sit with your family and friends and then tell them how you crafted the thing yourself.
Garden Closet
Another very productive woodwork piece is a garden closet. A little intermediate in creative difficulty but once you get all the parts ready and assembled, you’ll be rewarded with an aesthetic and useful garden closet.
You can put your tools and equipment in the closet and decorate it according to your taste making sure that the garden space is being used to its fullest with the help of your woodwork skills.
Bird House
You can also choose to make a birdhouse. It is fairly easier and depends on how fancy you want to make it. Make sure all the parts are assembled accurately and you take a lot of safety measures offered by the outdoor environment.
Not only is this a great starting project, but it is also a very humane use of your skills, making sure that birds get a house to make their nests in and it adds a natural aesthetic to your house as well.
Conclusion – Why Woodwork Should Be Done Outdoors
Working outdoors with wood is pretty exciting overall. Along with the amazing benefits, the warm rays of the sun and the perfect atmosphere adds another extra layer of fun to experience.
If you take our advice and choose to go for outdoor woodworking, we assure you that you’ll be guaranteed satisfaction in terms of working and you’ll have the time of your life in a safe and airy outdoor environment.
