Bay Ridge Hum
Submitted by Steve on Tue, 11/06/2007 - 9:52pm.
Out-worlders would probably expect Brooklyn to sound like inner-city traffic, police sirens and "Yo! Vinnie! T'row me down some money fa a' egg cream!" Actually, it's pretty quiet down here by the harbor, except for the low-flying NYPD helicopters.
Nevertheless, I have two "bizarre noise" stories. I'll talk about the most public one first and, if I can keep it short, I'll tell the other one.
In late 2005, I was at the dog run when an obviously exhausted woman told me that she was kept awake all night by a loud hum outside. She lives only three blocks from me so she asked if I'd heard it too. I told her I was sorry but I hadn't heard a thing. She bore on, telling me that it sounded like a low engine rumble, almost like a fog horn, except it was non-stop. I thought there might be a simple explanation: she was nuts.
A few months later, I read an article in our local paper, the Bay Ridge Courier. It was a brief interview with a resident on Colonial Rd complaining about "this awful noise". She had heard it too. I still hadn't.
Shortly after that, the Brooklyn Paper picked up the story. Then the NY Sun. Then the NY Daily News. I'm told that even FoxNews did a story on it. A local reporter, Matthew Lysiac, has made it a cause célèbre.
Okay, even though I still haven't heard it, lots of people in my neighborhood have. They can't all be crazy. On the other hand, I'm not deaf either and I'm usually out walking the dogs at 1am when it's so quiet I can hear a traffic accident across the harbor in Staten Island. Is this something like Tinkerbelle? You have to believe it to hear it?
Whatever, the local pols are all over it too. Last month our city councilman, Vincent Gentile, said that he'd solved the mystery. The culprit was the bizarre looking oyster toadfish and its noisy mating ritual.
Mr. Gentile had contracted the services of a prominent marine biologist and that was his conclusion. Case closed, right?
Not quite because nobody had actually seen an oyster toadfish in the waters along Owls Head. His former Republican rival, Marty Golden, had a little fun with the Hum buggers in this photo.
But Gentile wasn't sold on the answer either and asked a Cornell professor of Neurobiology with the improbably funny last name of "Bass" to confirm the toadfish story. He couldn't. In fact, he didn't hear or see any toadfish either.
So we're back to square one and all the convoluted and fantastical explanations: global warming and an inversion layer funneling refinery noise from New Jersey, wind causing the Verrazano Bridge cables to vibrate, secret underground tunneling for some Men In Black headquarters, which of course leads us to UFOs.
Bottom line, there's an awful noise that's apparently loud enough to disturb the sleep of reasonable people over almost a square mile which I haven't heard and no one knows what it is. Maybe it's just an elaborate practical joke against me.
I'll tell my own strange noise story in a later installment.
Nevertheless, I have two "bizarre noise" stories. I'll talk about the most public one first and, if I can keep it short, I'll tell the other one.
In late 2005, I was at the dog run when an obviously exhausted woman told me that she was kept awake all night by a loud hum outside. She lives only three blocks from me so she asked if I'd heard it too. I told her I was sorry but I hadn't heard a thing. She bore on, telling me that it sounded like a low engine rumble, almost like a fog horn, except it was non-stop. I thought there might be a simple explanation: she was nuts.
A few months later, I read an article in our local paper, the Bay Ridge Courier. It was a brief interview with a resident on Colonial Rd complaining about "this awful noise". She had heard it too. I still hadn't.
Shortly after that, the Brooklyn Paper picked up the story. Then the NY Sun. Then the NY Daily News. I'm told that even FoxNews did a story on it. A local reporter, Matthew Lysiac, has made it a cause célèbre.
Okay, even though I still haven't heard it, lots of people in my neighborhood have. They can't all be crazy. On the other hand, I'm not deaf either and I'm usually out walking the dogs at 1am when it's so quiet I can hear a traffic accident across the harbor in Staten Island. Is this something like Tinkerbelle? You have to believe it to hear it?
Whatever, the local pols are all over it too. Last month our city councilman, Vincent Gentile, said that he'd solved the mystery. The culprit was the bizarre looking oyster toadfish and its noisy mating ritual.
Mr. Gentile had contracted the services of a prominent marine biologist and that was his conclusion. Case closed, right?
Not quite because nobody had actually seen an oyster toadfish in the waters along Owls Head. His former Republican rival, Marty Golden, had a little fun with the Hum buggers in this photo.
But Gentile wasn't sold on the answer either and asked a Cornell professor of Neurobiology with the improbably funny last name of "Bass" to confirm the toadfish story. He couldn't. In fact, he didn't hear or see any toadfish either.
So we're back to square one and all the convoluted and fantastical explanations: global warming and an inversion layer funneling refinery noise from New Jersey, wind causing the Verrazano Bridge cables to vibrate, secret underground tunneling for some Men In Black headquarters, which of course leads us to UFOs.
Bottom line, there's an awful noise that's apparently loud enough to disturb the sleep of reasonable people over almost a square mile which I haven't heard and no one knows what it is. Maybe it's just an elaborate practical joke against me.
I'll tell my own strange noise story in a later installment.
Hum
My wife and I live in West Rogers Park, Chicago. We've been experiencing this awful hum for some time now. Heard with power main off. No attic fan. Checked gas line, took down roof antenna, gutters are tight, windows good, roof vents tight, etc. Thought it might be an oxidizer from the Federal Mogul plant 1/4 mile away, and it may be, but it doesn't cause a hum in every home, but it does in ours. Chimney cap tight, heard even when heat is off, we don't have a sump pump, believe me we've covered all the bases.
Heard the most around 11 pm until sunrise. Peaks around 4-5am.
Like a truck idling outside, go outside and ...nothing. I don't know if it is possibly water related, I've turned off both toilets, still heard it.
I'm offering a $500 reward/prize to anyone who can detect what is causing it and provide a solution. Seriously.
Last thing... seems to be loudest when temps are roughly 45-65 degrees outside. Ten weeks in spring and fall when I go nuts. Hum is too low for a fan or white noise or ear plugs to block.. not LOUD loud, just low and constant drone, it vibrates your ear. ANYBODY HELP PLEASE?
Hum in West Rogers Park, Chicago
Dear Noise sufferers,
I can totally relate to your situation. For many years I was hearing a constant low frequency noise every ten seconds. It kept me awake all night making me crazy. For years it was a mystery to me. I lived in downtown Jersey City and kept walking down to New York harbor where the sound emanated from. It wasn't particularly loud but could not be blocked with ear plugs. It seemed to vary with seasonal wind direction. It was like chinese water torture. After complaints of a humming sound making people nuts across the harbor in Bay Ridge,Brooklyn made the press I realized I wasn't alone in my suffering. But it was still a mystery. I started researching other "humming" noises and ran across a story in England that was similar and unsolved. There people complained of feeling like their fillings could fall out and a actual case of door-pin hinges popping out. Serious low frequency vibration! Anyway a man studying the problem after putting up with for three long years thought that it could be "long-reach" drilling going on near by. Being that he was an engineer knew that there is a "singing" effect as the drill twists and turns. That when a lightbulb went off in what was left of my brain! The drilling of the New York Water Tunnel. Sixty stories below ground under Manhattan is a 24 foot diameter drill tunneling down the west side of Manhattan toward the harbor. It is manned twenty four hours a day seven days a week and my theory is that the vibration was/is being projected out into the harbor and bouncing off Bay Ridge Brooklyn which lies in a direct path from the tunnel in Manhattan. My best guess is that there is some kind of underground drilling going on near you. Hopefully yours ends soon. I had to leave the New York harbor area after living there twenty five years. It was literally making me sick. They plan to drill under New York harbor next. No end in sight for me!
It could be the wind and you
It could be the wind and you don't hear it because you are not out on windy days at 1am. I have heard stories from people in Marine park and Breezy point that hear the same thing.
That's what I would normally think too.
But I'm also down at the Owls Head dog run, right on the harbor, most mornings and in the park almost every afternoon, wind, rain or snow. I'd assume I would have heard something by now.
Table Saw
I bought the DW745 portable table saw because it is light enough that I'll be able to move it myself. I got it from:
http://www.tools-plus.com/ for $305.10 plus $6.50 shipping (flat shipping charge regardless of size of order). They are having a special 10% off from various mfgrs. today, tomorrow & Sunday only. I ordered it this afternoon and UPS already has it! Scheduled for Monday delivery. I also treated myself to a power screwdriver - I've been using our 25 year old drill that weighs a ton.
Thank you for all your help. How much practice do you think I should have before I destroy, I mean cut, the kitchen cabinet filler piece?
Table saw practice
It doesn't take much practice to successfully rip a board. The table saw does most of the work. You just push the board, hopefully with a push stick. If there's a Rule #1 for table saw use it's to never let your fingers get close to the spinning blade. There's also the chance the wood could kick and the momentum of your hand could take it right into the blade.
The best accessory for a table saw is a quality carbide tipped blade. Dull table saw blades are actually dangerous.
Set your blade height so the cutting edge of the blade peaks over the top of the board by no more than a 1/2". This will reduce burning, increase cutting speed and reduce the chance of the board kicking back on you.
One area I'd practice is (if you can) how to turn off the saw with your knee. This way you can use both hands to secure the board.
Power Planer
Sorry to bother you again but I think a power planer might make my 1/2" reduction more accurate because my hands are not too steady. I'm looking at the DW680K - should I use steel or carbide blades? I'm going to cut red oak cabinet filler. I can buy it for $99 without the case or $139 with the case. I haven't found a reconditioned one yet, still looking.
Power plane
Hi Kathy
I wouldn't recommend either a jig saw or a power plane for this job.
A power plane is made to shave a surface. I'd use it once you got a board down to around 1/8" of the finished width. But it won't make a straight cut, let alone a parallel one. It's actually the opposite of that. You often use a plane to get a board to fit against something that's not quite straight. If you use one, be sure the board is well secured. A power plane can be dangerous.
Many jig saws come with guides for making a straight cut but they have another problem. Because the thin blade is only supported on one end it tends to wander though the wood. It's usually impossible to get a perfectly perpendicular cut with a jig saw, especially in 1-by hardwood.
You would normally use a table saw for this or, alternatively, a jointer.
Jig saw?
I would like to buy a saw to cut approx 1/2" off of a kitchen cabinet filler piece. I was thinking that a jig saw might be the tool to buy. I read somewhere on the net that I can buy a Rip Guide to help me get a straight cut. DeWalt.com does not have a rip guide for their jig saw. Would a power planer be a better choice? Whatever I buy will then be gifted to my favorite oldest nephew (he does not mind receiving used items) so I don't want any junk.
RBottoni(at)optonline(dot)net