Various alternatives:
0. Headphones, cabled or Bluetooth. You can get these built into ear defenders, or cheaply just put earbuds under your earmuffs.
1. If you have an Apple phone, use a docking station with speakers - really simple!
2. Buy a Bluetooth loudspeaker "brick" like one of these:
I got my wife one for Christmas and we both think it's pretty good. But it WILL need regular recharging (you can use any ordinary phone charger with a USB outlet).
Neither (1) nor (2) will be really loud, compared to machines - they might work but they might be drowned out: you won't know until you try. The second one (Bluetooth brick) has the advantage it needs no cables, so you can put it close to where you're working; but it will be fragile and will break if dropped on concrete or cast iron, probably.
3. The
cheapest way to do it (assuming you don't have one of the silly new Apple things), would be to have an old all-in-one "HiFi" in the workshop, with an auxiliary ("aux" or "tape") and a
cheap audio cable that goes from 3.5mm stereo jack plug to a pair of phono plugs (for the back of the HiFi).
When you go into the workshop, plug the cable into the phone's headphone socket. Switch the HiFi to "aux" or "tape in", then on (best done all in that order to avoid an entertaining "thump" from the loudspeakers, but it's not essential). Your phone's ringtone will come from the speakers, and can be as loud as you like. Tip: certain ringtones cut through better than others - don't use music! I made my own, which is (a) unique and (b) really annoyingly intrusive. It's been useful for finding the 'phone on many occasions!
But the overarching question is this:
Why don't you record a short and businesslike answering machine message (do it somewhere quiet!), explaining you're busy and asking the caller to leave a message (you get the number stored auto-magically)?
Every woodworking machine I have does some sort of cutting operation and is dangerous, to a greater or lesser extent. I do not want to be distracted, because I like all my fingers, almost equally, and don't want to lose any.
I guarantee that if you slice yourself because of the phone ringing you'll miss the call anyway...
;-)
E.
