It has become such a common question I decided to put up a post on it detailing some of the problems.
The wiring needs to be 4 wires, which many are not, and the issue of later down the line needing a dryer or range receptacle, such as if the house is sold, comes up and generally the wires on a 220V circuit are too large to fit into a 110V receptacle are all reasons not to do it. The breaker MUST be changed to a 20A one also.
There is also the issue of this creating a multi-wire or shared neutral cirsuit. There is nothing wrong with a multi-wire circuit as long as the user understands them. They are common in industrial and commercial work but I feel for a DIY they are generally best avoided. A multi-wire circuit MUST be on the 2 different legs of the panel, which for a DIY is best done with a multipole (i.e. double) breaker. If you are not familiar with a multi-wire and don not use a breaker that shuts off both sides of the circuit, a multi-pole, ther are some dangerous conditions that can occur. First is that if both sides of the circuit aren't disconnected by the same breaker and there is an appliance or lamp plugged into the other side and it is on, then when the White wire is disconnected the user may get an electric shock.
Second is that if the multiwire is not on opposite legs of the panel then the White wire may overheat. In a multi-wire circuit that is wired correctly the White wire only caries the imbalance between the 2 ciruits. If the multi-wire is not wired correctly, that is not on oppsoite sides of the panel, the white wire carries the imbalance and both return currents thus overloading it. This overload createws a heating problem that can damage the wire.
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Rule of thumb,Keep your thumb from under the hammer!
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