Thread: This is why you want to use breathing masks

Yes, always wear a mask of some sort when working in the shop. Especially so when you are working with matural materials such as horn, ivory and even some woods. I have a respirator mask that I wear along with my safety goggles whenever I am working in the shop. I feel like Darth Vader most of the time, lol.

Buy Toxic Dust Respirator at Woodcraft.com

What doesn't kill ya' makes you stronger.
I wonder if I breathe in enough dust if I'll eventually have iron lungs?

Seriously I need to start wearing a mask. Thanks for a reminder with a great visual.

well guys if you are wearing a mask make sure you also goggles and not glasses as all glasses stop really is the chips that dust will still get on your eyes

Originally Posted by Maximilian

One thing I always wonder is what are the consequences of all the dust and debris laying around the shop or place where you work after you're done sanding or grinding.

Max - that reminded me of a workshop I visited to pick up a part from, about 20 yrs ago, maybe longer. The two fitters looked like old men from a distance - when I got closer I could see they were late 20s - mid 30s but uniformly grey - their hair, faces, hands, overalls, bootcaps - all covered in a grey coat of dust. They took me into the "shop" - a very small room, rollerblind door, no windows. Everything in it was grey - the dust covered everything and was heaped up in the corners and on the shelfs.

As we were speaking I could hear a soft coughing/wheezing noise, but couldn't tell where it was coming from - until a decrepit old dog got up in its corner, shook the dust off, turned round a few times than lay back down on its dust covered blankets.

I worked outside in the fresh air at the time - that place seemed like a living hell to me.

Regards,
Neil

An exhaust fan is such a bargain....

My workshop is in the basement, and I am executing a 10 year plan to turn it into a safe haven from female influence (I have a wife and 2 daughters )

One of my next projects is going to be creating an airflow to make sure that all dust gets blown outside. I also regularly use a vacuum cleaner to clean my workbench, the floor and the sander. This keeps the place fairly clean.
Adding an airflow is better though.

Originally Posted by Bruno

My workshop is in the basement, and I am executing a 10 year plan to turn it into a safe haven from female influence (I have a wife and 2 daughters )

One of my next projects is going to be creating an airflow to make sure that all dust gets blown outside. I also regularly use a vacuum cleaner to clean my workbench, the floor and the sander. This keeps the place fairly clean.
Adding an airflow is better though.

I have a basement shop, too. Gotta love having a heated workspace only steps away from my bedroom.

I have a Delta dust collector hooked up to my power equipment. It makes a huge difference. It dramatically reduces airborne dist, but does not eliminate it. Even with the collector, I don't work without my respirator on. I use P100 filters when working with wood/steel and organic-vapor cartridges when grinding synthetics. The next step up will be a full face mask with integrated eye protection.

Originally Posted by MistressNomad

Maximilian - Well, if we're sticking with the smoking example, how about this as far as determining your risk.

The smog you are exposed to just from living in a moderately populated city is WAY more likely to give you lung cancer than second hand smoke.

And given the average person's risk of getting lung cancer from living in a moderately populated city is so low it's almost funny, I would say you're fine.

The second hand smoke thing always cracked me up, long before I ever smoked. It's a social campaign, not a health one. And a very damaging and divisive social campaign at that which has in fact served to make smoking more appealing.

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Sorry. As you were saying, though. I reckon there's a period of time it takes for a given particle to no longer be airborne. What that time is though probably depends on the substance.

At that point I would think it would be reasonably safe. After all, we're breathing in particles of whatever all the time. It's the dose that matters.

If you live in say LA that's the equivalent of smoking a pack a day. I grew up in NYC and after a one hour commute in the Subway after blowing my nose what came out looked like coal dust. The second hand smoke thing has been scientifically proven long ago.

Things can stay in the air a very long time. Back in the day when some powerful volcanos went up the dust and silt stayed in the air a couple of years