Thread: Dust protection

have a look for respirators....eg, triton 3m, trend etc
there is a page in the carbatec catalogue in the woodturners section with 3 varieties i think. i think they cost in excess of $200.

hth

I should use one but unfortunately im too lazy, a guy in the scroll club im in uses disposable surgical masks he gets from the chemist, they just fit over the ears and the filter park goes over the nose/mouth

Similar to whats in the pic, he has given me a couple but i forget to try them out.

Danger! PPM is what they use to measure the size of dust particles. Part Per Million is the the amount of dust particles per milllion. . . any how, it means the very fine particles of dangerous stuff can get past the saliva and nose hairs and all the other natural dust traps our bodies are supposed to have, and get into and onto the walls of our lungs. These include the well known dangerous substance asbestos. MDF is known to give off dangerous dust particles. Using natural timber is no proctection either, as a lot of them are dangerous to our lungs. Dust of any description can aggravate our sinuses as well, and cause to coma away from a happy session of sawing and or sanding, with a nasty headache.

I have made a homebuilt extraction system from a plastic pill bottle, and some 19mm irrigation pipe, and a five dollar vacumn cleaner fom a garage sale.However, I still use a mask with two filters, that cost me about $50.00AUD. Always use a mask if you can, do not be lazy about it, and you'll always come away feeling good, with no headaches etc. Read what the mask you want to buy, says it will handle in PPM.

Those particles that do get into lungs and cling there, are about to start an argument with your body that will start to reject them. This argument can lead to cancer in the long or short term.:eek:

Buzza.

I scolled a year without any protection.... the more I read about the dangers of saw dust the more worried I became, specially since I already lost one lobe of lung.
Tried the cheap paperlike disposables and they cut the skin under my eye and didn't stay put, also tried the "real" ones with filters my husband used to use for turning... too bulky and uncomfortable. If it's not comfy I am like most people... won't wear it even if it's good for me.
Then discovered dustbegone masks from the US. They not only do the job, they're comfy, washable and don't fog up glasses ( if you buy the right size) ... only downer is the big price tag. We liked them so much we bought a box full for our little shop , if you live in the Wodonga/Albury area have a look:
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Hills/4382/wood.html
if not... have a look at the dustbeegone site for more information
http://www.dustbeegone.com/other_products.htm

Juvy

Very interesting subject and i thank you for this post HOWEVER
Could you please advise this mask's ability to keep out dust from scroll sawing activity on a person with a medium beard
I am currently useing a soft twin filter rubber unit at present as the disposable units just wont seal good enough
REG

As I don't have a beard myself ( it's trying to grow but I'm pretty quick with the tweezers! ) I can only quote the first point made on the dustbegone website:

"Forms to all face shapes (even works with beards). "

Also some of the guys at the club said it works with their beards.

Hope this helps
Juvy

I use a single cartridge rubber type mask, great for normal WW but on the scrollsaw sits smack in line of vision and is a bloody nuisance, of course with most work you are not placing your face that close to the work.
Resort to relying on the blower although when I did some demo work for deWalt a few years ago I remember well the red handkerchief after a day of cutting redgum, sitting at a glass window, sunburnt neck, sore throat and sore nose.
Been very carefull since then and it is amazing how much dust these things do generate.

I use a proper mask as the disposable ones aren't good enough.
I also use a small electric fan off to the side which causes just enough draught to blow the dust away.

the dust blower that comes with the Delta isn't much good and doesn't last long..... the guys from our club installed aquarium pumps instead and wired it to the switch... so when you turn on the saw the pump starts up... then we also took off the stiff metal "hose" and put on a flexible one.. now we can have the dust blown away from us.
I still say for scrolling the dustbegon mask can't be beat.... I know I breath a lot easier after several hours of scrolling then I have before I used it.
Juvy

If you buy the dewalt you show interest in you may consider this set-up.

I would have sent earlier but I have just returned from 3 months away.

Hi Juvy, I really like the shoe protectors that they are selling on that link you provided. I think that there may be a few WWF members that would look mighty fine in those.

Oh for sure - will have to seriously considering ordering those..... or have a look through my old fabric scraps.... ought to find something to beat the shiny purple .... something with yellow polka dots maybe..... hm......

back to serious business tho... even tho I might not get another thing from them... I still believe in the mask....
So far everyone we sold one to likes it.... yes.... they wear them... well they say the do! lol

Juvy

http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Hills/4382/wood.html