Thread: Air shield Pro or alternative

A far better "alternative" to managing wood dust is a good dust extractor which captures the fine dust at the source.

Health and safety professionals will almost always recommend engineering solutions like dust extractors above PPE type solutions.
PPE does not prevent the entire shed and the operators skin and clothing becoming contaminated.
Using PPE like a respirator means it has to be worn at all times in a shed and clothes have to be removed and washed otherwise the operator clothing continues to emanate fine dust until they do so.

I have a Triton full face shield and air mask but only use it when there is no suitable dust extraction available.
Otherwise I wear an Armadillo face shield.
I have tested the dust count in the air around my mouth when turning in front of my dust extraction port and the dust level is the same as the fresh air outside my shed.
This is a much more comfortable and safer way of wood working that wearing a respirator and no batteries to worry about.

Hi Bob,
I have a DC that does a really good job dealing with dust from the large machines. However, it is useless when I am sanding, either with an orbital or hand sanding and I haven't found it to be effective when turning. All the chips and sawdust end-up all over my shirt and arms.

I also have a regular rubber respirator that covers my mouth and nose. It is very effective at keeping dust out of the air I breath when sanding. However, it is really uncomfortable to wear and it also doesn't fit under my armadillo style face shield when turning. Wearing a face shield when turning is mandatory as far as I'm concerned.

Originally Posted by TongueTied

Hi Bob,
I have a DC that does a really good job dealing with dust from the large machines. However, it is useless when I am sanding, either with an orbital or hand sanding and I haven't found it to be effective when turning. All the chips and sawdust end-up all over my shirt and arms.

OK if you have a DC that is not doing the job when turning then my follow up questions are
What sort of DC is it and what size ducting are you using?
What sort of lathe hood are you using?
Where is the DC located?

This is the set up that lets me breath external air quality while turning.
Note BellMouth hood, 6" diameter ducting, 3HP DC located outside the shed.

. Wearing a face shield when turning is mandatory as far as I'm concerned.

I agree but an Amadillo alone is a lot more comfortable than a full respirator, AND when the lathe is not running you can remove it and it's not necessary to use a full face shield at all when using an ROS.

You can connect 4" ducting from

Originally Posted by BobL

... and it's not necessary to use a full face shield at all when using an ROS.

Touché. But we are deviating from the question by the OP i.e. me. Would I be correct in thinking that you don't believe there is a need for wearing a respirator at any time, provided your DC is working correctly? Therefore, things such as the Airshield and similar products are not worth the effort and all effort should be holistic and used to eliminate dust from the room rather than blocking it from entering the lungs. I'm not looking for a long discussion here, just some honest views. If the views of users are that these face shield/respirators are gimmicks, then that is good to know and worthwhile hearing it.

I have the pro trend and am disappointed not with the dust extraction but the flimsy head gear which breaks at he drop of a hat .[i don't mean physically dropping the pro] they are OK not uncomfortable to use but need to be made with more thought on strength of head gear.

Originally Posted by TongueTied

Touché. But we are deviating from the question by the OP i.e. me. Would I be correct in thinking that you don't believe there is a need for wearing a respirator at any time, provided your DC is working correctly? Therefore, things such as the Airshield and similar products are not worth the effort and all effort should be holistic and used to eliminate dust from the room rather than blocking it from entering the lungs..

I'm not looking for a long discussion here, just some honest views. If the views of users are that these face shield/respirators are gimmicks, then that is good to know and worthwhile hearing it.

Respirators can be very useful but there is a best practice OHS priority of use of engineering solutions over PPE that very few woodworkers are aware of. Perhaps more importantly, given the price of some of these respirators I don't want to give newbies the impression that a respirator should be their first and only level of dust control. Instead they should spend that money on dust extraction and if necessary purchase and where possible use respirators as an occasional top up. If any practice requires continual wearing of (often uncomfortable) PPE then other solutions should be exhausted first.

This does not mean I never wear a dust mask or my triton full face respirator as I do wear these when working away from my shed. Even inside my shed there is still the occasional activity where the dust extractor may not be able to capture all the fine dust. In this case the respirator is the extra insurance.

Originally Posted by TongueTied

Touché. But we are deviating from the question by the OP i.e. me. Would I be correct in thinking that you don't believe there is a need for wearing a respirator at any time, provided your DC is working correctly? Therefore, things such as the Airshield and similar products are not worth the effort and all effort should be holistic and used to eliminate dust from the room rather than blocking it from entering the lungs. I'm not looking for a long discussion here, just some honest views. If the views of users are that these face shield/respirators are gimmicks, then that is good to know and worthwhile hearing it.

Hi

We look at devices like the Airshield Pro as the last line of defence, as it's the closest thing to your nose and mouth. Even the best DC system will miss something, so having a helmet style unit that can also provide eye and optional hearing protection can't be a bad idea.

Like most things in woodworking the ultimate solution comes from multiple items working in unison to solve a problem.

The Airshield is lightweight by design, but in our experience more than robust enough for most uses in the workshop.

I hope this helps?

Regards

Grahame

well I agree with the sentiment that masks are the last line of defense and in my shed I have extractors and still find that by the end of the day eyes are full of grit hence the air shield. I just replaced the head gear and it lasted no more than one hour .You would think for the price it would be more robust I handled it with kid gloves after the first break bloody pain to have it let go again.

Some thoughts on my Airshield Pro.

1. they are fairly uncomfortable straight out of the box. This is bad because if you are relying on them for dust protection then you need to be able to wear them all the time in the shed. I modified mine as follows:
a. moved the battery to a waistband. It only saves a couple of ounces but still it makes a big difference.
b. lined the head straps with foam rubber. Dense black foam sheet to defeat the deep bone pressure, and a lightweight foam on top of that.
c. replaced the backstrap with one of those soft, very wide (about 75mm at the maximum) diving mask straps. The backstrap broke (more on that below) but I was going to modify it anyway.

Of course comfort is a very personal thing, especially about the head, so other people's opinions are of limited value. From my perspective, now its OK and I could wear it all day if I had to. Except perhaps for the hottest days.

2. battery life. My battery failed after about a year. I think the problem is the machine doesn't have an inbuilt smart charger, so just overcharges. I built my own battery pack after some research. Cost about $50 and appears to be running just fine, though early days yet. Here is my post on replacing the battery with your own:
battery repack replacement on Trend Airshield Pro

Now I'm just resigned to the fact that I will probably need to replace the batteries every year or two.

3. robustness. The head straps have been a disappointment. The backstrap broke. The size adjustment constantly slipped. The screws at the temple have worked loose, dropped out and been hard to find. Otherwise, it has lasted well so I guess all my problems have been linked to the headstraps.

4. main gripes. The main issue I have is that I'm 3 inches taller when I wear it which means I CONSTANTLY hit my head on the lowslung beams in my shed/garage. Also, it tends to dislodge my glasses, pushing them down my nose - although this may be because I wear it too low due to the aforementioned backstrap modification. Also cost, I bought mine in the UK when Axminster had it on special, but I'm not sure I would pay the current Aussie price - not with the faults mentioned.

Check Axminster, see if they are discounting it - even with postage it was way cheaper then the Aus price. Great company to deal with too.

cheers
Arron