Dust collection and respirators

[JoshEarl]

I just installed a dust collector in my garage/shop, and it's working really well. Even though it still needs some fine-tuning, it seems to be pulling about 90 percent of the dust out of the air. I was surprised by how effective it seems to be, because the suction at the mouth of the intake isn't very strong. I guess it's just enough of an airflow to pull stuff in, though.

As an experiment to see how well it's working, I tried not wearing my respirator for a couple of hours. I was finish-grinding a blade after heat-treatment and flattening some wood for handles.

After three or four hours of work, I quit for the evening and did the "blow your nose" test to see if I was getting a lot of dust. Normally I would have seen a lot of black gunk, plus whatever color of wood I happened to be sanding. :thumbdn:

But there was practically nothing there--I was very surprised.

So my question is: If you have a good dust collection system, is a respirator essential for normal grinding operations? (Mainly steel, not situations where fumes are involved like Micarta.)

This probably falls under the "better safe than sorry" category. The only reason I'd like to eliminate the respirator is that I have really sensitive skin, and the mask does horrible things to it.

Maybe I'll get that $300 positive pressure mask that Stacy mentioned recently...

Josh

 

[johnnym]

Hi Josh,

I am only a weekend warrior when it comes to knife making, but here is my take on dust. I have a dust collector that vents outside. I have 4 air scrubbers in a 14x20 shop, a reliant, grizzly, show vac, and delta, They run all the time when i am working and i keep them clean. I always wear a respirator while doing the dirty work and after a 10 hour day, i still end up with dust in my nose. I would never work without a respirator, it is not worth the risk. I think we would pay for it when we get older.

my $.02
-John

 

[Leu Custom]

Lets just say that even when it comes to vacuuming dust off the floor with a vacumm or whatever, always wear a respirator as vacumms will still throw crap back out into the air that will definitely affect your lungs little by little. So the moral of the story is, no matter how awesome your dust collection system is WEAR A RESPIRATOR at all times when in the shop when grinding or sanding anything of any kind. Heck I even wear one when i'm cutting steel on the bandsaw as crap can still get breathed in. You only have 1 set of lungs, protect them as best as you can. I wear a half mask 3M 6000 half mask with p100 cartridges and sometimes the odd things I do require me to grind with the belt going upwards and DUST/metal particles are shot into my face direction, and odd as this sounds, almost always end up with NO dust in my nose.

 

[fitzo]

Industrial safety wisdom said that general protective systems like suction devices should never supercede the use of personal protective equipment like respirators.

Additionally, the finest of dusts tend to hang in the air. Those are the ones that blow right by the nose hairs and go right to the lungs. The fine particles are the ones that cause cumulative lung damage. That 10% of the dust left in the air is the part you want to avoid most.

Wear the respirator.

 

[JoshEarl]

Industrial safety wisdom said that general protective systems like suction devices should never supercede the use of personal protective equipment like respirators.

Additionally, the finest of dusts tend to hang in the air. Those are the ones that blow right by the nose hairs and go right to the lungs. The fine particles are the ones that cause cumulative lung damage. That 10% of the dust left in the air is the part you want to avoid most.

Wear the respirator.

You guys are no fun. That's pretty much what I figured, but I thought I'd ask anyway.

I think I'll have to spring for that positive pressure system before next winter. The condensation that I get in the mask is what destroys my skin, so I think I'll do better with that system.

Josh

 

[fitzo]

You guys are no fun.

Neither are emphysema and COPD. Take my word for it.

I think I'll have to spring for that positive pressure system before next winter. The condensation that I get in the mask is what destroys my skin, so I think I'll do better with that system.

Josh

While expensive, the PAPRs are a real joy to use. The air blowing across your face is nice and cool. I have one of the overpriced 3-M BreatheEasy systems, but for particulate protection both the Trend Airshield and that gizmo Stacy mentioned looked like good lower-priced alternatives.