How much steel is too much?

D

Diligence

Joined
Jan 18, 2000
Messages
275
Folks,

As a relatively new knife maker, how much steel dust can I inhale before I should be worried.

OR, do you all wear respirators/masks?

(I only have a 4x36 grinder and so I have to work slowly, hence, I think it makes finer dust....)
 
id start wearing a mask.
i dont make knives, but that stuff will really !@#$ you up.
smile.gif
 
Knifemaking doesn't quite rank up there with coal-mining but it's close.

You should at least get some of the disposable masks. 3M makes some that are about $4 or $5 each, but they work about as well as a canister.

I wear a canister mask, and have an air-scrubber in the ceiling of my shop.

If you start working with things like G-10, YOU REALLY NEED TO WEAR A MASK!!!

Best of luck to you,
Nick
 
My canister mask and safety glasses hang in the doorway to the shop. I don't go in without them. Sometimes I'll do light finish sanding by hand on the deck without them. Sometimes I don't wear the leather apron - but always the mask and glasses.

my $.02 worth.

Rob!



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Rob Ridley
Ranger Original Handcrafted Knives
 
What Ed Schott said is the Gospel.

Steel dust is probably the least hazardous(???) dust that we knifemakers generate in our shops. That doesn't mean it won't hurt you. EVERY type of dust we put into the air is dangerous and should not be taken lightly. Your health is not worth scrificing for that knife you are grinding.

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Barry
Jones Knives
"NEW Knives"
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=126319&a=5922856
"For DUTY and HUMANITY!"
Curly, Moe, & Larry

[This message has been edited by BARRY JONES (edited 10-23-2000).]
 
I don't think,(hack cough),that it's (cough, cough, aaaa, cough,spit) necessary to (couggh, uuuugh, hack, gag) wear a mask.



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Sola Fide
 
get a 3m or other filter mask, those paper ones dont do the job! i know i will never be aneamic with the dust that gets past the mask. long term exsposure is how it get you. also put a fan blowing the stuff across and out a door or window if possible. micarta, stabilized woods, and the pearlite stuff are the worst. bob loveless had a dog die prematurly so he had a ortopsy done. the lining of the lungs was caked full of micarta dust.

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Laurence Segal www.RHINOKNIVES.com
 
get a 3m or other filter mask, those paper ones dont do the job! i know i will never be aneamic with the dust that gets past the mask. long term exsposure is how it get you. also put a fan blowing the stuff across and out a door or window if possible. micarta, stabilized woods, and the pearlite stuff are the worst. bob loveless had a dog die prematurly so he had a ortopsy done. the lining of the lungs was caked full of micarta dust.

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Laurence Segal www.RHINOKNIVES.com
 
i always wear a resperator! long term exsposure is the killer, the handle materials are the worst! micarta,g-10,stablized woods etc. bob loveless had a dog that died permaturely. he had a ortopsy done and the lungs were caked full of micarta dust from being around the shop.

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Laurence Segal www.RHINOKNIVES.com
 
When I first started making knives I didnt wear a respirator. But one night in the shower I "Cleared" my nostriles, I plugged the left one and blew REAL hard!!! What came out sounded like a BB gun shot hitting the shower walls..HA!!!! Well anyway the smoke from ceramic belts grinding steel gives me a headache so I always wear a mask now...

Take Care
Trace Rinaldi
 
Thanks guys, appreciate your comments.

I always wear an apron and my safety glasses, but now I need to buy that mask...

....should I get the cannister type? What kind of cannister do I need?

 
Talk to the guy behind the counter at Home Depot and let him know what you'll be doing. You'll want one rated for painting fumes, since some of the things you'll eventually be grinding will be more dangerous than just dust. I have a fan blowing on me and out the door when I grind, along with the respirator.

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Oz

"The problem with instant gratification is that it takes too long."
http://www.freespeech.org/oz/
 
Loose steel dust is a leading cause of shop fires as it collects in the electrical switches. You might be tough but a bit of loose bit of dust here and there will add up and when you get to your late 40's you will know, most lung injuries are cumulative. Rubber sealed dust mask is the mandatory standard.

Get a leather apron from Harbor freight (good price), I tore a chunk out of my canvas apron when I errantly leaned into a 30 grit spinning grinder.

I had a small diameter wheel come flying off my square wheel and hit me in the face when I bought it used from another knife maker. Also do not even consider drilling on a drill press with out hold down clamp to prevent a spinning blade.

I am loosing my hearing in the right ear from work related noise so, wear hearing protection as well.

To step into my shop working area, safety glasses, dust respirator and hearing protection is required.
 
I'll run down to a Safety Supply store tonight and see what I can come up with for a mask.

A quick story - when I was 18 I worked in a lumber yard where we did custom ripping and cutting jobs. We had a home-made lath machine. (ie 7 blades sandwiched together on a table saw to cut a 2x4 into 9 pieces with a single pass) The lath was then used for surveying jobs in a local mine. Anyway, you guessed it, I got my right hand yanked into that sucker (no guards, just the ripping fence!) and I ended up losing my right ring and pinky fingers. Another inch or so and I'd be typing one-handed....

So...I'm really careful in the shop and I insist on the same from my friends who borrow my stuff....full hearing protection, safety glasses (face shield for some applications), apron, good lighting, good leather boots, sharp tools, don't work if you're too tired, etc....BUT for some reason, I've never been too concerned about masks.

That's changed as of today! Thanks again folks.

Diligence
 
Cough cough cough don't cough listen cough cough to these guys cough they don't know cough what cough cough their cough talking about cough cough, I cough don't cough cough wear a cough cough cough respirator cough and cough I'm cough cough fine cough cough
biggrin.gif
 
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