MOP,acetone, and epoxies will hurt you..

I think mine are 3m's also. I'll have to look. I also now have an exhaust fan over the grinding bench. The problem I have and a lot of others here, is that I have a beard. The mask doesn't seal as well. I have a solution for that when using my gas mask (Vasoline) but darned if I am going to do that every time I grind. I got some hoods from a medical supply store. I wear them over my mask to act like prefilters.
 
I'm wondering (opps doing it again.)
if a good diving mask would work, and use the old type
two line hoses some how with filters remote on your back
with a one way valve :confused: so the air only comes in
the filters and out about the same as the respirator does.
you can see real well with them,
but you'd need safety glass in it if theu arn't all ready:confused:
 
Originally posted by pendentive
This has come up a few times in the past, but the problem is - no pics...my imagination suffers...


Here's a pic of me 'n mine:

mug03.jpg





Dan
Click to expand...

A quick search for 3Msafety yielded this.
http://products3.3m.com/catalog/us/...cPageHandler/theme_us_innovativesolutions_3_0

It's like the one in the middle left in the photo.

I don't think HEPA filters are enough. You can look up the cartridges in the link, just use the P/N in my post above.
 
Go to the bottom of the 3M link above, and you will see links for 5000, 6000, and 7000 series masks, and cartridges.
 
Grey, with the white cotton prefilters. Right below the full facepiece respirator with the neon red cartridges. Middle, left column.

It's just one type out of numerous types of respirators. I have 5 different types myself, the 3-M just happens to be the one I'm using at the moment.

If you have a beard, and want to be protected, a supplied air respirator would probably be best. But they can get expensive, but then so are doctors, and lung transplants. ;)
 
Looks good to me. Where do you order yours? and the replacement filters?

Thanks!
 
If you wear a repirator with a beard:

test by placing hands over the filters and sealing them. if you can stil suck in air, they're not sealing.

another way is to get a volatile solvent like gasoline, acetone, whatever, and see if you can smell it. with HEPA+organic vapor cartridges, you shouldn't be able to. nor will you ever spit grinding-dust black. either failure is a sign that you're not protecting yourself.

I have a beard, too. OSHA federal regs state that beards are incompatible with cartridge respirators because of the probability of a poor fit. Most heavy beards will render them poorly functional, but a small beard or close-trimmed may still pass. do the tests above.

Supplied air respirators are the way to go, of cource, but very expensive. I spent over a grand to get the one I have from AireWare. They make a less expensive one for just dusts, a visor that will help to a significant extent. Dave may chime in on how his works.
As for the expensive model, it kicks butt! PITA to keep the battery charged, and both replacement batteries and cartridges are expensive. Also a pain to have to strap the belt on each time, and it does weigh 5-7 pounds hanging on yer belt. However, since I start coughing trying to draw air through a half-mask, this was the way to go for me.
 
This stuff scares the crap outta me. I've been around nasty chemicals my entire life. It's amazing I'm still alive and kicking at 45. When I was a little kid, my father worked in a machine shop. Way back when, people who ordered parts and subassemblies actually cared what they were making, and usually tried to get a part number either engraved or stamped or stenciled onto their parts. My father actually subcontracted all this from his company, and would spend his evenings in the cellar shop he made, spraying epoxy paint on thousands of parts.

This went on for years until I grew up, got married, moved out, and joined the USAF. For 14 years in the Air Force, I was a crew cheif. Every concieveable chemical and even some you can't imagine, I have been exposed to. All this flavored with the ever-present jet engine exhaust.

Then after my stint working for uncle sam, I went into industrial mechanics with a specialty in the printing industry. Needless to say, a whole new family of carcinogens and dusts to beat the crap out of my lungs were found there.

Sorry to ramble, but I'm scared half to death about all this, and I'll definitely improve my dust and fumes handling in my shop now!

So... Thanks Everyone for you input here.
 
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