Respirator or no respirator, that is the question

[Bob Katilus]

Respirator or no respirator, that is the question… tis noblest in the mind...well, never mind the Bill Shakespeare. How does everyone feel about wearing respirators? Mine is decent, though it fogs up my safety glasses when I wear it. I am torn between blindness or cancer. Has anyone read a report saying metal filings cause cancer, or the dust that is o’ so common in my shop causes cancer…..

 

[ErikD]

You would probably be better off posting in Shop Talk with this.

BTW, it depends greatly on what you are doing. Just grinding steel it might not be that big of a deal. If you are grinding any of the synthetic handle materials, pr even some natural materials, you really should wear one.

 

[Ilovetoolsteel]

You would probably be better off posting in Shop Talk with this.

BTW, it depends greatly on what you are doing. Just grinding steel it might not be that big of a deal. If you are grinding any of the synthetic handle materials, pr even some natural materials, you really should wear one.

It's not just steel dust you create when you grind steel. You also break off tiny microscopic particles of the abrasive you are using too. When these get in your lungs it causes silicosis.

 

[VampyreWolf]

I had to adjust where it sits on the bridge of my nose so it doesn't fog up my goggles. it is possible.

how well do you like breathing?

 

[Bob Katilus]

Breathing is an essential part on knife making...lol. I will post this in "shop talk"; thanks for the heads up.

BTW, thanks for the quick replys. This forum/ people on it are great!!!!

 

[nenofury]

I am restoring an old house and used one of the 3M 6000 series full face respirators from here to protect myself from lead paint, flying objects, asbestos, etc...

http://www.envirosafetyproducts.com/html/Subcategories/facepiece_combos.htm#full

It is suprisingly comfortable to wear, much more so than half face respirators. I would wear it regardless of what any study says. It certainly wouldn't hurt.

 

[OwenM]

I'll second nenofury. I have the same kind of respirator at work, that I also use at home sometimes. Much more comfortable than a half-face respirator or dust mask, though I use those, too, depending on what I'm doing.

 

[Cougar Allen]

Moving ...

 

[S2nd]

I use this 3M respirator when I work with any metals: LINK

It has a check valve that directs exhaled air straight forward, so my glasses never get fogged up while wearing it. If the fog factor is the only reason you don't want to wear one, you should check this one out. You only have one pair of lungs, and donors are hard to come by

 

[tom mayo]

If you want to live your last years sitting up in a chair when you should be in bed, with an oxygen tank at your feet............by all means skip the mask, after all, you have TWO lungs, right???