Respirators ???

T

TwinStick

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Jan 21, 2011
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Do i need a respirator to drill a shallow bow drill divot in a black linen micarta knifehandle ?

Would a fan work instad ?

I do not have a respirator. If i do need one, then what the heck do people do when actually using the bow drill divot & working the bow drill ? Seems to me that breathing the smoke must be real bad too if breathing the air while drilling is bad. Please educate me. Thanks.
 
The need for respiratory protection is driven not only by the material that you are making airborne, but also the length of time you are doing it.

If you are going to do a bunch of handles for 6 or 8 hours, maybe get a N95 mask with a built in exhalation valve at the hardware store.

If you work with dusty materials professionally on a daily basis, get a half face air purifying respirator (APR) equipped with P100 cartridges. These cartridges "tell you" when they need changed out based on increased resistance that you get when you breathe through them. Once they get plugged up, toss them and replace. Get a good pair of safety glasses to go wit it.


http://www.amazon.com/MSA-Safety-Works-817664-Respirator/dp/B0009XW3ZS



If you are doing one or two, no problem. Just wipe the dust off with a wet towel, and don't blow it off with compressed air or something like that.

Respirators are cheap. Lungs are not.
 
Long answer;

Generally speaking, outdoor activities are considered to have adequate ventilation and dilution of harmful substances to not require further protection, particularly with the small amount of dust and smoke being generated by using a bow drill. The type of wood being used can also make a difference to the quantities of dust/smoke/fumes you are being exposed to before it is said to be harmful. Toxic woods like Yew, Western Red Cedar, Cocobolo require more stringent protection than normal wood dust like Pine. You'd have to be generating clouds of dust outdoors before it would be regarded as a health issue. Drilling is not regarded (in the UK, anyway) as a high dust generating activity, as the materials being removed normally comes off as swarf (which is not breathable). Sanding and power sawing are the ones normally required to have extraction fitted to the equipment. There is no requirement to wear a respirator for drilling except in very exceptional circumstances on extremely toxic materials. Micarta is not one of them. Carbon fibre is a different story because the fracture mechanism and particle size & shape is thought to be similar to asbestos.

Short answer;

No.
An extractor fan, yes
Nothing, they're done outdoors.
The smoke coming off the bow drill is nothing compared to the smoke coming off the fire made by it. Let's keep things in perspective, shall we.
 
Thank you. This is one knife only. Will drill a shallow divot in each side of handle. Thanks again.
 
Put a metal bearing in the divot so that the friction on the bearing divot does not burn the micarta when they are using it
-Page
 
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