Shop Safety...this happened to me

Thanks Bro.,that sure does make me stop and think.We'll keep you in our thoughts and prayers.

God bless,Keith
 
I am new hear and really appreciate this post.

I have a friend in NM (custom knife maker) who after many years of knife making was diagnosed with sinus cancer due to accumulation of dust/debris from grinding/sanding. After radiation he now suffers from short term memory loss and can no longer make knives.

Hard lessons learned but hopefully others won't need to suffer.
 
Thanks for the post, Ed! PLEASE EVERYONE protect yourselves. Lots of info here, from some very diverse people. I am not a knife maker, (yet) but work in the chemical manufacturing industry. Just ask.

Get better Ed!

Matt
 
Thanks for the reminder Ed and prayers out for a speedy recovery.

In the shops I've run and owned, respirators were policy in pretty much every area. We also invested in the best ventilation system we could afford. Getting the bad stuff out of there was/is just as important as a good mask on an operator. Even something as simple as a fan stuck in a hole in the wall goes a long way towards a safe working environ.
 
While we're on the subject of protection our lungs what cartridges are THE BEST for use on a respirator in our line of work? Sometimes reading all the info it can be clear as mud. I use 3M brand and usually use one for Multi-gas/vapor and particulates. They have a NIOSH approval #TC-23C/84A. Is there a certain number a person should look for in our work? I've also used the P100 particulate filters but the arent for spray painting or anything so they dont have the vapor protection.
 
Ed I couldnt read all the posts to this thread but will later. Im really glad to hear they caught it in time. How long have you been making knives??? How long and how frequent did you wear a mask and if so what type. ??? I bought a dust collector in june and it works ok but allows the fine dust through. I also were a mask with carbon filter, but now just bought the new 3m 6700 series full face . Im in a rought state like you right now just having surgery 10 days ago on my neck so im doing very little.I have done some reading on toxic woods some worse than others. I will go get a high micron filter today for my 1200 cfm dust collector, that will help. I notice when i fire up the collector a small puff of dust goes into the air. I m sure that fine stuff is the bad stuff. Ed I would also like to know what type of wood did you use the most to cause this problem . I know you may not know the ansers to these questions but it may help more of us realize that this dust is really bad for you. Hope you heal fast, I have a long road ahead. kellyw
 
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