What to do if you inhale a lot of metal dust?

Yup, black boogers, spitting steel, and of course there's absolutely nothing like waking up in the morning feeling like you're recovering from a friggin autopsy... I learned first from grinding too much ivoury, indoors like you. After I'd forgotten that lesson, I learned from grinding too much Cruware one day. Took me out of work for the day, and left me laid up, reeling. Not fun.

I'm not an Oxford scholar, and I've never been really good at math, but here's a quick equation for you: Respirator from Sears, $40. Lung transplant from your local hospital - $15,000? $25,000? Heart transplant? Kidney transplant? I did a little write-up for my website a while ago about almost everything we work with being carcinogenic. You only have one life, one set of ears, one set of eyes. Filters are replaceable, you are not.

Darryl
 
TikTock said:
Is it insanity to take off my resperator after an hour of grinding, and light up a cigarette? I wonder which is worse....grinding dust or what I voluntarily inhale each day.
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I wonder this myself every time I "step outside". I've got the routine all worked out:
1. turn off grinder
2. turn off vacuum
3. turn on air filter
4. remove safety glasses and respirator
5. go upstairs
6. step out on back patio and spark up
5. go downstairs
6. turn off air filter
7. turn on vacuum
8. put on safety glasses and respirator
9. turn on grinder

I feel like a total idiot every time I go through this routine. Time lost, health lost, ultimately life lost. Gotta quit one of these days (if I had a dollar for every time I said that...)
 
we both
the wife and I
quit smoking over 25 years ago for a reason.
I thought about moving some of my equipment to the house and into the basement to save on heat in the wintertime but decided not to, you just can't get all that stuff out of the air, the furnace will circulate it though the house,,
if I die from it there's no need of the wife going with me.
 
lets put all this in a nutshell real quick. there are many reasons why you should not work with any power tools inside whether it be grinders, table saws ect. if you live in an apartment. you are more than likely renting which means you do not own it and probably have neighbors that will eventually complain because at 2:00 am their neighbor meaning you are grinding steel.... and rattling the building
 
I am in an apartment. Spare bedroom shop, and I do fine. I am polite and dont grind past 10, 11 on weekend if i know they are up and i hear music or TV....grinder isnt THAT loud....they probably think its the dishwasher. Either way, they havent complained yet so probably wont. I am just buying time till we get our house, at which point its ON and ill be able to make all the noise i want. I hardly ever run the KMG full bore in my apartment for fear that the vibrations are worse...
 
flatgrinder said:
Thanks for all the advice!

I setup a squirrel cage which has an inlet tube going to a large "funnel" under the grinder. The outlet blows all the dirt outside. I also got a respirator. Hopefully, no more headaches after grinding!!
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I met a knifemaker in Anaheim, CA, about 20+ years ago and was looking at his shop to get some ideas about venting fumes and dust outside. He had an attic fan, the type that fits between the joists, behind his grinder. It seemed it would work pretty good, but when he turned it on and the outside blades opened up with the draft, I could see out into his back yard. Nothing grew in the path of the fallout, yet the rest of his yard was pretty green.

His kids were playing out there!

Best bet is to get a vacuum system that vents the fumes, high up, but traps the particles. If it's toxic in your shop, it doesn't miraculously change properties by being vented outside. At least the fumes will disperse, unlike the particles.

Some of that dust will kill every living thing outside, that it comes into contact with(plant life). If you have children and pets playing in that area, they just absorb it from contact over time, and...................???

They make inexpensive ceiling mounted air scrubbers that you can get at Harbor Freight and a number of other places. They will clean the dust(and some types of fumes) out of the air and trap it in micron filters which can be disposed of if you can't go the expense of a vacuum system.
Some of the correct types of vacuum systems can run upwards of $2500-3K.:eek:
http://www.oneida-air.com/products/main.htm

http://www.pennstateind.com/

http://www.uselectricaltool.com/wv.html

You have to get spark boxes added inline in those things to avoid fires.

John Mallett at Tru Grit also handles a good vacuum system and spark boxes. They aren't listed in his catalog, so you have to call.

http://www.trugrit.com/
 
Damn! Now I'm remembering one of the main reasons I got out of the goldsmithing biz. Toxicity! Polishing and grinding were of course on the top of the list. Alot of it happened right at the bench with flexible shafts. But it wasn't just breathing particulate matter. We always rain acid pickling and etching pots in the shop all day too. Plating with cyanide was a real gas as well. When polishing was completed high pressure steam cleaners were used to blast (and vaporize) away the gunk. (We're not even talking about toxic welding and furnace fumes and carbon monoxide!)

Skin absorbtion's another consideration. For years my hands and finger tips never did look clean. My fingerprints had a perpetual patternweld-like look.

Trap the particulate and vapor matter, protect everyone's breathing space, and consider skin absorption. Seperate work and living spaces. It's probably a good idea to treat your dirting work clothing as toxic to loved ones as well, Shower and change before frolicking with your kids.
 
The dust in the air that you can see won't hurt you, it's the stuff you can't see that's dangerous. If you are blowing out black snot, then there's a problem. Make sure your mask fits well, and try on a couple of different brands to ensure the best fit. If the sales person can't guide you to what a good fit is, go somewhere else!
 
sinawalli said:
The dust in the air that you can see won't hurt you
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:eek: :confused: really?
would you like to coment on that?
MOP would be one of the dusts that come to mind first, that will hurt you..
 
Chant said:
What is MOP?
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Mother of Pearl
the grinding dust is not toxic to most people but it will cause growths or nodules in your lungs
Cancer would be the concern
 
Mother of Pearl
the grinding dust is not toxic to most people but it will cause growths or nodules in your lungs
Cancer would be the concern
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Pearls in your Lungs?? Thats gotta suck canal water...:eek:
 
Sweany said:
Pearls in your Lungs?? Thats gotta suck canal water...:eek:
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if it's the same as sea water:D
the last time I got caught in a rip-tide I dang near sucked in the last water i'd ever see.:eek: :(
 
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