Masks work, you should all wear them......

[fpgt72]

when woodworking. Click bait got ya.

Wood dust really messes me up, I had been using a fairly bulky 3M mask, and being human I did not really like it. So if I had one or two cuts to make I would not put the stupid thing on.......and enjoy the massive headache that came later. Felt like my eyes are going to be blown out of my skull.

So I wanted to try a new mask, and get one a little smaller and a little more comfortable. Something I would wear when cutting wood, or sanding on a car....do more car stuff then anything else. So I bought one of these after watching about a billion different review videos on YT.

The wife has had issues working outside for years and has to wear a mask when on the tractor or mower. She always did something like this

A little lighter and a little cooler. Fairly cheap with replaceable filters for them and a exhaust valve in the mask. It does work pretty well for things like seed, dust and general "outdoor" type crap that bothers her.

Story time:

I got a fairly new induction heater not long ago. If you don't know what these things are you put a coil of wire around a nut or bolt hit the button and it will make that bolt or nut glow read hot. It is basically a blue wrench without the fire. I had played with it a few times, used it once. Last night I was taking off a leaf spring and the bolt was rusted tight....I grab the grinder and then think....wait I have this induction heater, lets play with that. Well sure enough the nut got glowing red....but you know what else is on a leaf spring at the end....yup rubber. Melted the rubber like hell.....bubbles and smoke billowing out of the spring.....well shit stupid you should have known that. The entire shop was covered in a smoky haze....looked like when they opened the van door in fast times at ridgmont high. I had the mask on and goggles (got metal in my eye grinding on something but that is another story).....and you really can't see because of all the smoke, and it is starting to burn my eyes. Figure I will go inside and open the shop and let it air out a little. Take off the mask and go to open the door. (should have opened the door then taken off the mask, but I ain't that smart) and good god you could not draw a breath in there....it was horrid, but in the mask I did not smell a thing.

Sold.

So if you are fooling around with metal or wood....or have issues with thing in the yard, you may look like a comic book super villain but darn I don't care, it works great.

 

[Rookie]

With a proper fitted N95 you shouldn't smell anything

 

[supercorndogs]

Overkill don't you think. I mean if a surgical mask will protect you from a deadly pandemic.....

 

[Doc68]

Piece of rag or panties protects you from deadly pandemic......not even a mask.....but yeah, most deadly virus ever.......

Doc

 

[Lawless]

With a proper fitted N95 you shouldn't smell anything

Absolutely not true, certainly paint and the like.

 

[ToddM]

Used to have to wear full face respirators for a previous job around nasty stuff quite a bit. To be honest I actually prefer them to trying to get safety glasses and a 1/2 mask respirator to play nice together.

N95 won't do anything against gas/organic vapors.

 

[Short-bus]

As I've gotten older I take personal safety gear a lot more seriously. Respirators, safety goggles, ear pro, gloves, ect. I don't wear them all the time, only when they're necessary. They have a place in my house for sure though.

When sanding the car, why not wet sand? Just curious, I hate dry sanding anything.

Branden

 

[fpgt72]

As I've gotten older I take personal safety gear a lot more seriously. Respirators, safety goggles, ear pro, gloves, ect. I don't wear them all the time, only when they're necessary. They have a place in my house for sure though.

When sanding the car, why not wet sand? Just curious, I hate dry sanding anything.

Branden

I sand dry when I am playing the great Bondo. I have to close my eyes and feel the metal, I think your eyes lie to you. That stuff never goes down as smooth as you like. Same with glazing putty. I don't build fenders out of chicken wire and bondo, but there is a real use for it, and if you use it like it is intended it is a good product. Never even 1/4 inch thick....if it is that thick you have more metal work to do.

Sounds like you are about like me. In the "old days" bare hands in solvent, now rubber gloves, and the solvent back then was very different over the "green" garbage they sell today. No matter what it is you have a choice, REAL expensive or does not work worth a crap.

As we are talking, I tell the story of the metal in my eye. I wear glasses, but if I do something close I like to take the glasses off and if doing something like grinding on a weld (I am a grinder not a welder, but getting better, will likely be good at it about a week before I die).

I think I will start another thread on all the ways I hurt myself doing different little projects around that house.....should be a fun thread.

 

[Short-bus]

I use bondo quite often, I use it for larger holes and gouges, damage from typical use on projects that come in. I've had to do some major repair jobs and I move up to marine tex for those. The red shit in a tube works great for pinholes. I really, really love doing restoration and repair work. Just something about taking a project that came in as hammered dog shit, and goes out looking like it was just manufactured from new. I wet sand it all though, perhaps because that's how I learned, but I like how I can see what i'm doing, and make sure that as i'm removing bondo, i'm not removing the gelcoat of a fiberglass stock around it.

Would love to do a car one day though, it's certainly on my bucket list.

I think as i've gotten older, and more mature, it's the realization that the safety gear keeps me around longer, and able to do what i'm enjoying. Injuries also tend to be warnings to get into the habit of protecting yourself because that shit always hurts.

Branden

 

[Colt45guy]

I used to enjoy woodworking. I never worried about PPE beyond safety glasses and leather gloves for rough work because I had never had a problem before.

25 years ago, I learned the hard way that I'm one of the 25% that's allergic to cocobolo.....and I'm EXTREMELY allergic. I made a beautiful set of grips for a pistol--my little Harbor Freight belt sander was used to shape and smooth them. Micro-dust was everywhere. I finished my grips, dusted myself off, took a shower and went to bed......

I woke up looking like I had gone a few rounds with Mike Tyson--every part of my body that wasn't covered was affected. My face was swollen so bad I couldn't open my eyes, and all around my eyes, nose and mouth, capillaries burst and looked like bruises. After a day or so, the swelling turned into weeping blisters like a bad case of poison oak.

On a scale of 1 - 10, the itching was somewhere north of 3000. Couldn't scratch because my skin would slough off......hot water was the only relief I could get, but it had to be hot enough to scald, so it was doing more damage than good.

That shit was in my hair, up my nose, face, neck, both arms......I still have scars on my arms and hands, and I damaged my lungs to the point that running PT was almost impossible for over a year. I never fully recovered from that incident.


I won't even touch a piece of pine without a mask and gloves now, and I have completely given up working with any kind of exotic wood.


So yeah. Wear your mask.

 

[fpgt72]

I use bondo quite often, I use it for larger holes and gouges, damage from typical use on projects that come in. I've had to do some major repair jobs and I move up to marine tex for those. The red shit in a tube works great for pinholes. I really, really love doing restoration and repair work. Just something about taking a project that came in as hammered dog shit, and goes out looking like it was just manufactured from new. I wet sand it all though, perhaps because that's how I learned, but I like how I can see what i'm doing, and make sure that as i'm removing bondo, i'm not removing the gelcoat of a fiberglass stock around it.

Would love to do a car one day though, it's certainly on my bucket list.

I think as i've gotten older, and more mature, it's the realization that the safety gear keeps me around longer, and able to do what i'm enjoying. Injuries also tend to be warnings to get into the habit of protecting yourself because that shit always hurts.

Branden

That "red shit" is what I call glazing putty. I have no idea the real name for it.

 

[weaselrunner]

Overkill don't you think. I mean if a surgical mask will protect you from a deadly pandemic.....

My wife works for a hospital. I used 1 of the same level 3 masks the employee's have to wear. I was sanding deer antler. Took the mask off before heading in for a shower. Looked in the mirror and I looked like I had face planted in a pile of coke. I had as much dust on my face under the mask as I did on the rest of my face. Gave me a "really" good feeling about mask protection.

 

[jrassy]

Back when I was a wee carpenter framing and siding new houses I was installing a lot of cedar lap siding and Masonite siding. I had allergies to cedar sawdust and my nose would run like Niagara Falls , even being plugged up. I was a total snot covered crabby cut man for the crew. Thank god cigarettes gave me some relief . Put a mask on …hell no.

 

[Tempest 455]

You should wear the bottom one when in the car driving alone.

 

[Bullfrog08]

Ear plugs up your nose, and ball gag in your mouth....problem solved.

 

[Short-bus]

That "red shit" is what I call glazing putty. I have no idea the real name for it.

I prefer the term "red shit". It's a more fitting term with my diminished IQ.

Branden

 

[acudaowner]

nope

 

[Maser]

Everyone should wear plague doctor masks.

 

[Thumper580]

With a proper fitted N95 you shouldn't smell anything

Look for the 3M brand N95 disposable mask with exhalation valve AND carbon/charcoal impregnated. Easy breathing and removes organic vapors. Lighter than the mask above....

 

[Carlos Danger]

Wear a mask. Got it.

 

[308guru]

With a proper fitted N95 you shouldn't smell anything

That’s the dumbest statement I’ve seen from someone all day.

 

[SanPatHogger]

I used to enjoy woodworking. I never worried about PPE beyond safety glasses and leather gloves for rough work because I had never had a problem before.

25 years ago, I learned the hard way that I'm one of the 25% that's allergic to cocobolo.....and I'm EXTREMELY allergic. I made a beautiful set of grips for a pistol--my little Harbor Freight belt sander was used to shape and smooth them. Micro-dust was everywhere. I finished my grips, dusted myself off, took a shower and went to bed......

I woke up looking like I had gone a few rounds with Mike Tyson--every part of my body that wasn't covered was affected. My face was swollen so bad I couldn't open my eyes, and all around my eyes, nose and mouth, capillaries burst and looked like bruises. After a day or so, the swelling turned into weeping blisters like a bad case of poison oak.

On a scale of 1 - 10, the itching was somewhere north of 3000. Couldn't scratch because my skin would slough off......hot water was the only relief I could get, but it had to be hot enough to scald, so it was doing more damage than good.

That shit was in my hair, up my nose, face, neck, both arms......I still have scars on my arms and hands, and I damaged my lungs to the point that running PT was almost impossible for over a year. I never fully recovered from that incident.


I won't even touch a piece of pine without a mask and gloves now, and I have completely given up working with any kind of exotic wood.


So yeah. Wear your mask.

Damn... That sounds horrible, like you are lucky to be alive.

 

[SanPatHogger]

I've got 5 acres in south Texas. I mow 1 acre and both sides of our private road. The big stuff on the other 4 acres grows, dies, gets overgrow, dies and grows again several times a year. If I mow that stuff I have a super bad alergic reaction, hard to breath, scratchy eyes all the bad stuff, but really bad. If I wear a N95 I have alost no reaction.
Funny, I decided a couple years ago I wasn't going to mow the big yard anymore. So the N95s from before the plandemic are still in the cabinet.
I'll wear a mask for cutting moldy field grass, but not some bullshit....

 

[K470]

If you decide you want to or need to wear a respiratory, whether it is a N95, half-face, full-face or you go for the high end with PAPR please make sure it is NIOSH approved. There is a lot of data out there that the chi-com and other third world country produced masks do not protect you at the level they should. Not all of them are bad but if you are trying to protect you respiratory system don't take chances.

Also make sure you have the right type of filter media. N95's filter particulates but not gases or mists. Some filters only filter certain types of gases and vapors so match the filter to the material you want to filter.

When I was young, I was ten feet tall and invincible. As I got older I have learned that all of those things that I was too macho to protect myself against can come back to haunt you. Death by a thousand cuts, it all adds up as you get older. Lungs, eyes, hearing they all get affected.

 

[sirhrmechanic]

I used to enjoy woodworking. I never worried about PPE beyond safety glasses and leather gloves for rough work because I had never had a problem before.

25 years ago, I learned the hard way that I'm one of the 25% that's allergic to cocobolo.....and I'm EXTREMELY allergic. I made a beautiful set of grips for a pistol--my little Harbor Freight belt sander was used to shape and smooth them. Micro-dust was everywhere. I finished my grips, dusted myself off, took a shower and went to bed......

I woke up looking like I had gone a few rounds with Mike Tyson--every part of my body that wasn't covered was affected. My face was swollen so bad I couldn't open my eyes, and all around my eyes, nose and mouth, capillaries burst and looked like bruises. After a day or so, the swelling turned into weeping blisters like a bad case of poison oak.

On a scale of 1 - 10, the itching was somewhere north of 3000. Couldn't scratch because my skin would slough off......hot water was the only relief I could get, but it had to be hot enough to scald, so it was doing more damage than good.

That shit was in my hair, up my nose, face, neck, both arms......I still have scars on my arms and hands, and I damaged my lungs to the point that running PT was almost impossible for over a year. I never fully recovered from that incident.


I won't even touch a piece of pine without a mask and gloves now, and I have completely given up working with any kind of exotic wood.


So yeah. Wear your mask.

And there are some woods that are very toxic to lung tissue and carcinogenic at Chernobyl levels.

Don’t mess round with dust from exotic woods!!!

Sirhr