What you need to know about your dust mask or respirator

can a bugger kill you I'm talking about those dust burgers you get after you've been in the workshop if dust plugs your nose what does it do to your lungs according to the CDC sawdust is a group 1 carcinogen the same classification as asbestos of course they also classify red meat and alcohol as a group 1 carcinogen and I refused to give the hose up but I don't recommend that you consume steak and booze on an industrial level and likewise if you work in an industry where you inhale lots of sawdust without protection you may get cancer but what about the rest of us and our small woodworking shops are we safe to inhale all that s we want no because wood dust causes respiratory illnesses like asthma and bronchitis and far greater numbers than cancer some folks never have a problem others I find for years but then it catches up to them later in life they wish they'd taken better care of themselves when they were younger my point is what we do today can affect the quality of our life in a big way tomorrow so why take the risk when it's so easy to protect our lungs these are common forms of lung protection but they're not all equal each has its own set of pros and cons and choosing the right one for you can make a big difference let's start with a simple paper or cloth mask these are cheap and abundant and most of them are absolute junk you can identify the worst ones by the straps if it only has one strap it's not going to fully seal on your face and if it leaks you may as well not be using it even the two strap models are difficult to seal in my opinion they usually leak around the nose despite that little metal strip that's supposed to customize the fit if it fogs your glasses it's leaking here's another thing you need to look for in a dust mask the NIOSH rating this is a national standard that tells you how effective the mask will be assuming that it seals fully on your face it's always an N and R or a P followed by a number between 95 and 100 the number indicates how effective the filtration is for example in 95 will remove 95% of particles larger than 3/10 of a micron if the numbers higher it'll remove more of those particles the letter lets you know how resistant the mask is too oily now we're not talking about fumes from oil finishes we're talking about petroleum such as you may find in a machine shop if petroleum from your hands or the air gets on or in the filters of a mask it can degrade them an N rating means it has no resistance to petroleum degradation and R means it's petroleum resistant and a P means it's petroleum proof and for no R for resistant P for proof this confuses some people so I want to be clear don't buy a P 100 rated mask and think you can breathe in fumes it will not protect you you need an activated carbon filter to breathe in fumes these NIOSH ratings only refer to particle protection not gas protection for woodworking and our or P are all fine ratings as for the number I try to get a hundred because I don't really see a need to breathe in 5% of the fine dust as I would with a 95 rated mask when I can just get all the dust with a hundred rated one do not wear a dust mask without a NIOSH rating and again I can't stress enough these things have to fully seal on your face to work or you may as well not have it on that's why a lot of people throw these away instead they use more substantial cartridge respirators like these they're made with a non latex rubber that's going to seal on your face really well unless you have a beard if you buy one of these larger ones there are some features that I highly recommend that you look for first you want an exhale valve that points downward this will help keep it from fogging up your safety glasses you also want one that's easy to take off and put on this one has a quick release on the front so you don't have to tighten and loosen the straps every time and keep in mind this style comes in small medium and large sizes if you go online and just add one to your cart without choosing a size you're gonna get a small and it's probably not going to fit you so keep that in mind this style takes cartridge filters which have the same NIOSH ratings for particle filtration you can also use the same mask to protect you from fumes if you swap to an activated carbon cartridge that makes this type of mask versatile but I find them too bulky to wear for long periods of time especially for just dust protection and that the filters kind of block my vision sometimes when I'm looking down at my work so I prefer a more compact mask like this one here it sort of combines the compact fit and comfort of a small paper mask with the protection of a bigger respirator it has the same rubber body to seal on my face well it has the downward facing exhaust on each side so I won't fog up my glasses and inside are replaceable filters with that 100 knighting but this is just for particle filtration not dust fumes I still use the larger respirator with activated carbon filters for wood finishing but most of us spend far more time sawing and sanding than we do finishing most of our time we only need dust protection so to me it's worth having a separate more comfortable mask for that purpose I can wear this for most of my work and then I can wear this when I'm working with finishes and solvents I'll put affiliate links to all these masks below this video so you can choose which suits you best whatever option you choose though the question is how often should you change the filters it's pretty simple if it gets hard to breathe change them an old filter isn't going to let find us through so there's no danger if you use it a little bit too long you'll know when it feels like it's beginning to restrict the airflow and that's when you change the filters I like to keep mine sealed in a bag or a case but that's not much of a factor with dust filters since you have to be pulling air through them to draw in the dust however if you have the activated carbon filters installed in a respirator you definitely want to seal those in a container because they will absorb from the air and go bad over time you'll know those are bad when you can smell fumes even though you're wearing your mask there are other mask styles out there so our cloth that can be washed others look like something you'd see someone wearing on a snowmobile my problem with many of these is they don't fully seal on your face you should be able to take off the filters cover the holes with your hands and suffocate yourself no air should get through if you can do that and the filters have a good - rating then it's a good mask otherwise this joke now before I wrap up I know I'll get questions from bearded woodworkers unfortunately there aren't a lot of options for you out there - me good enough isn't good enough the only thing that will fully protect you is a full face respirator I use this one when I'm turning and it's popular among bearded woodworkers for all workshop tasks because it has a fan inside that pulls air in through the top through filters and gently blows clean air down across your face inside this creates positive pressure so it doesn't have to seal completely around your chin and neck and I actually find that light breeze across the top of my face to be pretty nice and one hot day in the shop but they're not cheap I guess that's the price you beard folks pay for looking so nice again I'll put affiliate links to these masks below this video just click to expand the description I hope this information helps you breathe better in the workshop for many years to come if you sharpen your tools by hand do yourself a favor try one of trends' Diamond stones you can start with the card but before long you'll want a full Bend stone because these things cut fast they stay perfectly flat you can go from stone to strop to wood and be back to working under a minute I'll link to my favorites in the notes below this video wait don't go yet if you're new here please subscribe and remember to ring the bell I would really appreciate that give us a thumbs up or better yet leave us a comment I always read them and be sure to check out the latest issue of stumpy nubs woodworking journal it's always packed with tips tricks and tutorials designed to make you a better woodworker

Channel: Stumpy Nubs

Views: 93,792

Rating: 4.9685597 out of 5

Keywords: woodworking, stumpy nubs, tips, workbench, table saw, scroll saw, drill press, quick tip, band saw, bandsaw, lumber, hack, hand plane, sharpening, tormek, worksharp, diamond stone, water stone, wood turning, bowls, lathe, respirators, wood finishing, dust mask, niosh, lungs, health, lung cancer, 3m

Id: 0RMJ4T5BDHY

Length: 8min 16sec (496 seconds)

Published: Tue Dec 03 2019