87 – Dust In Time
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The most common topic request for Safety Week was dust and respirators. So here’s a quick review of the dust and fumes that can make our lives miserable in the shop, and why we need respirators for pro-active protection. And below you will find a links to the exact respirator setup I like to use: the 3m 7500 Series.
The link below is for large, but you can select a different size here: Small, Medium, Large. And don’t forget the upgraded pink filters and the special adapter.
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[...] followed TWW’s advice and purchased the 3M 7500 series half facepiece respirators, along with 3M NIOSH-approved [...]
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Thank you for not naming this episode “Dust in the Wind”
Great information Marc. I know I’ve learn all that stuff at work years ago, but have forgotten it or never thought to apply it to what I do at home. I have to admit, I don’t use dust control nearly ass often as I should. Thanks a lot, very good reference material.
The manual covers a fit test that you can do at home. If you cover the intake ports and inhale slightly the mask should pull in and not leak. If you cover the exhaust and exhale slightly it should inflate a bit and not leak.
It is not as good as using the fit tester but it is better than assuming it fits.
I have a delta 2 stage dust collector and a 20′ long 6″ hose from Rockler (the new one expandable one with the grounding wire built in.
When I stick this sucker in my 10″ Powermatic cabinet saw I start getting little shocks. How can I stop this as I feel I am going to start a fire at the most and at the least its annoying to keep getting shocked.
Thanks!
Hey Marc,
You made a good point about proper fit and facial hair. I have to occasionally wear a respirator as part of my job. The NIOSH fit test is very rigorous, and if you have a five o’clock shadow, you will fail. It doesn’t matter if you can pass the hand over the intake suction test, the NIOSH leak detector is more sensitive.
The point is, if you have a beard, or a heavy afternoon growth, you are not protected by an air purifying respirator. What you need is a PAPR, or Powered Air Purifying Respirator, like the Trend Airshield, or the 3M BreathEasy.
Tom
Neil took the words out of my mouth. I do the same test fit everytime I put it on to make sure I am sealed. I have this same respirator and have been using it for over 3 years. I can attest to the comfort, I often wear it for hours on end and it fits comfortably underneath a lathe face shield.
WHAT?! YOUR FACE BALD! WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR SOUL PATCH!
facial hair aside, great video, I definitely have to get that respirator, I have had days where I could feel the sawdust in my lungs! Not a great feeling, and it can’t be healthy.
haha, I shave the other day for the coping video so its just now growing back.
Hi Marc,
I’ve been following you since your first post a couple of years ago and I have to admit that you still surprised me with this one, really great content for the topic.
I do have one question. What is the microns rating for the respirators or are they so fine grained that it does not matter?
Hey Jorge. Most of the particulate filters go down to 0.3 microns. Plenty of filtration for woodworkers.
Marc, another great post. I purchased my first respirator this morning. Just trying to follow your lead in safety. Now, I watched the video tonight and I’ll upgrade my filters ASAP.
Thanks.
I have a question, my initial inclination would be no, but I’m going to ask anyway.
Does the filter have any noticeable resistance to breathing, I was thinking that choking down the space that the air has to penetrate might offer some resistance, I imagine it may become more noticeable as it clogs. I don’t imagine that it would be hard to breath with it on per say, but almost like on a delay if you get what I mean?
I have worn my respirator all day on certain occasions and have never really had any problems. So I don’t notice much breathing resistance. It is there……but very slight.
Hi Marc!
Thanks for this video.
I just would like to share my little experience about the dust masks (the white ones).
A few years ago, I did some work in my house and uses these white dusts masks while cutting red bricks with a grinder.
First I bought “cheap” ones available in big hardware stores.
I noticed that at the end of the day, I had red dust outside but inside the mask too!
I had the opportunity to buy a box of several ones in a professional hardware store.
After a day using them, I had red dust outside, but still pure white inside!
Okay, this does not mean that it filtered all the dangerous fine dust but I can tell, there is dust masks and dust masks.
My 2 cents.
Marc -
Great video on dust masks. Liked it so much, I ordered the exact set-up from amazon yesterday. The adapter cover was hard to find. Hope it all goes together.
Are you saying that if I am only in a dust environment, I can get by with just the mask and the pink pads?
Yes, that’s correct. When you have the pink pads on, you are essentially wearing a very expensive (but very effective) dust mask.
Another great video marc
I have the same respirator Marc does and I won’t sand anything without it. It’s pretty amazing how well it works. It is very comfortable as Marc said. If you wear it long enough though, sometimes it will give you a sore neck just from the little bit of extra weight. I highly advise getting one if you don’t have one already.
Hey Marc,
Another good video with a couple of smiles thrown in. I like that.
After spending 30 years in safety in the mining industry I would say you you did your research and did a nice job on the subject.
Keep ‘um comin’.
Jim
Great video, Marc!
The setup I use is pretty close to yours, so I’m pretty sure I’m OK (cough, cough, wheeze wheeze) but it’s nice to know what other (cough hack gurgle) options are available.
My wife suggests to DEFINITELY lose the ‘soul patch(?)’ – your best look is clean shaven. I say, “To thine own self be true, bro!” Pasta Power.
Peace.
haha, the day I become concerned about my “best look” is the day monkeys fly out of my butt.
Thnks Marc,
We bought the 3M solution you mentioned.
With hundreds of masks and thousands of filters and adapters on the market it’s a real time saver to get a simple advise what to buy.
Marc,
One of the best vids yet. Thanks for passing along your knowledge. I did some poking around and I’m interested in your input/confirmation. I’ve not seen you do it but it appears you are wearing your organic vapor cartridges and your P100 particular filters (2091) at the same time? You include the adapter to accomplish this. I just found a cartridge filter that I think combines these 2 without using an adapter. Check out the 3M Cartridge/Filter 60921, Organic Vapor/P100. I think it will do both.
http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/Health/Safety/Products/Catalog/?PC_7_RJH9U5230GE3E02LES9MG812H2_nid=GSC5D699D8gsF3RH7CD92NglXWCV729DS2bl
Honestly Keith, I have never seen that setup before so I cant really comment on it. But one concern i have is it doesn’t allow you to use the particulate filters alone.
I agree. I like the idea of using the particulate filters alone too, but I thought this would be a compact and convenient option for those times when you want both. I have both of them on order, so I will test it.
awesome video Marc…I was having a hard time understanding why the P100 wasn’t fitting over the 1st stage, and how that would work with the gaps around the back side…then it hit me (duh)….it all comes through the intake port. I’ve got the 7500, and will pick these up (through your store of course). Thanks for the great video man…
Another question Marc – how do you know when the vapor cartridge needs to be replaced?
Hey Gary. Very good question. Here’s my theory on it. If you can smell the fumes, its definitely time to change cartridges. If you can’t smell anything, they must still be working. Based on that “theory”, the cartridges will last a LONG time. So long, in fact, that I get nervous and start to question my own theory, lol. So just to be safe, I replace mine about every 6 months or so.
Marc,
What is the 3M part # for that adapter / cover to attach the particulate filter to the activated carbon canister? Your Amazon links are broken…
The part is listed as #502. But I am not sure whats going on with the links. They work fine on my end.
Marc,
Discovered your podcasts last weekend, been watching all week to catch up with the crowd, and I made it! Loved the refresher on respitory protection. One note about the activated carbon filters, I have been advised by many safety product suppliers to air tight bag your carbon filters as they will continue to absorb VOC’s from the ambient air reducing service life, if you are cheap like most me, a large zip lock bag to put your mask in is the ultimate cheap!
Seems like there is no one at Amazon selling the adapters that allow putting the particulate filter on the carbon filter. … Bummer.
I hope they will be back soon.
Again, another great video.You already covered when to change the vapor filter, but what about the pink pad?
With all the people who are purchasing the exact mask as you, you could start your own Pink Woodworker Stormtrooper army. We will have to call ourselves the Woodtroopers to avoid copyright laws. We can take over the world, I tell you. One table saw at a time.
Well that also depends on use, but I swap mine out about every 6 months.
A pink stormtrooper army! lol awesome!
Remind me to share with you a technique taught to us in the Marine Corps regarding NBC defense and the donning of gas masks.
Jdog has another question What is an oil-based aerosol? is wiping varnish an oil based aerosol?
Thanks,
Jdog
Are we talking like athletes now?
Well The Wood Whisperer has an answer for Jdog. An oil-based aerosol would be something like a spray polyurethane. So wiping varnish is not an aerosol. The Wood Whisperer thanks Jdog for his question.
jdog says your welcome and thanks you for answering his increasingly frequent questions.
Okay here goes: when donning and clearing a gas mask, and the same principle should apply here, you put the mask on, cover up the exhaust (make sure it’s completely plugged) and exhale strongly. This will (should) expel any contaminated air from inside the mask. The second thing you do is cover up the intake valve (or whatever you call it, but make sure it is completely plugged) then you inhale. Since you have covered up the valve, this won’t work, and you’ll just suck the mask into your face. Now that I’ve written all this, I realize it probably doesn’t matter. I guess I thought that it was good to know for testing the fit of a respirator. If you have a good fit, and a good seal, then when you inhale you suck the mask to your face. The exhale part is really only good for actual gas mask type stuff when you are trying to make sure that any possible poisonous gas inside your mask is expelled. Just in case you wanted some pointless information.
“.. the second thing you do is cover up the intake valve (or whatever you call it, but make sure it is completely plugged) then you inhale. Since you have covered up the valve, this won’t work, and you’ll just suck the mask into your face.”
This is what we did at the refinery, too. Cover up the filter ports and suck in, the mask should suck to your face.
Marc,
Wondering what you would do in the case of 20-25 students in a shop where someone is sanding. The budget doesn’t allow for respirators for 20-25 stdents.I’m concerned !Even if I had 10 and they were shared I’d be worried about germs and H1N1 !
Cal
Well the best you can do in that situation is have good dust collection on the sander and have the students use decent quality disposable dust masks. Have each person write their initials on the front of the dust mask and you should be in good shape.
Three words: liability release forms :)
Marc,
I just received my respirator, the organic vapor cartridges, and the pretty pink 2091 3M filters and also my Dewalt anti-fog safety glasses.
What I forgot to order was the adaptor that allows the pink filters to attach to the organic vapor filter.
Do you have a link for that? Did I miss something in the video. I don’t recall you specifically saying a part number.
Thanx,
shotgunn
Here’s a link to our Amazon Store. The Safety section has the adapters: http://astore.amazon.com/thewoodwhispe-20?_encoding=UTF8&node=229
Hey Marc, love the site! Another great video! A while ago you posted about a 6 month time span for use before replacing filters. About how many hours per day do you spend wearing it? I am a professional woodworker and I can see wearing mine for around 4-6 hours a day. Do you think 6 months is still around a good amount? Also, what is a good way to store it when not in use? (I wonder if they make a straw attachment to drink beer…) Anyway, thanks for another great video!
Sawdust and splinters,
Christopheralan
Hey Christopheralan. I used to change mine every 3-4 months when I was working in the shop full time. I don’t know if that’s too much or too little, but it seemed right to me. :) At the end of the day, i would use a little compressed air to clean the entire mask off and blow any surface dust off the fiters. But I don’t put too much air pressure on the filter itsef, just enough to knock off surface dust. And a straw attachment sounds like a great money-making idea! ;)
Marc, Thanks again for the video. I got my mask with pinkies today and it works great. It smells kinda funny, but it goes away after a while. It fits great and thanks for the advise!
Hey Marc,
Cheers for the great video. I’m a painter and have been using 3M halfface 7000 series for several years.
My question: Have you come across a pair of safety glasses that actually fit the 7000 series? All the ones I’ve tried sit incorrectly on the nose-bridge of the mask and are not ‘deep’ enough, i.e., there is a gap between the bottom of the glasses lens and the mask.
any ideas?
cheers, vinny
Unfortunately, no Vinny. I just kind of deal with the imperfect fit. So I have yet to come up with a better solution. To be honest, I haven’t tried very hard either. Let me know if you come up with something good.
Marc,
I have a question regarding this mask and filter… when do you change the pink filter?
Thanks.
Phil
Its going to depend on your usage, but I usually change them out every 6 months.
Hi Marc,
Great video. Been searching all over the web for good concise information.
One question, people have recommended also using a face shield when turning wood. Will the 3M 7500 with the pink filters fit under a std face shield?
It can. Depending on the particular face shield you use, the fit might be a little tight. But I’ve done it successfully.