Asthmatic survival at community shop

[srzsrz]

Today I took the safety class to be able to use the 12" Jet combo jointer/planer at Techshop in Menlo Park. Fortunately, the machine works well and is in good repair and the guy who showed me how to use it was very helpful. Unfortunately, after just a half hour in that shop, I have a splitting headache. It's just too dusty. I really want to do this project, but my lungs and nose don't agree. Admittedly, I already have sinusitis, but given what I know about my body (I had asthma as a kid and still have allergies), there's just no way I'm going to be in there for hours on end even if I wait for that to be addressed (I'm working on it; the ENT has set a 3-week ultimatum for drug treatment after which he threatens surgery, but the bacteria in my head have been nonplussed so far by his posturing.)

So I have two options. Either I give up and live with the fact that if I want to use any big stationary woodworking equipment, I'm going to have to buy it and use it where I can control dust levels by either installing good dust collection or wheeling things outside (quite feasible in California). Or I find some way to survive in the Techshop woodworking room.

I really want to give that second option its best possible shot at success, and I would appreciate your advice. I hear that the Trend Airshield Pro is the bees knees for this purpose. Is it really good enough to allow an only partially recovered asthmatic to survive in a traditional wood shop? Or should I save my $400 and just accept I am stuck setting up an expensive dust-free shop in my garage?

 

[jonathan-m]

as a fellow asthmatic, I recommend you get a respirator with hepa filter. Admittedly the sweating that thing causes is annoying as hell, but hey...

 

[TinyTiger]

Today I took the safety class to be able to use the 12" Jet combo jointer/planer at Techshop in Menlo Park. Fortunately, the machine works well and is in good repair and the guy who showed me how to use it was very helpful. Unfortunately, after just a half hour in that shop, I have a splitting headache. It's just too dusty. I really want to do this project, but my lungs and nose don't agree. Admittedly, I already have sinusitis, but given what I know about my body (I had asthma as a kid and still have allergies), there's just no way I'm going to be in there for hours on end even if I wait for that to be addressed (I'm working on it; the ENT has set a 3-week ultimatum for drug treatment after which he threatens surgery, but the bacteria in my head have been nonplussed so far by his posturing.)

So I have two options. Either I give up and live with the fact that if I want to use any big stationary woodworking equipment, I'm going to have to buy it and use it where I can control dust levels by either installing good dust collection or wheeling things outside (quite feasible in California). Or I find some way to survive in the Techshop woodworking room.

I really want to give that second option its best possible shot at success, and I would appreciate your advice. I hear that the Trend Airshield Pro is the bees knees for this purpose. Is it really good enough to allow an only partially recovered asthmatic to survive in a traditional wood shop? Or should I save my $400 and just accept I am stuck setting up an expensive dust-free shop in my garage?

I'll weigh in with my $0.02 (Certified Safety Professional in a chemical plant): 

You're not stuck at all, and there is a way to help you survive their shop.  I deal with asthmatics and respiratory protection every work day.  I'm not sure what types of respirators you have tried previously.  The biggest benefit to the Trend Airshield is it 1) Provides built-in eye and face protection from flying objects along with some dust/particulate protection, and 2) Provides a flow of air with a small built-in fan to make it more comfortable in use.  The downside is it can get hot to wear in warm weather.  If you're looking for the built-in shield for turning as well as general woodworking, go for it.  If you're just looking for good respiratory protection, you don't need to spend that much to get protection as good or even better than the Airshield. 

The place to start for day-to-day woodworking use is an N95 Particulate Filter.  These are available in standard dust mask form with two straps (such as the 3M 8210).  Definitely stay away from the one-strap model!  Better ones have nice foam face seals for comfort and a little plastic valve built into the front that makes it easier to exhale through (such as the 3M 8211).  If you're going to be wearing it for hours, that little exhalation valve makes a lot of difference in how comfortable it is to breathe through, and they are available for less than $5 each.  If you'd rather have a rubber half-face mask, they are available with N95 filter cartridges that you can change out (I have one of this type that I use).  The other nice thing about the rubber half-face mask is you can get organic vapor cartridges for painting or applying finish that will fit on the same mask.  The rubber half-mask respirators are available for $15-$50.

If that type of protection isn't enough, you also have the option of going with an N100 filter (they filter out up to 99.9% of particles down to a few microns in size).  The N100s are also available in the same dust mask forms or in cartridges for the rubber half-face mask.

I hope this helps give you some other options.  Let us know what you decide on.  Whatever it is, stay healthy!

 

[Jesse Cloud]

Couple of things....
I, too, have pretty much given up on community shops.  For me that means no more classes at the junior college.  They do what they can to manage dust, but they still have lots of bad practices - sanding with no dust control, blowing dust away with compressed air, etc.

Its worth investing in your own shop.  In addition to masks and respirators, get a good dust collector and an air scrubber mounted on the ceiling.

Another option you might try before investing in a jointer is having the material milled at the lumber yard.  Inconvenient, but cheaper than the big machines....

And the ENT surgery is definitely worth it.  Stuff that used to send me into spasms are just barely annoying now.

Good luck!

 

[Stone Message]

If you need more information about the Trend Airshield Pro then take a look at my video review:



I will be also looking at the 3M Versaflo soon but cannot predict when the video will be complete.

Peter

 

[jacko9]

Prior to installing my Oneida V-System for dust control, I had similar issues with dust .  My allergist suggested a mask or filter but, those options here in California make for a hot sweaty work environment.  My allergists suggested that I consider using a salt solution nasal rinse after each shop session and that worked pretty good until I bit the bullet and went for the whole shop solution.  I purchased the nasal rinse at Kaiser but, most drug stores might carry the product.

Jack

 

[srzsrz]

Thanks guys! Your answers are very helpful. It's especially reassuring to know that I am not the only person in this situation.

Based on your replies and some more googling, I decided that to find out if a respirator would solve my issue, I wouldn't need to immediately go and spend a fortune, since the main advantage of the fancy powered respirators is comfort, not effectiveness (provided you have no beard). So I got the best respirator at the local Home Depot (a $40 3M with a P100 filter) and 23 board feet of European Steamed Beech and I'm off to the shop after I finish this post. I'll keep you posted as to the results of the experiment. Hopefully, I'll return with a slightly sweaty face and the beginnings of a table top, and then I can decide whether to blow cash on a jointer/planer with high-end dust collection or on a fancy respirator that might be comfortable in the California summer. Or both, or neither.

(Actually, the dust collection on the jointer/planer at Techshop is pretty good. It's the various saws in the same room that are the problem, both because they don't have good dust collection and because they get used all the time. And I'm afraid the problem may not have an easy solution in a community shop, because doing good dust collection on some of those tools really requires not just upgrading the equipment but also using it in certain particular ways and not others. The staff have their hands full just teaching everyone how to use the machines without cutting off their fingers...)

As for nasal rinses: I have the Grossan irrigator and use it whenever my nose gets stuffy. It's one of those medical innovations that I wish had been around when I was a kid and I had these issues much, much worse. I fill it with drug store brand neti pot powder (which is just salt and baking powder in convenient packets) and distilled water. Works a charm. I would anyone with any sort of upper respiratory problems try out the cheap battery powered version.

 

[srzsrz]

Just came back. As predicted, the sweating was ridiculous, but I got all the boards done (to S3S, anyway) and my nose and sinuses are, well, obviously still not great, but no worse than before I started, which was the point. In the long run, I'd love to create myself an alternative that isn't so dirty and dusty and noisy, but for now, it works, and I can have my table top. The grain in the beech is already starting to look very pretty and I can't wait to see it when it's all sanded and finished.

 

[TinyTiger]

Excellent!  You should be able to enjoy your craft without suffering for it.  [big grin]

 

[ShawnRussell]

What about the Dust Bee Gone masks? Are they effective enough based on particulate size?  http://dustbeegone.com/dustmask.html

 

[AlexThePalex]

Isn't a respirator a bit of overkill for this application? Respirators are meant against airborne chemicals (nano scale or smaller) and not necessarily for fine dust (micro scale). Of course they work very good for fine dust too, but you'd think fine dust masks like Shawn linked to above should be good enough. I know from experience that wearing a respirator for a longer period is very tasking.

 

[TinyTiger]

Those are great questions - It's not overkill at all!  The best protection is to use dust collection and collect it at the source before it gets into our breathing zone, but if that isn't an option then personal protective equipment is a must.  The Dust Bee Gone Masks are fine for filtering out the larger particulates, but they don't have tight enough seals to filter out the finer stuff that goes deep into the lungs and triggers problems in susceptible people (like asthmatics).  The susceptible folks need those tighter seals!

Another thought is that some of the woods we use are "sensitizers" and can cause allergic reactions after repeated exposures.  Cedar is one of the worst, but there are many others.  How much does it take to cause health effects?  It's different for different people.  What types of particulates cause the problems?  Yep - The smaller stuff!  It just makes the most sense to protect ourselves as much as we can so we don't start having problems down the road.

Remember when we are talking about "respirators", we are talking about both the dust mask-type AND the rubber type with replaceable cartridges.  Both types qualify.  A lot of people don't think of the dust-mask type as a respirator, but it is.

One of the best indicators of the quality of respiratory protective equipment is whether it is approved by NIOSH (the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health).  NIOSH-approved devices are put through rigorous testing and are proven to be effective.  If a device doesn't have a NIOSH Approval on the label, think carefully about whether it will protect you adequately.