Dust Mask.. Which one do you use?

[Pakaderm]

I'm just starting to get into WW. I'm very careful to wear hearing and eye protection, but I've never thought about wearing a dust mask. What is your dust mask procedure? Wearing it the whole time you're in the shop, only when actually making sawdust? Do you wear the masks for hours at a time?

Thanks,
-Pak

[BigguyZ]

For me, it depends largely on what material I'm using and what operations I'm doing. For MDF, the dust is very fine and will stay suspended in the air long after a machining operation is completed. Especially with routing- that get's dust flung clear accross the shop because it stays in the air until the currents in the room move it 30 feet away. I'm careful with natural woods too, but find they aren't as bad as MDF, IMHO.

[Popeye]

Nose hair. If 35 years of smoking don't kill then....... (I'm three years smoke free BTW) Yeah yeah yeah, I know..... Pat

[radhak]

I bought the 3M respirator for $19 from Walmart (this pic does not show the filter on top of the cartridge), and find it pretty nice to fit, and easy to breathe thru. I try to wear it anytime i do something with wood (even moving it around), and at times have realized I have it on quite some time past the last cut/rout/sanding activity.

I dunno what the micron rating is for this filter; and researching for it i am not able to find filters for it. Anybody know if i could use other filters?

[Richard in Smithville]

I use the 3M disposable masks that I get from work. They are rated to handle silca so they should be just fine for even fine sawdust. I wear them all day at work so it's no big change to have one on for the whole time while I'm in the shop. The only time I don't wear the paper mask is when I'm finishing, and then I use a ceramic filter mask for the nasty stuff.

[Kristofor]

I tend to leave a dust mask on the whole time. Of the big 3 wearable safety items (mask, ear protection, eye protection) it's the one that doesn't really bother me at all.

If I wear goggle masks they tend to fog up and drive me nuts no matter which mask I use (full of hot air I guess). If I wear the sunglass style (less protection) they seem to be fine so that's the route I tend to go more often than not.

Hearing protection doesn't bug me on it's own, but I like to be able to listen to the radio between power tooled activities so those to go on and off too.

[Slik Geek]

What is your dust mask procedure? Wearing it the whole time you're in the shop, only when actually making sawdust? Do you wear the masks for hours at a time?

Pak,
I learned the hard way that saw dust can mess up your health. I'd recommend wearing a mask rated at least NIOSH N95 any time you are making sawdust and then for a couple hours afterwards, assuming that you have a room air dust filter to help eliminate the bulk of the dust that hangs in the air.

The CoolMax dust masks are cost effective and the most comfortable that I've used.

See my post (#9) in the following thread:
http://www.bt3central.com/showthread.php?t=26609

Also see my posts (#15,#22 and #26) in the following thread:
http://www.bt3central.com/showthread.php?t=26365