Breathe Deap the Gathering Gloom

[woodshop]

Well the Moody Blues might have said if first in their song... but is sure fits milling. While you do inhale more exhaust milling than regular chainsaw cutting because of the proximity of the saw to your face, its that super fine lung damaging sawdust containing umpteen chemical compounds from the wood that's the real bad guy. This is why I always wear a respirator when milling.

You only get one set of lungs...

 

[BobL]

Good point WS - I spent many years of my life studying and dealing with dust so I have a good understanding of those invisible nasties. Most people think that because they can't see it then it is not there. This is why having a dust collector (DC) inside a woodshop is so dangerous. Those things collect woodchips and let through nearly all the fine dust that cannot be seen. Unless a serious HEPA filter is used or the DC is located outside then that fine dust just accumulates and hangs around for days in these workspaces. I also realize you Northern Americans can't always vent to the outside in your chillier climes.

I'm about 3 miles from the Indian Ocean where I do most of my milling. By around 11 am on most days there is a stiff sea breeze called the Fremantle Doctor that comes in and does a great job of pulling the bulk of the fine dust away - I even orient all my logs so the doctor is behind me.

If I'm milling dry stuff with no breeze I use one of these.

Not the most comfortable bit of gear but better than a mask.

 

[AndyR]

Thanks for the pics WS.
I can't see myelf when I'm milling so it's a little hard to tell how much dust is in the air...

I used my respirator for the first time the last time I milled. It was soooo much better. I found that aside from the health aspects, my cuts were better using the RipSaw. I was just concentrating on the cut and not what was flying around in my face and going up my nose...Probably safer too. Much more likely to screw up trying to get through a cut quickly to get out of the dustcloud. I won't mill without it again.

And an added bonus, no headache and hung-over feeling the next day.

My 2 cents.

 

[Brmorgan]

Thanks for the pics WS.
And an added bonus, no headache and hung-over feeling the next day.

Haha, you too, eh? I wondered WTF was going on that first day-after. After feeling exactly the same the second time I clued in. I generally just use one of those cheap strap-on dust masks, but the softwoods I deal with don't have all those harsh tannins and other chemicals that some hardwoods have. And if the breeze is going the right way I even lose that for the sake of comfort.

 

[RPM]

Triton full face

Hey Bob how do you like that Triton outfit you show there? I've been looking for something similar for spray finishing (and should be using sometimes when woodworking) but had read a review recently that mentioned that curved face shield was hard to look out - it distorted your view? Have you experienced that problem?

Thanks....

 

[BobL]

Hey Bob how do you like that Triton outfit you show there? I've been looking for something similar for spray finishing (and should be using sometimes when woodworking) but had read a review recently that mentioned that curved face shield was hard to look out - it distorted your view? Have you experienced that problem?

Thanks....

View is fine, it is a little distorted but in an even sort of way, it feels a bit wide angle like but I got used to it in a couple of minutes. The main problem for milling is the ear muffs are not very good, well not as good as the Peltor 10Bs I normally use for milling, and I find I have to use ear plugs as well.

I also find it a bit claustrophobic when it's hot and the shroud sticks to my neck. That's when I wish the fan would deliver a bit more air than it does.

 

[woodshop]

Good point WS - I spent many years of my life studying and dealing with dust so I have a good understanding of those invisible nasties. Most people think that because they can't see it then it is not there. This is why having a dust collector (DC) inside a woodshop is so dangerous. Those things collect woodchips and let through nearly all the fine dust that cannot be seen. Unless a serious HEPA filter is used or the DC is located outside then that fine dust just accumulates and hangs around for days in these workspaces. I also realize you Northern Americans can't always vent to the outside in your chillier climes...

I do worry about this BobL... I have two 1200cfm and two 650cfm collectors feeding all my equipment and yes when they are running you can see the fine sawdust cloud coming from the filter bags. I did hang a couple of those squirrel cage in a box air cleaners from the ceiling, one on each side of the shop and wired them to turn on automatically when my dust collectors fire, but I know they are not getting it all either. My only other consolation is I do have a whole house fan on one side of my shop that opens up to the outside. It's pretty powerful, and when I turn it on (and have the door to my shop to the rest of the house open) it clears the air in the whole shop in a matter of minutes. Problem is as you say, in winter I end up sucking all the heat out of my house and venting it outside. Then if I forget to open the door when it is on or somebody closes it, that whole house fan sucks the pilot light to my water heater (also in the shop) out and couple hours later I'm out of hot water. Best option is to have one of those huge monster dust collectors situated outside, and then run tubing throughout the shop. Don't have room for that here now...

 

[king610]

The human lung and treachea are designed to remove dust with constant reverse action by the cilia.....Asbestos is unique will hook into tissues and not come out easily and has been a historical problem....long time hard work without smoking has been proven to remove most dust types......autopsies prove that...even inthe middle east that is full of dust storms and sandstorms...no smoke = generally clear lungs.

Black lung disease in coal miners and other forms of chronic obstructive disease from dust in the lungs is almost 100% from a secondary foreign matter that clogs and kills the cilia, not from the coal dust or wood dust but from the tar buildup from smoking and it is the tar buildup that captures the dust, whatever kind it is.....the big problem is smoking and sticky tar buildup..I have seen a lot of lungs clogged with tar from smoking and that tar is loaded with pollen, dust, crap and other **** that is trapped in the la brea tar pits the lungs turn into and is a likely source of the lung cancer... people who don't get the dust but smoke, generally just get emphysema...
The most tragic is the guy who has emphysema and gets his lungs cut in half to restore function and then starts smoking again.....so dust collection is good for everyone, but best for smokers for sure.........

 

[woodshop]

...I have seen a lot of lungs clogged with tar from smoking and that tar is loaded with pollen, dust, crap and other **** that is trapped in the la brea tar pits the lungs turn into and is a likely source of the lung cancer... people who don't get the dust but smoke, generally just get emphysema...

Interesting... are you in the medical field by any chance or have you studied this? Tell us more.

Actually what worries me is not so much the "clogging" of my lungs. I do know that cilia evacuate dust and small debris over time. My worry is the chemicals in some of the wood dust. Some wood, like pink ivory for example, has been known to bring on respiratory problems quickly in some people, and turners are advised to wear protection when turning on the lathe. Western redcedar is on the list of workplace carcinogens because it has been shown to cause nose and throat cancer among other things. It's the chemical makeup of the wood I'm most concerned about, and the fact that super fine particles of it are drawn down in to my lungs. The fact that it will eventually be cleared out by my body is not much consolation to me in those cases.

 

[AndyR]

I was actually concerned more about breathing the burned or partially burned (as many of us run our milling saws a little "rich")fossil fuels. Seems like that would be the bad stuff...

Though I do remember my dad talking about eastern red cedar being kinda bad at least as an irritant—if I remember correctly.

 

[Brmorgan]

Yep I personally know a guy who got a permanent partial pension from WCB because he developed an allergy to cedar dust when the mill used to do cedar years ago, and it eventually got to the point where any sawdust would basically give him an asthma attack, so he couldn't work there anymore. And I'll also say that Cedar splinters/slivers are the absolute worst, they only take a couple hours to fester and get inflamed and sore.

 

[Backwoods]

Toxins in the western red cedar are not the problem. The fibers of the cedar have hooks that work like porky pine quills causing irritation and bloody noses in some people.