Woodturning Online

HI , Im new to turning when i read all the things on toxic dust on exotics and even walnut , makes me wanna turn and run from turning , How much of this is hype , And what do i have to do to protect my self , Ive read even if your wear a respirator during turning that the small mircron dust stays in the air for hours in your shop , ALL HELP WILL BE APPRECIATED

Dust in the shop should not scare you away from turning but it is not something you want to ignore either. What you need is a good system to keep the air clean. Just think of it as another safety device like your face shield, albeit a much more expensive one. Typically it involves a respirator, dust collector, and air filtration system. These are items that you should have not just for wood turning but any activity that involves creating wood dust. How fancy they get depends on your shop and its ventilation. For instance if you did all your turning outdoors you could probably get away with some big fans to blow it all away from you as your turning. In fact I've read some studies that say a closed shop with even the best air filtration systems still has worse air quality that an open shop with just an average system.

That being said get the best you can afford and it all doesn't have to be at once. Unless you're allergic to a particular wood they probably wont effect you right away. Start with the respirator, keep it on when you're in the shop. When your done clean it and hang it outside the shop, that way the dust wont settle on it. Go for the dust collection next and be sure to set it up so it works with ALL you're power tools, and then get the air filter for final good measure.

I think the word 'irritant' is more accurate ...and less frightening... that 'toxic'. Been turning for a gazillion years and only worried about protecting myself from dust for the last five and then with only ONE of the measures previously mentioned. Still alive and kicking. Does that help to keep the matter in proportion?
Best wishes for your turning future
Brian

Brian, with all due respect I have to strongly disagree with you. Wood dust is a topic that EVERY turner should take seriously, particularly when working with any wood not native to your local area (and even some of those). There are individuals, for example, who experience serious allergic reactions to certain exotics. I know of one veteran turner who absolutely CANNOT work around cocobolo. It would literally put him in the hospital, if not kill him. This is obviously an extreme example but it is not an uncommon one for many of the Dalbergia family of woods (many types of rosewood).

Other factors include the turner's own personal respiratory condition. Those with asthma, COPD, etc should be especially careful.

I don't say this to scare the OP but I do have to point out that wood dust is not a subject to be taken lightly. As Dale mentioned you should look into a multi-level attack that includes, at a minimum, something to filter the air in your shop and a device that offers you personal protection (BTW, a paper dust mask is NOT enough). Even something as simple as a box fan blowing it out the garage door makes an effective first start.

Don't let fear of dust keep you from turning but do keep a healthy respect for it and learn to control and minimize it where ever possible.

As you can see by the post above, there's plenty of hyperbole out there. Woods with good durability in contact with the ground, and woods with a lot of oil developed them to keep things from eating them. Pretty potent chemicals in there, and you share some biology at the cellular level (yes, evolution!) that can be affected in the same way. As a total organism, when your body gets busy making histamines and such, you can get VERY sick fast, and as the cokers and smokers can tell you, your mucosa are a quick way to get to the bloodstream.

So the real danger from dust is from what it carries, sort of like the real danger from diesels is the organic compounds on the carbon. The dust itself is cellulose - big sugar - and though workers in cotton mills who labored twelve hours a day in an opaque atmosphere often developed byssinosis, it didn't sicken or kill like those inorganic dusts or coal dust with the witches brew of chemicals it carries did.

A paper mask is an excellent and easy form of protection against even the finest dust. The pressure on any portion of the surface is insufficient to draw the particle through the labyrinth of unwoven fibers which compose the mask or all the filters you see out there made of felted material. Is 99% good enough? Yep, because if they get past that trap, they have to pass through the sticky hairs and cilia of your upper tract. We all know, when we blow our nose after long times unprotected in the hay mow, how efficient they can be!

So contact dermatitis, sensitization and histamines are real problems. You can even get the wheezes with a HEPA mask on when you crush and heat the wood with tools and boil out those organic irritants. Only answer is activated carbon then.

George, this is simply ridiculous. As usual you seem to delight in taking a contrary position even when it borders on the dangerous and irresponsible (and please don't resort to your "lead, don't follow" drivel). I won't argue the point with you (again) but will only advise the original poster to do their own research and not simply accept the opinion of anyone on this or any other discussion forum. Especially not when it comes to your health.

My opinion only but it seems the expensive respirators only blow the same size particles (under .3 microns) to your face.

Trend Respirator About $300 Primary replacement filter about $32 + the pre filters
Superior protection against harmful dust down to 0.3 micron with 98% efficiency.

3M Respirator Mask (N100 rating) $6.50 – 8.50
Removes up to 99.7% of unwanted particles. Comfortable respirator with N100 rating filters particles larger than .3 microns

The 3M are what I use. They fit snuggly with two straps (one around your neck, one over the ears). I do reuse mine. I just let them air out between uses. Do not store them in a baggie, there is moisture which you exhaled that needs to evaporate.

Mike

Woh, Mr N-addy. May I suggest you read my words again.
There are only two facts for you to disagree with. 1) My use of the word 'irritant'. (I did so because 'Toxic' paints a far too scare-mongering picture...In my opinion). Or, 2) That I survived.
There is absolutely no point in putting a newy turner off the hobby by frightening him half to death because of problems caused to someone else's pre-existing medical problems...He is, after all likely to already know if he has any of those and take the necassary steps.
Nobody is denying there is a dust issue but keeping things in proportion was and remains my aim.
Best regards from over here
Brian

Sometimes it seems that we should all run screaming to the bedroom and hide under the bed as we used to during thunderstorms, doesn't it? Of course, that was really no better a place to be, it just FELT better. Which pretty well describes all the measures, fear and trembling of the sickness unto death that goes along with exposure to wood and its dust.

Come out from under the bed and turn off the Oprah show and you will find that in wood, as in every other case, death is in the dosage. Minimize that with a deflection device - mask - or a filter device where pressure requires finer or thicker paper, and you will have nothing to fear from studies extrapolating from data collected on a population exposed to virtually opaque atmospheres six days a week and twelve hours a day. You're getting much less.

If you are sensitive, any dose is potentially dangerous, so you must take extraordinary measures, which should begin with avoidance, not protection. I wear my HEPA mask when I have to care for TB patients, because one bacterium could be a lethal dose, but otherwise, a bit of deflection will suffice. Can't avoid, though that would certainly be safer. The body is pretty good at taking care of itself if you don't allow it to be overwhelmed.

I, as you, Brian, came out from under the bed and noticed that what scared me was really pretty far away after all. As I grew and studied, I found out that simply not being a fool and standing in the open would keep me as safe as bedclothes and bedstead. BTW, you NEVER want to have to work on someone who's been the path for lightning.

This has been an interesting and important thread.
since i have started turning about a year ago, i quickly came to realize that certain woods affected my lungs and skin.

i started sanding certain woods (cedar, for example) and realized that i started caughing, and in some cases my arms started itching.

i think it important to point out what symptoms to watch out for while you are turning so you know if you may be allergic to certain woods.

i now always use a mast (a cheap one right now because of the high cost of good ones.) that i bought at Wood Craft. it definately helps me keep the wood fumes (so to speak) out of my lungs.

i have found it better to wear a long sleeve shirt or cover on my body to keep the shavings off of my arms.

i have also found that my alergies get worse with repeat and or longer exposer.

be sensitive to you body while turning. if you start caughing or itching, stop and do something to stop exposier or it will get worse.

also there are some exotic woods that are know to have a very high possibility of causing alergies.
be carefull while turning these woods.