First, excellent video to bring awareness to an important issue. I'm an environmental engineer for my day job and there are a few additional thoughts I would add to this video. First, an air purifying respirator (APR) such as the half face shown should be the last line of defense. On our job sites we typically protect ourselves from inhalation hazards first by engineering controls such as fans, air filter units, dust extractors, downdraft tables, etc. (all are available to the woodworking/maker community from many manufacturers). These tools help to move air and keep the hazard away from our breathing zone. We also wear an APR as a precaution, but engineering controls can, if used properly, often remove most if not all of the hazard. APR cartridges (P100 and organic vapor as shown in the video) have both a shelf life and use period restrictions. Please use your organic vapor cartridges (for VOCs) within the timeframe the manufacturer recommends and don't use the same cartridge (P100 or organic vapor) beyond its designed use period. These cartridges don't last forever and need to be changed out. Depending on what you are doing and how many hours you are doing it (e.g. sanding a dining table through multiple grit papers, spraying many or large items in a small area with poor circulation, etc.), you may have to change cartridges more than once per day to maintain effective hazard control. Additionally, if you want to ensure the highest level of respiratory protection with an APR, then I recommend you get "fit tested" at an occupational health office for the right mask. My coworkers and I wear masks from different manufacturers because our faces are different shapes and sizes and masks from 3M, North, Scott, or others may seal against some face types while other brands may not seal properly. We shop around for sneakers, pants, and shirts to find the right fit, and we should for our protective gear too. Personally, I was tested for multiple masks in my early career before the "fit test" identified a mask that sealed to my face properly. I'm a hobbyist woodworker outside of my day job, but I use what I've learned about respiratory protection at my day job to keep my respiratory system protected at home too. Again, excellent video and I'm very glad to see such a video as this posted to TH-cam.
Thank you so much for your comments and additional details. It is much appreciated. I thought about discussing environmental engineering controls as you pointed out, it is the first line of defense. But it is such a nuanced topic and reasoning for why engineering controls are recommended for occupational exposure. Ultimately decided it was too in the weeds for a broad topic of this nature and focused on personal protection instead. But yes, you are absolutely right - Reduce stuff from being generated, capture at source, protect self are the progression.
> Depending on what you are doing and how many hours you are doing it (e.g. sanding a dining table through multiple grit papers, spraying many or large items in a small area with poor circulation, etc.), you may have to change cartridges more than once per day to maintain effective hazard control. For vapors, this makes sense: there's a finite amount of filtration capacity, and it gets used up as the filter adsorbs (or reacts with) the vapors. For particulates, I'm curious about the mechanism that could cause filtration to degrade over time, though. My understanding is that particulate filters get "clogged" over time, and that will increase the pressure required to get the same airflow rate. But it seems like getting clogged would just make it harder to breathe, rather than allowing particulates to move through the filter. Is the concern that as the pressure increases, air will flow around the filter, rather than through it?
@@brucechristensen With vapors, the effectiveness of activated carbon will fade with use and/or time, so it's important to change organic vapor filters even if it was only briefly used before it's next use days/weeks/months later. With particulate filters, how readily a filter fails due to mechanical clogging depends as how well the mask seals against your face. Assuming a good initial seal to your face, a clogged particulate filter may eventually lead to a broken seal and dust bypassing the face mask through where the mask seal has failed. The mask may fail to seal properly right away if the mask isn't the right mask for your face type, or only after the filter is significantly clogged and you are breathing more deeply. With organic vapor filters you can often tell a filter is "used up" as you can begin to smell vapors you couldn't previously. With particulate filters you may not readily tell that the seal has failed unless the seal has failed significantly enough that you can feel air through the area not sealed properly as you take breaths. It's important to perform a seal check such as the one shown by Suman, but even then you might consider changing particulate filters when you notice your breathing becomes more labored.
A friend at work, one of the very smartest guys I've ever known, retired and was looking forward to many years of woodworking in a special workshop that he'd put together. Three years later he was dead, thanks to wood dust inhalation. One of the saddest funerals I've ever been too because it was 100% preventable.
Wow. First of all, I am so sorry for this terrible loss. Secondly, Thank you for sharing... ! I am waaaayyy too casual about my own work exposures in this stupid "work warrior" mentality that I have. Thank you again.
I'm sure your story is false, but there's not enough info for us to know why it is. did he breathe dust in a machine shop? did he breathe radioactive dust somewhere? It wasn't three years of workshop hobbyist working.
I have been in the building trade's since I was 16 Years old, I'm now 80, and I have always worked in a well ventilated area, or out side. All trades people face these problems, a farmer breathes in dust all day, a welder tolerates the gasses generated while welding, there is a risk that comes with these professions, and common sense is the best way to deal with these problems. If your sawing in an enclosed area, and light a matched, you may suddenly be transported through the wall. Be aware of the dangers, wear a mask, ventilate, the work area, you'll live to enjoy your retirement. Glad you are making people aware, Great job..
Just a slight correction; the best way to test a respirator for a good fit is to actually cover the intake ports (single or double) and then try to breathe in. This is more true to what happens when you inhale. You are creating negative pressures inside the mask, which will cause any failure in the face seal to allow unfiltered air around the mask. When you exhale, you are creating a positive pressure, so even if you are creating enough pressure to push the mask away, you would also be pushing exhaled air through those gaps. My only other slight criticism comes from being a Firefighter. If you have facial hair, you are really gambling with your lungs with regular masks. I’d suggest positive pressure masks if that is the case. That way any seal leaks wouldn’t allow PM into the breathing space. If you look at FFs, any of us that have facial hair (and are certified to go into buildings), will have that hair shaved from the jaw line down the neck. This allows for us to still form a solid seal with our SCBA. Since the air we carry is limited, and the conditions extremely volatile, leaks are not tolerated.
This is a really solid point on fit test. Thank you for the correction. I added that segment into the video script last minute and should have been more careful. And agreed, positive pressure masks with filtration are significantly better because polluted air simply cannot get inside even with less than ideal seal with facial hair. Appreciate you watching and for your comment.
My husband is safety and rescue in the oil field, so my mind immediately went to the facial hair issue as well. I’m glad you explained it so that others can hopefully see it.
Yep, I have a beard, but if I know I'm going to be working with a respirator I know I have to have a clean shave. Actually 3M has a list of "acceptable beards" to wear with a mask... Unfortunately it's mainly just moustache or the pedo looking beard... so fresh shave is best.
Agree on the fit check. That’s how the military checks gas mask seals and in SCUBA (with an U) you check the seal of you mask (covering the eyes and nose).
In HS in the 80s we did not have any training on masks or air safety in wood or metal shops! They only said it was recommended to have a well ventilated area.
Wow, as a DIY growing my woodworking hobby, this is one of the most important videos I have seen. Balancing time, convenience, cost, and safety is challenging. I can tell you that most hobbyists think that we can get away with a few cuts on a weekend is professionals are spending days in dusty woodshops. Thank you for the video!
oh, wouldn't it be nice if he would actually keep his hands down when talking? Maybe that type of peace and confidence comes with time - getting out of comfort zone takes getting used to 🤷😁
A very good summery/safety video. I'm really glad you brought up the dangers of epoxy and laser equipment. A lot of youtubers in the "art-ish" section discovered the problems with epoxy the hard way and were left with serious damage to their lungs. Properly set up laser equipment is well grounded to a grounding rod (not just your ground wire on your plug, that is not to be trusted for the larger lasers) and ventilated to exit the space with a carbon filter. Lasers need special visual protection but you were concentrating on lungs. The stupid glasses they send with machines are NOT good enough. The best way to protect yourself is to enclose machine and use a camera for viewing. All those machines that are just a frame should all be enclosed, with carbon filter venting system. Do not look at laser with remaining good eye. I was surprised to find out that the particulates remained for so long after using the laser but I shouldn't have been. When I had a fire in my house (dishwasher had electrical short and took out my kitchen island) I was not allowed back in until they were able to clean the air with special filter/ozone machines and it took a couple of days for the machines to run.
Great video. I work as an industrial hygienist and agree with most of your recommendations and safety precautions. Well done. I’ve always wanted to make or see a video like this due to my interests professionally and personally and this did it for me. Well done.
I unfortunately just recently purchased an air quality meter for my newest shop. I work with wood, resins, and both Filament and Resin 3D printers. I've ALWAYS worked with exhaust fans running and although not always but more often than not, a mask on too. After I saw the readings from the air quality at the table I usually sit at, with no mask on, I quickly upgraded my exhaust system and switched my sitting location to a side of my shop that has fresh air intake. This is a fantastic video, great job! You're right about all of the people on the internet that make all of this stuff and you rarely see them wearing any kind of PPE. We need more videos pointing these dangers out. Be safe, creators! :)
I was aware of the eye hazards from laser cutters, it never occurred to me to be concerned about formaldehyde. I've just binge-watched a bunch of your TH-cam videos, and am now subscribed, liking and commenting on them. Consistently excellent content. Thank you very much. I very much look forward to more videos from you. Your quality and presentation are up there with Stumpy Nubs and Matthias Wandel.
There was a woman who got seriously ill from epoxy. She's a TH-camr who got into epoxy creations and she too thought epoxy was safe. Turns out her mysterious symptoms/illness, were side effects from epoxy. As you poiinted out, foul, strong chemical smells, are trying to tell you something and epoxy tends to have a foul chemical smell.
As a plastic engineer I can can only agreed to that! If Something smells not right, you should use safety Equipment or, at least, get into an open area. But pleased be also aware that there are a lot of chemicals that are not smelling, but also dangerous
@@rudlterranigma5386 Yeah it's not scentless and mild ones that get you. At least with the foul smelling ones, you know what you're dealing with. This is why mercaptin is added to natural gas and propane, to make it stink, because neither gas smells. And of course carbon monoxide is the really dangerous one, because it is also scentless and we cannot add a stinky additive to that. But CO detectors are life savers for that and cheap to buy,
@@BluegrassBriar Oh I've never heard of that stuff, but I looked it up and they sell a few products, that's cool. Cast resins, uncured epoxy remover etc.
Thank you for this video! Finally I have something to show my very careless colleagues and boss who all think I’m silly for wearing my respirator all day around in a shop working with epoxy, carbon fiber dust, fine sawdust and lacquer, I know this video will save so many lives if spread, can’t thank you enough 🙏🙏
tbh after buying one of those half masks I really quickly learned to love em! not only for woodworking but also for all kinds of other stuff that you normally don't think about: topping up kitty litter, re-waterproofing outdoor stuff, heck maybe even hairspray and deodorant is probably dangerous in the long run. thinking about it, eventually you should do a household item edition of this video too 🤔
Im glad you came up on my recommended tab. I'm a big advocate for safety in the shop. I've almost lost a couple friends to the big scary machines, and even the little hand held machines. I'll be sure to send them this video.
Great video! Lots of information to process. A suggestion: separate video for the laser information so its "laser" focused on their dangers. Think that will help the laser community see it and watch it. I'm definitely going to update my mask protocol! Been thinking about the hood systems and I feel this helps justify the costs. I also need to have spare filters on hand so its more convenient to put new ones in (and thus I'll do it). As to finishes claiming to be VOC free, I have to call BS. I feel this needs to be called out more (so thanks for doing that!). Really appreciate your testing and sharing the results. We need more of this! I know this is taking significant time and $ on your part, so again, THANK YOU! Also, can we have a moment of silence to remember Kyle's sacrifices for this video.... Kyle, we'll never forget you.
PROTECT THIS MAN AT ALL COSTS! Suman, you are a gift to all of us. Your videos are so good and so educational. You've helped me realize how many shortcuts I've taken thinking "it's no big deal"but they were doing more damage than I would have guessed. This will help me double-down on my commitment to safety and a cleaner, better shop. This is a terrific video and you do a great job, as always. Thank you, sir! 🙌🏼
Great video btw. I fully agree. I'm a union carpenter and spend 50+ hours a week in a woodshop. I'm one of the few who always wore n95's (except during the covid shortage) and probably should step up to a cartridge mask
I recently picked up an AirGradient sensor for my shop, with VOC, particulate, and a bunch of other sensors. It's been enlightening. My dust collection is actually pretty good (thank you Oneida and Festool) but it's definitely interesting to watch how fast the VOCs jump just from opening a bottle of isopropyl alcohol near the sensors, let alone something like Glidecote or an oil-based finish. Thankfully I have an exhaust fan that can refresh the air in a few minutes.
@@bensonboys6609 A lot? Glidecote uses acetone and naphtha as solvents, and the VOC sensor spikes significantly if I use that anywhere in my 600sqft shop. Thankfully the exhaust fan for the laser cutter can clear out the whole shop in 10-15 minutes.
Safety is almost always overlooked in every shop ive worked in, thank you for making this vid, even shops that are trying to be safe are usually just following the basics so they dont get a visit from "guys that fine you" its unfortunate but true, most employers care more about the bottom line & much less about the people making that bottom line increase, a visual of the toxicity of the air your breathing is something every business needs. Would be a nice purchase for at home shops too.
Outstanding, thank you. On a related subject we have an air quality monitor in the living room and cooking will cause its reading to flag the air as unhealthy. Opening the windows and creating an air flow quickly solves the problem. This is one of the reasons some new houses have an air exchanger, sometime with an advanced filtration system. I haven’t looked into the AQM you are using but from the research I’ve done the sensors in affordable ones have their limitations. Fortunately this is a rapidly evolving field as awareness grows. Thanks for contributing to this.
Yup. Cooking is known to contribute to poor air quality. Even more so, fireplaces. It’s actually an area of great scientific research and one of my former mentor in graduate school studied those matters on health outcomes.
Great video. I'm a young retired woodworker. I have been a woodworker for decades, but now have the time to spend more time at it. First thing I have focused on is dust and air quality. First thing is to improve dust collection at the source - tablesaw, jointer, planer, mitersaw, etc. Next, an air filtration system. Then, an air quality monitor to see how things are performing. I wear PPE when using machines - and if I see the air quality deteriorate, it's time to take a break leaving the air filter running. Next, and this could be controversial, but I am working hard to eliminate sanding which is the worst producer of fine particulates in my shop - at least based on monitoring my AQ monitor. Old school hand planes and other hand tools are a pleasure to use and have almost no impact on the measured air quality in my shop.
Very cool. Love the emphasis on mask seal. It took me a while to really understand how important that is. You can't get the benefit of great filter media like an N95 or N100 without a great seal. And I like that you demonstrated a user seal check. I'd be interested in a follow up with a demonstration of an industrial mask fit test. It's something that employees get under OSHSA requirements, but that many hobbyists and self-employed woodworkers have never had, or, in many cases, never heard of. I think it is an area of respiratory safety that OSHA underserves, mainly because they have no statutory authority over people who are self-employed or who or hobbyists. A fit test is even more sensitive than a user seal check, and the best way to know if your mask seal is really protecting you.
I did some mask fit tests at a previous job with that smoke irritant stuff. On a fit test for a simple P95 mask I thought I smelled something and they decided the fit must not be perfect. Then I did a fit test with a half mask that wasn't the right size and as soon as the smoke hit my nose it was instant coughing fit. That stuff will not let you think you have a good fit when you don't.
@@reaganharder1480 Yup, there is no missing the irritant smoke. I'm surprised it is still legal when there are safe alternative fit tests approved by OSHA, such as nebulized Saccharine or Bitrex. The irritant "smoke" is actually stannic chloride reacting with water vapor in the air creating a plume of stannic oxychloride and hydrogen chloride. The reaction is more toxic the more water there is in the air. I'd skip any future irritant smoke fit testing in favor of PortaCount quantitative fit testing or Saccharine or Bitrex qualitative fit testing (which you can taste, rather than a substance that causes you to cough because it is toxic).
I‘d love for these tests to be repeated with stuff like natural linseed oil, precooked linseed oil, cleaned linseed oil, fast hardening linseed oil, beeswax / carnaubawax pastes, …. Basically as many of the natural products as possible.
Then make it. I'd like to see gluten free furniture and vegetarian saw's. The natural /organic fad is super deceptive. There's either no standards or loose guidelines governing what's natural or organic. Most companies will add terms like "all natural", "gluten free", "organic", "responsibly sourced" among others they rarely mean anything. Although it makes most consumers think that their helping and in a way they are they are helping to keep product prices on the rise and helping millionaires become billionaires. All the woke people with their tofu and crystals are perpetuating a lot of bullshit, which just so happens to be all natural!
@@Eliwhygul772 I think most furniture is gluten free, wheat isn't a popular building material. Outside of a butcher shop most saws are vegetarian (wood). Generally agree, although this kind of thing isn't new with health products by any stretch. Back in the 80s cholesterol was the boogieman of health, and you'd see bags of potato chips with "now cholesterol free" labelled on them. Way back in the day there was the "snake oil salesman" selling "miracle tonics". Tapeworms were sold as the diet supplement of the day. I'm pretty sure "a fool and their money are soon parted" dates back to cavemen. That being said, while natural does not automatically equal healthy, most modern wood finishes are a sloshing puddle of toxic chemicals. This isn't conspiracy theory hippie nonsense, it's in the publicly available SDS of the products. I used to work in autobody, and you could tell the painters who started in the industry when PPE was for wussies, and they all had signs of neurological damage by the time they were in their 30s-40s. No thanks.
@@caseylaan8069 I never said that chemicals aren't toxic. I'm aware what a safety data sheet is as a matter of fact I used to work at a furniture factory in the stain booth. We wore our respirators and only drank the stain if we were really thirsty... lol. In all honesty I think there's bigger threats than my coffee table. Most municipal tap water has forever chemicals (fluorocarbons) , we burn gas, diesel and coal not to mention a whole lot of other shit. All plastics are petroleum products and we wear a lot of those. Half of our products are unregulated from China. So at the end of the day maybe we just shouldn't lick our furniture or snort the lacquer we scrape off of it you know?
@@Eliwhygul772 LoL on the stain, you joke but I remember guys washing their hands with automotive paint thinner then eating their sandwiches for lunch. I think we're talking about this from two completely different angles. The point of this video, and what I'm referring to, is applying finishes. I'm not worried that touching the acrylic lacquer on a chair or table that is well cured is going to poison me. I should be worried that spraying the same lacquer without proper equipment will poison me. The same applies to most wood finishes application, so it's not crazy that someone would be interested in seeing what the effects of finishes that are promoted as being safer/healthier and if they are indeed so. That being said, simply having VOCs isn't really a great indication of whether a finish is safe to apply or not so kind of moot.
@@caseylaan8069 Although I agree keeping dust out of our lungs is ideal the 'organic chemical free' politic is questionable. Humans are a bunch of organic chemicals. Chemical free is therefore wishful thinking. 'New Scientist' magazine publish test results each issue that show another common food that when fed to rats causes cancer, ie anything containing carbon molecules may cause cancer. Walking down a dusty road may cause silicosis. We live with chemical risks that our body does a great job of containing. I'm coming from this from a agricultural angle as I've had people claim my vineyard killed their unborn child, why am I not organic like my neighbor. The 5kg/Ha/year copper dumped on my neighbor's organic vineyard does not seem sustainable to me. Note BP oil call themselves eco friendly. We may find that hypocrisy and BS cause cancer one day.
That is an excellent video. I'm picking up woodworking at 70, following retirement. I've done very little so far but am amazed at the difference I feel between a respirator/mask and no mask. Never thought about the laser cutters but it makes sense and I realize I don't have to be on the bleeding (or breathing) edge of tech.
Having been a shop kid in high school, I think a major reason people don't use respirators more often is because they don't make it standard in school. When i was cutting and sanding my wood project, I'd blow my nose afterwards and have a TONE of dust as a result. The ONLY time I remember a resperator being required was when we were demo-ing a house and there was black mold in the basement. FYI, we mixed and layed comcrete several times that year.
That is one of the most important videos i have seen!!! It's not that i haven't seen ones, Stumpy Nubs has good safety videos generally on power tools and on this subject, but this video shows how much we are vulnerable!!! Even with what thought to be safe finishes..... well for the last 3 years i am using hand tools onley and the finishes that i am using mostly are: Shellac , Tung oil , blo. Know to be clear frome time to time i making cut's with mt table saw, router and use spry as a finish or paint i always use my 3m mask with carbon filters for the sprayed paint and finishes and general use filters for my power tools. Thanks for sharing!!
I wish the mini painting community would wise up. So many creators will use a air compressor with paint and use the least amount of air filtration or even none at all. And the common “paint booths” that are sold for mini painting do not pull enough cfm of air to make a difference. They appear to on the surface but they often use a 10mm computer fan that barely moves the air. Ugh! Good video! Thank you for making this!
My "shop" is my attached garage. I've learned no matter how hard I try with vacuums and fans with filters, dust still seeps into my house. Instead, I put casters on my work bench and roll it into the driveway. I still point a fan to blow away from my when sanding though. Added bonus or hidden drawback: My neighbors always want to come over and talk and inspect my projects. I'm still up in the air about if I like that or not.
hang plastic around your work area. I grind metal in my garage - with the garage being used with a basement door between the garage and the basement. If I just grind in the garage and then walk back through, the air in the garage will gradually make its way into the basement with metal grinding dust numbers getting to 20 or 30 in the basement and some of that will make its way into the main house. If I hang plastic around my grinding area in the garage, and use point collection, which is only partially efficient - but it's better than nothing, the particle level in the basement is a tenth at most. The important point is the plastic hangs from ceiling to floor and just has a flap that you can walk through, but the air flow at the door is generally from pressure at the garage door to the basement door - that's outside of the plastic. Also, the point dust collection is inside the plastic ( a fein II) but the power unit is outside - so there is a slight bias for the system to pull fresh air into the work space rather than blow it around inside and push some out.
Amazing deep dive, thanks for sharing. Last winter, I spent many days in my closed garage without a mask. There were many times when it looked like the garage was filled with smoke, due to all the floating dust. Can't imagine the damage I'd done. But yeah. Mask on. Door open. Air filtration active.
Thank you for sharing this information! Furniture refinishing falls into basically everyone of the test cases. I feel very justified in wearing my Respirator pretty much all the time.
Thank you for this video - I spent years in a cabinet shop where we rarely if ever wore masks. I worry about that these days for sure, as I didn’t realize how dangerous that was. Also having a beard, there is a lot of debate around the efficacy of masks. The consensus seems to be that the only way to get good protection is via a positive airflow mask: would love to see a test on that for people like me with beards. Thanks for such great content!
Thank you for making this much needed video for the youtube community. It's unfortunate that the algorithm will probably put it on every feed except those that need it the most. I would love to see one cover treated wood and wood preservatives. I saw one video of a guy spraying it on in mass amounts with his poor dog near by. Many people filming "how to build a deck" with their kids running about inhaling the chemically treated saw dust.
I just came across your channel; what I've seen so far is really great! This was an eye-opener that I think I needed and at the right time. Thank you very much!
When I do wood working, I try to do as much as possible outside. My garage is pretty small, and I have to park cars and bicycles in my garage. So I have made the decision to do all my work with "jobsite" tools because they're easier to store and carry around, and therefore I can bring them outside to my back patio when I want to cut wood. I have some folding tables in a closet that I bring out to my patio, and I'll set up my small miter saw or table saw on those. Furthermore, because I like to work outside, I almost exclusively use battery-powered power tools because it's just faster to move them around and set them up outside without having to run a bunch of extension cords. I pretty much only buy power tools that have dust ports. My standard setup is to bring my small dust cyclone and 18V battery-powered shop vac outside. I hook up the cyclone to the dust port on my tool, and then I hook up my shop vac to the cyclone. ONCE IN A WHILE, I have to confess that I make a couple quick cuts without a mask, but I've noticed that I get a sore throat and sore nose when I do this -- even when I work outside. So I've become even more diligent with my mask wearing in the past year. I 100% understand that my shop vac + jobsite tools don't collect as much dust as expensive shop-grade tools, but since I wear a mask and work outside, I think it's OK. When I'm done working, I go inside and take off my mask, and all the fine dust particles stay outside. I try to vacuum up all the coarse sawdust that actually settles on the ground (concrete pavers) plus on my tables where I've been working. Finally, while I'm just a hobbyist, I know a guy who developed pulminary Sarcoidosis after working as a pro carpenter for ~25 years. He now has very serious health issues. It's really awful. I think he could have avoided this had he worn masks earlier in his career.
Might actually be worse. I’d have to dig up the literature on it to be sure. But you’re using PPE in most of the shots I see. Definately an outlier in a good way.
Excellent video. But.. Covering the intakes on a mask sucks it onto your face makes a good seal even if you didn't start with one. To do it properly you would fit your VOC cartridges and put your head inside a small plastic hood (think upside down garbage bag) and have a scent in there. We would use a cotton ball soaked in banana oil. If you can still smell it while wearing your mask it is not sealing properly. My previous employer kept many different sizes and different brands of masks on hand to make sure the mask fit properly. It's inconvenient and not very practical but having a proper fitting mask is worth the effort in the long term.
As someone that has held many blue collar jobs and took several shop classes throughout my years in school, I was absolutely shocked by the lack of safety training. Throughout the entirety of my 20s, I worked on cars, houses, woodworking projects, etc without ever wearing a mask. Then in my early 30s I bought a house that had asbestos flooring, thankfully I was well aware of the dangers of asbestos. In furthering my knowledge of asbestos I became curious about everything else: from the white clouds of drywall dust, to cement, and even saw dust. I feel stupid now that I didn't know how absolutely dangerous all these things were. It was never mentioned in school. I never see respirators or even basic masks on job sites. Never saw the older generation use anything growing up as a kid. In fact I remember being absolutely obsessed with the smell of saw dust as a little kid, to the point where I'd shove my face into piles to get a big whiff. How we can live for decades, surrounded by building materials, and not be taught there most basic properties is absolutely insane to me.
Great info! Even though I'm a hand tool guy, I opted for a power sander because of the dust collection. I don't enjoy using the noisy thing, but it's a LOT less dust than hand sanding. We need to protect ourselves!
It always blows my mind how good some of these sanders are with dust collection. I have respiratory allergy to walnut sawdust and I probably COULD get away without a mask when using the festool sander haha.
@@WoodcraftBySuman Yeah, combined with a modern mesh sandpaper they really are excellent. I still wear a mask and run the air filter though, because I'm not taking chances!
@@brianlawrence9959 I love my scrapers, but somehow I just don't trust myself to use them for final finish. Especially on soft woods like spruce. I should try on my next build.
Great video, hope it gets plenty of views. I use 3M TR-300 PAPR's at in work in a health care setting, they are a great deal more effective and comfortable than half mask options. I've had a TR600/Adflo welding PAPR with Speedglass hood in my Amazon cart forever, just about all of their head gear options are intercompatable. Use a Speedglass for welding and a standard grinding hood for everything else; that covers impact protection, welding fumes, VOC's, and particulates/dust. The $2-3k price tag for a complete set up has me dragging my feet...
Being a heavily bearded fellow myself, i'd like to get myself a papr system. Are the non-welding ones cheaper? I had a welding job where they provided us papr welding masks that costs them something like $3K a piece, but I didn't get to keep it when I left.
For 3d printing, a decent (but not 1:1 naturally) comparison ground are production ("cancer village") areas in china that deal with similar in core composition materials. For example for PLA, the PMMA % is likely covered by just having the printer next to a regular window if the room isnt smaller than 28~30m3, same for its rarely (if the filament is made sloppily as it should be gone by end of spool production) accompanied toluene by sheer % volume (as can be seen with the few studies having it in under 10% of samples even showing up or flat out dont note), but if breakdown happens due to high temp (generally from printing over 220) its best if no food or people are within at least 2-3m of the printer, ethanal is a similar case, but does give a extra warning of "dont drink before and during printing if in the same 2-3 room space, you might be poisoning yourself more for less of the fun", meanwhile, if printing with nylon or abs, especially composite ones for strength and durability, the person might as well huff nitro or gas directly and at least get high in addition to the likely lung and brain damage if in the same room or only relying on regular window ventilation (and the death will be from it instead of cancer). But i think most people with FDMs know and hold onto those rules (same for resin and not getting it anywhere near food and having a good enclosure to vent it out, if possible being friendly to the neighbours and birds by running it through a filter first).
This is a terrific video and i am totally sold on getting one of those monitors!y dylos ki ked the bucket a couple years ago and i've waited too long to replace it. Theres two things i would add to your considerations. First, if you have bad collection in your shop, just walking around will kick up all the hazardous PM2.5 that was lying around. For that reason its important to regularly blow out your shop (i use a leaf blower!) To purge it of as much fine dust as possible. Second would be exactly that... air changes! It's critical to create as much airflow as possible if you are generating dust, so that you move as much out of the shop as possible. It would be interesting to see the PM2.5 numbers from the laser etching if you set up fans to purge and replace your shop air for 30 minutes. Overall a terrific video - thank you!
Hey awesome video ! Have you tested handtools like handsaws and handplanes ? People usually say they produce thicker dust that falls quickly on the ground but can't they also produce fine particles in a significant amount ?
This is a fantastic video Suman. One of our channel members sent it to me. I'd like to feature it on this week's Tool Show. Would that be alright with you? - Rob
Worth noting on the subject of fine saw dust inhalation - Some forms of wood are also poisonous. Either naturally or because we have treated them. In the US, you're most commonly going to see this issue with stuff treated for outdoor use. Certain varieties, like yew, are just naturally pretty toxic though. Anyways, point is that the fine dust from these lumbers are a real double whammy. You probably don't want to breathe that stuff in. One other thing I have seen a lot - People seem to think that odorless mineral spirits are way less toxic than the OG mineral spirits. They're really not. They just don't stink as much.
I'm glad I found this video. I'm considering taking up woodcarving as a hobby, but after watching this I clearly see I currently lack the space and ventilation setup to do it safely.
About 20 years ago I made a project out of African Padauk. It took me 5 hours to complete the project and 2 days to recover from not wearing a high quality mask. I thought my lungs would never be the same. No other tool/substance has ever hurt so much.
Just discovered your channel, thanks for the tests. It made it clear that I need to get myself a proper mask when making dust in my shop! Interesting to learn that there are filter types depending on danger we want to protect ourselves. Thanks again, super useful!
Very well thought out, researched and presented. Props to Kyle. Such a good sport.😂 Thank you for making and sharing this video with and for the DIY Community!
Thanks for the measurements! Wonder if you might comment on how to determine when it's time to replace different cartridges? I would imagine particulate cartridges likely last quite a long time, but wonder a bit more about those that filter VOCs. But rather than wondering, would love measurements
Agreed! I’ve definitely started wearing a mask more since I’ve started making in the past 3 years and use the 3M mask shown here. But there is no real indication on when to change these filters. Does it come down to hours worn or do they deteriorate over time and should be changed every couple of months regardless?
This is a great question. There are a lot of factors to consider: type of agents being filtered, frequency and duration of use, and how long the filter has been out of the bag. Generally speaking, replacing the multi purpose respirator every 6 months is a safe margin, though the filter I was using in the video is about a year old.
Some 3M cartridges have an end-of-service-life-indicator that you can visually check. Without that, either you can monitor the air and log every work our, and calculate /estimate the usage of the filter. Or replace when you can smell chemicals even when wearing the mask...
Id be interested to see a test of how much glue is actually needed to hold two pieces of wood together. There’s no doubt i think we waste too much glue.
Love the content, Suman! Your dedication to the scientific analysis of woodworking and making is impressive. I work at a research institute, and we actually did a safety analysis of airborne contaminants that need to be filtered by weighing filters on a precision laboratory analytical balance at intervals throughout a typical day. The increased mass of certain lab filters throughout the day juxtaposed to the relatively consistent mass of filters outside of those labs identified the need for increased PPE usage, shorter intervals between filter changes, and increased rates of air changes in those labs to keep aerosols from accumulating in the atmosphere of that room. This is why I wear my respirator 24/7 and change my organic vapor filters daily. 🙃
Oh how I would love to geek out on those testing parameters. haha. What did you guys use for VOC measurements? I was not able to find any cost effective methods to measure specific types of VOCs without sending it to a lab for few hundred bucks per analysis. As you know, aggregate VOC measures are not nearly as useful as specific cancer causing agent quantification. Also - I always look forward to your comments. Encouraging as always. Thank you!
@@WoodcraftBySuman we didn't analyze the specifics of VOCs or other airborne contaminants, we only measured the quantity of filters materials among 6 different labs: 2 small, single study labs, one empty vs. one in-use; 2 medium, multi-user labs, one empty vs. one in-use, and 2 large, multi-user labs, one in partial use and the other full of users. Collecting the mass of filtered particulates in order to estimate the frequency of filter changes needed and efficiency of the air handling for different sizes of labs was all that was measured. Most particulates were likely dust produced or brought in on the clothes of the occupants, but the likelihood of hazardous contaminants suspended in the air being inhaled by the lab users, especially for shared spaces, was the primary focus. The basis for the experiment was actually derived from a study a researcher had read about comparing conditioned office space vs. outdoor air quality. Human lungs are really good at filtering and flushing out debris like pollen and common dust, but as covid taught us, aerosols and finer debris are really hard to filter out, and can cause major health effects.
Great advice for the DIY and fellow YTs. You don’t need to get every detail perfect to get your well reasoned and responsible point across, hopefully you start a trend.
I use a 3m full face respirator in my wood shop for every cut and blow out the shop with a box fan currently, as I don’t have an air filtering system. I do have dust collection and use it.I should mention that my day job as a chemist has me next to a pm 2.5 monitor, hence why I’m so diligent about my protection. You would not believe how much I get made fun of by a lot of woodworkers I run into but I’m also the only one that doesn’t cough randomly.
Incredibly summarized, thanks for sharing and highlighting this info! I will definitely be mindful to use that respirator more frequently. On that note - any tips on storing respirators? I find hanging up in the shop might just let fine dust settle on it.
Thank you! So...ideally, the VOC respirators should be stored in a sealed bag because it otherwise interacts with the ambient air and reduces shelf life. But the P100 mask...can I just tell you....I bought an entire closed cabinet workbench with drawers MOSTLY to use one drawer to store my masks bc I'm tired of sawdust landing on them. haha
Hey man. Great video, really glad this got recommended by Lincoln St. I feel like everyone still has a bunch of FFP2 masks lying around from the last 2 years. Would these protect against those fine particulets when worn tight enough? Or are they not sufficient?
FFP2 masks are fine in a pinch but they don’t have great filtration (95% vs 99.97%) and usually have poor seal and discomfort develops quickly. For particulates, they’re still much better than no mask.
Fine dust or fumes are always underestimated, I see resin printing videos all the time in no ventilation and that's BAD. Thanks for making this video to educate makers.
Wow! That's a lot of dust to inhale over just a year. That volume seems like it would actually choke one to death, even if it took a year to accumulate! I must say that dealing with dust collection and /or extraction has been an ongoing subroutine in my shop, and the last big change I made was to get away from my highly inefficient shop vac and install a 5 hp dust extraction system with proper ductwork. Still, definitely not 100% or perfect in terms of removing all airborne particulates, but it is sooooo much better than when I used a shop vac on my machines!
Yea the amount shown in the video is a little more fluffy than the actual particulates we breathe in. it was measured by weight and I imagine the visual size difference would be a bit less with actual PM2.5 and PM10. Keep in mind, it’s how much we breathe in. Not all of it stays in our body. My estimates assumed normal breathing volume of 500mL per breath at 16 breaths a minute for an adult at rest working for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. The actual concentration was from the study that measured air quality in wood shops. Some voodo math and viola! 499 grams total weight. I believe the estimated measured in the woodshops also had some level of dust collection. The fine stuff really loves to escape into the air despite good dust collection.
Watched this video and subscribed. Would love to see some of the same tests with cutting/ sanding drywall as a lot of us DIYers also deal with that. Love the content!
Extraction on all tools. A tracksaw is going to be cleaner than a lot of other saws. Think about the filter class on your extraction too. I run the exhaust of my cheap shopvac into an M-Class machine. Half face masks are pretty good, full face is magic. Always keep a range of masks and filter combos.
LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS VIDEO. A great follow up would be age of mask. How well do they filter after timed intervals of usage? I can appreciate developing a consistent system to start this so if you ever can... Man. I'm all over it. Thanks again for the content.
I just want to thank you to produce this very informative video. I hope that a lot people see it and understand the danger of all of this saw dust and volatile particles. Have a good day!
As far as resin safety, I have seen very little in woodworking in general but channels more focused on making/crafts like Evan & Katelyn in particular demonstrate good techniques when handling resins and finishes.
this is what i tried telling people iworked in the medical field, like surgical masks are not made to stop viral spread they are made for surgery to prevent fluids from getting in you rmouthbecause the body squirts and ive use d surgical masks for wood wrking and it does not keep anywhere near enough sawdust out
This reminds me of when I had to unclog a dirty toilet and I had my M50 gas mask with expired training filters. IT WORKED! The filters allowed me to press on through the worst job ever. It was for a family member. Without it, I could not have done the job. It was an eye opener for how well the filters (even when expired) work. No smell at all.
Anyone who regularly works with wood should know exactly how much dust they're breathing in. Before i realized i could just use a dust mask in the shop, i was coughing up lumps of sawdust laced phlegm every morning in the shower. Most specie of wood won't cause permanent damage from intermittent exposure. But if your lungs are constantly loaded with sawdust eventually it will cause problems. Also, a cheap box fan with a filter strapped to the front of it works wonders, cuts down the airborn dust by half. Using a tool dust extractor helps a lot too.
If you really want to be safer wear ppe clothing. If you are spraying anything. Sure a respirator is good for the lungs, but remember the skin is the largest organ and can absorb all kinds of stuff into your bloodstream. I was a car painter for about 20 years so we always had to read the data and go by osha regulations. Sure it maybe excessive but if you spray finishes a lot it's a good idea.
future idea? How to prep your garage "workshop" for success.. best dust extractor ideas, air intake filtrators (sp?), etc.. and how much you can cut down on the overall crap in the air just by doing a few basics (besides personal filters, of course)
One thing that would probably surprise you is how very little time that respirator cartridges will actually provide protection under ‘hot’ conditions. Military NBC(nuclear/biological/chemical) filters are something like 15 minutes under full contamination if I recall correctly
It would be interesting to see how much bad stuff is emitted from dye sublimation and heat pressing items - also from heat pressing transfers for fabrics. Screen printed transfers vs dtf vs laser toner vs polyester vinyl transfers.
Question in regards to dust and air filtration. I know the dust can linger in the air for hours in your shop but if you do all your woodworking outdoors (I only use handheld power tools, jigsaw, orbital sander etc.) how strict do you need to be with dust collection? I still wear a mask for the immediate dust that gets created at the time of using the tools and do use a shop vac attached to my sander. Only thing I do inside my garage shop is hand carving with knives and gouges.
The risk is much much less when working outside. If you are wearing a mask when you are generating lots of particulates like sanding, you should be in pretty good shape overall.
Great video! I'm one of the kind of guys who goes "screw it, I'm just going to 'be a man'" instead of bothering with finding the protection equipment I have laying around in some box somewhere. This video has re-opened my eyes to something I allready knew to be true and important, just could not be bothered with. Thank you. My kids will probably appreciate it in 40 years when I'm not dead from particulates and gasses screwing my body up.
This is my favourite comment. It’s people like yourself who need to see this and make some relatively small changes to prevent some potentially serious long term consequences. You don’t want to be finding this stuff out 20, 30, 40 years from now due to some health problems and discovering it was all preventable. Unfortunately, I’m sure there will be plenty of people like that who eventually find their way here too 😢
I just got into wood working and I decided off the bat I'll use only hand tools. I've only about 4 days of experience at this point and experienced day one how much dust a rasp file will produce, so decided I'd go primarily with chisels and a planer.
Do you know any stuff about oil accelerants? I got into beef at a wood discord for swearing cod liver oil has the right type of fats to be a drying oil. Saw recently that Canadian fishermen used a cod oil and red ochre pigment, potentially with stuff like urine or birch extract added. I'm very wary of the toxicity of common accelerants so always looking for something that can dry my oil in days instead of weeks without exposing me to lead, cobalt, etc
This video, and Jon's the other day, convinced me to buy a second respirator to use when applying Rubio. I've been talking about it as "zero VOC" for a year or two now without having read much on the can, and these tests have me feeling like an idiot.
Don’t feel bad. I have taken some chances even when I was formally educated and trained to know better. The important thing is being aware and exercising safe measures whenever possible.
@@WoodcraftBySuman besides in-shop concerns when applying finish, did you test how long finishes stop off-gassing the VOCs in unsafe amounts? Wondering now if waiting 12-24 hours is still enough time to wait before bringing projects inside the house.
@@RobSchweitzer that’s a tough one bc it depends on the finish type, temperature/humidity of curing environment, surface area of the project, thickness of the finish, volume of area of space the project is being taken to, ventilation of that indoor space, and if children or pregnant mothers are potentially involved. Some finishes continue to cure for weeks, though the rate slows down quite a bit after a few days. If pregnant mama and/or children are involved, I would give it almost a week and let it cure as much as possible outside of living quarters because they are considered vulnerable population when it comes to VOC exposure and has greater effects on them than otherwise adults.
First, excellent video to bring awareness to an important issue. I'm an environmental engineer for my day job and there are a few additional thoughts I would add to this video. First, an air purifying respirator (APR) such as the half face shown should be the last line of defense. On our job sites we typically protect ourselves from inhalation hazards first by engineering controls such as fans, air filter units, dust extractors, downdraft tables, etc. (all are available to the woodworking/maker community from many manufacturers). These tools help to move air and keep the hazard away from our breathing zone. We also wear an APR as a precaution, but engineering controls can, if used properly, often remove most if not all of the hazard.
APR cartridges (P100 and organic vapor as shown in the video) have both a shelf life and use period restrictions. Please use your organic vapor cartridges (for VOCs) within the timeframe the manufacturer recommends and don't use the same cartridge (P100 or organic vapor) beyond its designed use period. These cartridges don't last forever and need to be changed out. Depending on what you are doing and how many hours you are doing it (e.g. sanding a dining table through multiple grit papers, spraying many or large items in a small area with poor circulation, etc.), you may have to change cartridges more than once per day to maintain effective hazard control.
Additionally, if you want to ensure the highest level of respiratory protection with an APR, then I recommend you get "fit tested" at an occupational health office for the right mask. My coworkers and I wear masks from different manufacturers because our faces are different shapes and sizes and masks from 3M, North, Scott, or others may seal against some face types while other brands may not seal properly. We shop around for sneakers, pants, and shirts to find the right fit, and we should for our protective gear too. Personally, I was tested for multiple masks in my early career before the "fit test" identified a mask that sealed to my face properly.
I'm a hobbyist woodworker outside of my day job, but I use what I've learned about respiratory protection at my day job to keep my respiratory system protected at home too. Again, excellent video and I'm very glad to see such a video as this posted to TH-cam.
Thank you so much for your comments and additional details. It is much appreciated. I thought about discussing environmental engineering controls as you pointed out, it is the first line of defense. But it is such a nuanced topic and reasoning for why engineering controls are recommended for occupational exposure. Ultimately decided it was too in the weeds for a broad topic of this nature and focused on personal protection instead. But yes, you are absolutely right - Reduce stuff from being generated, capture at source, protect self are the progression.
> Depending on what you are doing and how many hours you are doing it (e.g. sanding a dining table through multiple grit papers, spraying many or large items in a small area with poor circulation, etc.), you may have to change cartridges more than once per day to maintain effective hazard control.
For vapors, this makes sense: there's a finite amount of filtration capacity, and it gets used up as the filter adsorbs (or reacts with) the vapors.
For particulates, I'm curious about the mechanism that could cause filtration to degrade over time, though. My understanding is that particulate filters get "clogged" over time, and that will increase the pressure required to get the same airflow rate. But it seems like getting clogged would just make it harder to breathe, rather than allowing particulates to move through the filter.
Is the concern that as the pressure increases, air will flow around the filter, rather than through it?
@@brucechristensen With vapors, the effectiveness of activated carbon will fade with use and/or time, so it's important to change organic vapor filters even if it was only briefly used before it's next use days/weeks/months later. With particulate filters, how readily a filter fails due to mechanical clogging depends as how well the mask seals against your face. Assuming a good initial seal to your face, a clogged particulate filter may eventually lead to a broken seal and dust bypassing the face mask through where the mask seal has failed. The mask may fail to seal properly right away if the mask isn't the right mask for your face type, or only after the filter is significantly clogged and you are breathing more deeply.
With organic vapor filters you can often tell a filter is "used up" as you can begin to smell vapors you couldn't previously. With particulate filters you may not readily tell that the seal has failed unless the seal has failed significantly enough that you can feel air through the area not sealed properly as you take breaths. It's important to perform a seal check such as the one shown by Suman, but even then you might consider changing particulate filters when you notice your breathing becomes more labored.
@@WillCampbell03 thanks! :)
This video is great, and so is this comment. Imo it should be pinned for visibility. Thanks for sharing your expertise
A friend at work, one of the very smartest guys I've ever known, retired and was looking forward to many years of woodworking in a special workshop that he'd put together. Three years later he was dead, thanks to wood dust inhalation. One of the saddest funerals I've ever been too because it was 100% preventable.
How do they know his death was caused by wood dust? What was the actual cause of death?
Wow. First of all, I am so sorry for this terrible loss. Secondly, Thank you for sharing... ! I am waaaayyy too casual about my own work exposures in this stupid "work warrior" mentality that I have. Thank you again.
I'm sure your story is false, but there's not enough info for us to know why it is. did he breathe dust in a machine shop? did he breathe radioactive dust somewhere? It wasn't three years of workshop hobbyist working.
I have been in the building trade's since I was 16 Years old, I'm now 80, and I have always worked in a well ventilated area, or out side. All trades people face these problems, a farmer breathes in dust all day, a welder tolerates the gasses generated while welding, there is a risk that comes with these professions, and common sense is the best way to deal with these problems. If your sawing in an enclosed area, and light a matched, you may suddenly be transported through the wall. Be aware of the dangers, wear a mask, ventilate, the work area, you'll live to enjoy your retirement. Glad you are making people aware, Great job..
Just a slight correction; the best way to test a respirator for a good fit is to actually cover the intake ports (single or double) and then try to breathe in. This is more true to what happens when you inhale. You are creating negative pressures inside the mask, which will cause any failure in the face seal to allow unfiltered air around the mask. When you exhale, you are creating a positive pressure, so even if you are creating enough pressure to push the mask away, you would also be pushing exhaled air through those gaps.
My only other slight criticism comes from being a Firefighter. If you have facial hair, you are really gambling with your lungs with regular masks. I’d suggest positive pressure masks if that is the case. That way any seal leaks wouldn’t allow PM into the breathing space. If you look at FFs, any of us that have facial hair (and are certified to go into buildings), will have that hair shaved from the jaw line down the neck. This allows for us to still form a solid seal with our SCBA. Since the air we carry is limited, and the conditions extremely volatile, leaks are not tolerated.
This is a really solid point on fit test. Thank you for the correction. I added that segment into the video script last minute and should have been more careful. And agreed, positive pressure masks with filtration are significantly better because polluted air simply cannot get inside even with less than ideal seal with facial hair. Appreciate you watching and for your comment.
My husband is safety and rescue in the oil field, so my mind immediately went to the facial hair issue as well. I’m glad you explained it so that others can hopefully see it.
Yep, I have a beard, but if I know I'm going to be working with a respirator I know I have to have a clean shave. Actually 3M has a list of "acceptable beards" to wear with a mask... Unfortunately it's mainly just moustache or the pedo looking beard... so fresh shave is best.
Agree on the fit check. That’s how the military checks gas mask seals and in SCUBA (with an U) you check the seal of you mask (covering the eyes and nose).
If it's not already, this should be shown in all high school or trade school woodworking courses. This is some great information, thank you
How many woodworkers are dying from this?
@@samueldavis5895 Well that escalated quickly....
@@samueldavis5895Such a good question!
In HS in the 80s we did not have any training on masks or air safety in wood or metal shops! They only said it was recommended to have a well ventilated area.
Wow, as a DIY growing my woodworking hobby, this is one of the most important videos I have seen.
Balancing time, convenience, cost, and safety is challenging. I can tell you that most hobbyists think that we can get away with a few cuts on a weekend is professionals are spending days in dusty woodshops.
Thank you for the video!
This is hands down the most important woodworking video available on TH-cam. Awesome work, Suman!
What about the one on how to build a birdhouse? I liked that one better
@@robertmerrill6356 I will always bow down to birdhouse build videos. I can’t compete with that stuff.
oh, wouldn't it be nice if he would actually keep his hands down when talking? Maybe that type of peace and confidence comes with time - getting out of comfort zone takes getting used to 🤷😁
@@zoladkow I have always gestured with my hands while talking and will continue to do so.
@@zoladkowlol what a weird comment
A very good summery/safety video. I'm really glad you brought up the dangers of epoxy and laser equipment. A lot of youtubers in the "art-ish" section discovered the problems with epoxy the hard way and were left with serious damage to their lungs. Properly set up laser equipment is well grounded to a grounding rod (not just your ground wire on your plug, that is not to be trusted for the larger lasers) and ventilated to exit the space with a carbon filter. Lasers need special visual protection but you were concentrating on lungs. The stupid glasses they send with machines are NOT good enough. The best way to protect yourself is to enclose machine and use a camera for viewing. All those machines that are just a frame should all be enclosed, with carbon filter venting system. Do not look at laser with remaining good eye. I was surprised to find out that the particulates remained for so long after using the laser but I shouldn't have been. When I had a fire in my house (dishwasher had electrical short and took out my kitchen island) I was not allowed back in until they were able to clean the air with special filter/ozone machines and it took a couple of days for the machines to run.
Old timers would breath through a cigarette as a filter while working.
Powder explosion when?
What a wonderful feeling to know that KENT FILTERS BEST.
@@henriquepacheco7473they didn't say lit
They also used to die Susan, a lot
Com'on keep it up, it's the dieing part we want to avoid
Still do.
Great video. I work as an industrial hygienist and agree with most of your recommendations and safety precautions. Well done. I’ve always wanted to make or see a video like this due to my interests professionally and personally and this did it for me. Well done.
Hey thanks! I’m glad you’re digging the methodology
I unfortunately just recently purchased an air quality meter for my newest shop. I work with wood, resins, and both Filament and Resin 3D printers. I've ALWAYS worked with exhaust fans running and although not always but more often than not, a mask on too. After I saw the readings from the air quality at the table I usually sit at, with no mask on, I quickly upgraded my exhaust system and switched my sitting location to a side of my shop that has fresh air intake.
This is a fantastic video, great job! You're right about all of the people on the internet that make all of this stuff and you rarely see them wearing any kind of PPE. We need more videos pointing these dangers out.
Be safe, creators! :)
I'm always so excited when i see a wood tuber fully geared in PPE.
@@reed6514 wood tuber!!! LOL that is the first time I've heard that and I am in love with it!
@@FinalMyle lol me too. I almost didn't say it cuz i was worried it would sound dirty lol
I was aware of the eye hazards from laser cutters, it never occurred to me to be concerned about formaldehyde. I've just binge-watched a bunch of your TH-cam videos, and am now subscribed, liking and commenting on them. Consistently excellent content. Thank you very much. I very much look forward to more videos from you. Your quality and presentation are up there with Stumpy Nubs and Matthias Wandel.
There was a woman who got seriously ill from epoxy. She's a TH-camr who got into epoxy creations and she too thought epoxy was safe. Turns out her mysterious symptoms/illness, were side effects from epoxy. As you poiinted out, foul, strong chemical smells, are trying to tell you something and epoxy tends to have a foul chemical smell.
As a plastic engineer I can can only agreed to that! If Something smells not right, you should use safety Equipment or, at least, get into an open area. But pleased be also aware that there are a lot of chemicals that are not smelling, but also dangerous
Just watched that video when I was researching Alumalite. Then this pops up on my feed. Not mad always listening out for tips and precautions.
@@rudlterranigma5386 Yeah it's not scentless and mild ones that get you. At least with the foul smelling ones, you know what you're dealing with. This is why mercaptin is added to natural gas and propane, to make it stink, because neither gas smells. And of course carbon monoxide is the really dangerous one, because it is also scentless and we cannot add a stinky additive to that. But CO detectors are life savers for that and cheap to buy,
@@BluegrassBriar Oh I've never heard of that stuff, but I looked it up and they sell a few products, that's cool. Cast resins, uncured epoxy remover etc.
Thank you for this video! Finally I have something to show my very careless colleagues and boss who all think I’m silly for wearing my respirator all day around in a shop working with epoxy, carbon fiber dust, fine sawdust and lacquer, I know this video will save so many lives if spread, can’t thank you enough 🙏🙏
tbh after buying one of those half masks I really quickly learned to love em! not only for woodworking but also for all kinds of other stuff that you normally don't think about: topping up kitty litter, re-waterproofing outdoor stuff, heck maybe even hairspray and deodorant is probably dangerous in the long run.
thinking about it, eventually you should do a household item edition of this video too 🤔
those masks are awesome, especially with gas filter
Im glad you came up on my recommended tab. I'm a big advocate for safety in the shop. I've almost lost a couple friends to the big scary machines, and even the little hand held machines. I'll be sure to send them this video.
Great illustration with poor Kyle taking one for the team!! Thank you for highlighting this issue!!!
Great video! Lots of information to process. A suggestion: separate video for the laser information so its "laser" focused on their dangers. Think that will help the laser community see it and watch it. I'm definitely going to update my mask protocol! Been thinking about the hood systems and I feel this helps justify the costs. I also need to have spare filters on hand so its more convenient to put new ones in (and thus I'll do it). As to finishes claiming to be VOC free, I have to call BS. I feel this needs to be called out more (so thanks for doing that!). Really appreciate your testing and sharing the results. We need more of this! I know this is taking significant time and $ on your part, so again, THANK YOU! Also, can we have a moment of silence to remember Kyle's sacrifices for this video.... Kyle, we'll never forget you.
RIP, Kyle. He died so that we could live. Thanks dude!
PROTECT THIS MAN AT ALL COSTS! Suman, you are a gift to all of us. Your videos are so good and so educational. You've helped me realize how many shortcuts I've taken thinking "it's no big deal"but they were doing more damage than I would have guessed. This will help me double-down on my commitment to safety and a cleaner, better shop. This is a terrific video and you do a great job, as always. Thank you, sir! 🙌🏼
Protect him from what? What danger is he in? "Big VOC's" sending a hit squad to silence him? 😂 Or maybe Big Sawdust?
Great video btw. I fully agree. I'm a union carpenter and spend 50+ hours a week in a woodshop. I'm one of the few who always wore n95's (except during the covid shortage) and probably should step up to a cartridge mask
I recently picked up an AirGradient sensor for my shop, with VOC, particulate, and a bunch of other sensors. It's been enlightening. My dust collection is actually pretty good (thank you Oneida and Festool) but it's definitely interesting to watch how fast the VOCs jump just from opening a bottle of isopropyl alcohol near the sensors, let alone something like Glidecote or an oil-based finish. Thankfully I have an exhaust fan that can refresh the air in a few minutes.
I wonder how much it would go off if you opened a container of acetone.
@@bensonboys6609 A lot? Glidecote uses acetone and naphtha as solvents, and the VOC sensor spikes significantly if I use that anywhere in my 600sqft shop. Thankfully the exhaust fan for the laser cutter can clear out the whole shop in 10-15 minutes.
Mind blown by the excellence. Never seen more comprehensive vids ever. Thank you!
Hey thanks for letting me know! Glad it was informative for you.
Truly eye opening about health safety while woodworking. Thank You for going so in-depth and showing examples. I will never use my t-shirt again!
Thank you for watching. I'm glad you found it valuable 🥰
Safety is almost always overlooked in every shop ive worked in, thank you for making this vid, even shops that are trying to be safe are usually just following the basics so they dont get a visit from "guys that fine you" its unfortunate but true, most employers care more about the bottom line & much less about the people making that bottom line increase, a visual of the toxicity of the air your breathing is something every business needs. Would be a nice purchase for at home shops too.
Outstanding, thank you. On a related subject we have an air quality monitor in the living room and cooking will cause its reading to flag the air as unhealthy. Opening the windows and creating an air flow quickly solves the problem. This is one of the reasons some new houses have an air exchanger, sometime with an advanced filtration system.
I haven’t looked into the AQM you are using but from the research I’ve done the sensors in affordable ones have their limitations. Fortunately this is a rapidly evolving field as awareness grows. Thanks for contributing to this.
Yup. Cooking is known to contribute to poor air quality. Even more so, fireplaces. It’s actually an area of great scientific research and one of my former mentor in graduate school studied those matters on health outcomes.
Great video. I'm a young retired woodworker. I have been a woodworker for decades, but now have the time to spend more time at it. First thing I have focused on is dust and air quality. First thing is to improve dust collection at the source - tablesaw, jointer, planer, mitersaw, etc. Next, an air filtration system. Then, an air quality monitor to see how things are performing. I wear PPE when using machines - and if I see the air quality deteriorate, it's time to take a break leaving the air filter running. Next, and this could be controversial, but I am working hard to eliminate sanding which is the worst producer of fine particulates in my shop - at least based on monitoring my AQ monitor. Old school hand planes and other hand tools are a pleasure to use and have almost no impact on the measured air quality in my shop.
Good advice. People don't seem to take PPE seriously enough. Another issue you should address is hearing protection!
Sorry…I couldn’t hear you at first. Joking aside- I definitely overlooked discussing hearing protection. Thank you.
Very cool.
Love the emphasis on mask seal. It took me a while to really understand how important that is. You can't get the benefit of great filter media like an N95 or N100 without a great seal. And I like that you demonstrated a user seal check.
I'd be interested in a follow up with a demonstration of an industrial mask fit test. It's something that employees get under OSHSA requirements, but that many hobbyists and self-employed woodworkers have never had, or, in many cases, never heard of. I think it is an area of respiratory safety that OSHA underserves, mainly because they have no statutory authority over people who are self-employed or who or hobbyists. A fit test is even more sensitive than a user seal check, and the best way to know if your mask seal is really protecting you.
I did some mask fit tests at a previous job with that smoke irritant stuff. On a fit test for a simple P95 mask I thought I smelled something and they decided the fit must not be perfect. Then I did a fit test with a half mask that wasn't the right size and as soon as the smoke hit my nose it was instant coughing fit. That stuff will not let you think you have a good fit when you don't.
@@reaganharder1480
Yup, there is no missing the irritant smoke. I'm surprised it is still legal when there are safe alternative fit tests approved by OSHA, such as nebulized Saccharine or Bitrex.
The irritant "smoke" is actually stannic chloride reacting with water vapor in the air creating a plume of stannic oxychloride and hydrogen chloride. The reaction is more toxic the more water there is in the air.
I'd skip any future irritant smoke fit testing in favor of PortaCount quantitative fit testing or Saccharine or Bitrex qualitative fit testing (which you can taste, rather than a substance that causes you to cough because it is toxic).
I bet an OSHA rep would be psyched to do such a video.
I‘d love for these tests to be repeated with stuff like natural linseed oil, precooked linseed oil, cleaned linseed oil, fast hardening linseed oil, beeswax / carnaubawax pastes, …. Basically as many of the natural products as possible.
Then make it. I'd like to see gluten free furniture and vegetarian saw's. The natural /organic fad is super deceptive. There's either no standards or loose guidelines governing what's natural or organic. Most companies will add terms like "all natural", "gluten free", "organic", "responsibly sourced" among others they rarely mean anything. Although it makes most consumers think that their helping and in a way they are they are helping to keep product prices on the rise and helping millionaires become billionaires. All the woke people with their tofu and crystals are perpetuating a lot of bullshit, which just so happens to be all natural!
@@Eliwhygul772 I think most furniture is gluten free, wheat isn't a popular building material. Outside of a butcher shop most saws are vegetarian (wood). Generally agree, although this kind of thing isn't new with health products by any stretch. Back in the 80s cholesterol was the boogieman of health, and you'd see bags of potato chips with "now cholesterol free" labelled on them. Way back in the day there was the "snake oil salesman" selling "miracle tonics". Tapeworms were sold as the diet supplement of the day. I'm pretty sure "a fool and their money are soon parted" dates back to cavemen.
That being said, while natural does not automatically equal healthy, most modern wood finishes are a sloshing puddle of toxic chemicals. This isn't conspiracy theory hippie nonsense, it's in the publicly available SDS of the products. I used to work in autobody, and you could tell the painters who started in the industry when PPE was for wussies, and they all had signs of neurological damage by the time they were in their 30s-40s. No thanks.
@@caseylaan8069 I never said that chemicals aren't toxic. I'm aware what a safety data sheet is as a matter of fact I used to work at a furniture factory in the stain booth. We wore our respirators and only drank the stain if we were really thirsty... lol. In all honesty I think there's bigger threats than my coffee table. Most municipal tap water has forever chemicals (fluorocarbons) , we burn gas, diesel and coal not to mention a whole lot of other shit. All plastics are petroleum products and we wear a lot of those. Half of our products are unregulated from China. So at the end of the day maybe we just shouldn't lick our furniture or snort the lacquer we scrape off of it you know?
@@Eliwhygul772 LoL on the stain, you joke but I remember guys washing their hands with automotive paint thinner then eating their sandwiches for lunch. I think we're talking about this from two completely different angles. The point of this video, and what I'm referring to, is applying finishes. I'm not worried that touching the acrylic lacquer on a chair or table that is well cured is going to poison me. I should be worried that spraying the same lacquer without proper equipment will poison me. The same applies to most wood finishes application, so it's not crazy that someone would be interested in seeing what the effects of finishes that are promoted as being safer/healthier and if they are indeed so. That being said, simply having VOCs isn't really a great indication of whether a finish is safe to apply or not so kind of moot.
@@caseylaan8069 Although I agree keeping dust out of our lungs is ideal the 'organic chemical free' politic is questionable. Humans are a bunch of organic chemicals. Chemical free is therefore wishful thinking. 'New Scientist' magazine publish test results each issue that show another common food that when fed to rats causes cancer, ie anything containing carbon molecules may cause cancer. Walking down a dusty road may cause silicosis. We live with chemical risks that our body does a great job of containing. I'm coming from this from a agricultural angle as I've had people claim my vineyard killed their unborn child, why am I not organic like my neighbor. The 5kg/Ha/year copper dumped on my neighbor's organic vineyard does not seem sustainable to me. Note BP oil call themselves eco friendly. We may find that hypocrisy and BS cause cancer one day.
That is an excellent video. I'm picking up woodworking at 70, following retirement. I've done very little so far but am amazed at the difference I feel between a respirator/mask and no mask. Never thought about the laser cutters but it makes sense and I realize I don't have to be on the bleeding (or breathing) edge of tech.
Having been a shop kid in high school, I think a major reason people don't use respirators more often is because they don't make it standard in school. When i was cutting and sanding my wood project, I'd blow my nose afterwards and have a TONE of dust as a result. The ONLY time I remember a resperator being required was when we were demo-ing a house and there was black mold in the basement. FYI, we mixed and layed comcrete several times that year.
After years of being frugal, I finally decided to buy a 3M Adflo respirator. It was my best purchase ever; my only regret is not buying it sooner.
That is one of the most important videos i have seen!!! It's not that i haven't seen ones, Stumpy Nubs has good safety videos generally on power tools and on this subject, but this video shows how much we are vulnerable!!! Even with what thought to be safe finishes..... well for the last 3 years i am using hand tools onley and the finishes that i am using mostly are: Shellac , Tung oil , blo. Know to be clear frome time to time i making cut's with mt table saw, router and use spry as a finish or paint i always use my 3m mask with carbon filters for the sprayed paint and finishes and general use filters for my power tools. Thanks for sharing!!
Appreciate the kind words. Thank you
I wish the mini painting community would wise up. So many creators will use a air compressor with paint and use the least amount of air filtration or even none at all. And the common “paint booths” that are sold for mini painting do not pull enough cfm of air to make a difference. They appear to on the surface but they often use a 10mm computer fan that barely moves the air. Ugh!
Good video! Thank you for making this!
My "shop" is my attached garage. I've learned no matter how hard I try with vacuums and fans with filters, dust still seeps into my house.
Instead, I put casters on my work bench and roll it into the driveway. I still point a fan to blow away from my when sanding though.
Added bonus or hidden drawback: My neighbors always want to come over and talk and inspect my projects. I'm still up in the air about if I like that or not.
hang plastic around your work area. I grind metal in my garage - with the garage being used with a basement door between the garage and the basement. If I just grind in the garage and then walk back through, the air in the garage will gradually make its way into the basement with metal grinding dust numbers getting to 20 or 30 in the basement and some of that will make its way into the main house.
If I hang plastic around my grinding area in the garage, and use point collection, which is only partially efficient - but it's better than nothing, the particle level in the basement is a tenth at most. The important point is the plastic hangs from ceiling to floor and just has a flap that you can walk through, but the air flow at the door is generally from pressure at the garage door to the basement door - that's outside of the plastic.
Also, the point dust collection is inside the plastic ( a fein II) but the power unit is outside - so there is a slight bias for the system to pull fresh air into the work space rather than blow it around inside and push some out.
Amazing deep dive, thanks for sharing. Last winter, I spent many days in my closed garage without a mask. There were many times when it looked like the garage was filled with smoke, due to all the floating dust. Can't imagine the damage I'd done. But yeah. Mask on. Door open. Air filtration active.
Love it! Glad you’re taking better protective measures. Thanks for watching
Thank you for sharing this information! Furniture refinishing falls into basically everyone of the test cases. I feel very justified in wearing my Respirator pretty much all the time.
Thank you for this video - I spent years in a cabinet shop where we rarely if ever wore masks. I worry about that these days for sure, as I didn’t realize how dangerous that was. Also having a beard, there is a lot of debate around the efficacy of masks. The consensus seems to be that the only way to get good protection is via a positive airflow mask: would love to see a test on that for people like me with beards. Thanks for such great content!
Thank you for making this much needed video for the youtube community. It's unfortunate that the algorithm will probably put it on every feed except those that need it the most. I would love to see one cover treated wood and wood preservatives. I saw one video of a guy spraying it on in mass amounts with his poor dog near by. Many people filming "how to build a deck" with their kids running about inhaling the chemically treated saw dust.
Sawdust from circular saw cuts, in an outdoors environment, as a once-off diy project, is unlikely to present a major health risk.
When I saw Kyle at about 15 seconds in, I had a feeling I would love this video. And I did. Thank you so much for this insight.
The whole video is Roman tragedy about Kyle. Haha thanks for watching
I just came across your channel; what I've seen so far is really great! This was an eye-opener that I think I needed and at the right time. Thank you very much!
When I do wood working, I try to do as much as possible outside. My garage is pretty small, and I have to park cars and bicycles in my garage. So I have made the decision to do all my work with "jobsite" tools because they're easier to store and carry around, and therefore I can bring them outside to my back patio when I want to cut wood. I have some folding tables in a closet that I bring out to my patio, and I'll set up my small miter saw or table saw on those. Furthermore, because I like to work outside, I almost exclusively use battery-powered power tools because it's just faster to move them around and set them up outside without having to run a bunch of extension cords.
I pretty much only buy power tools that have dust ports. My standard setup is to bring my small dust cyclone and 18V battery-powered shop vac outside. I hook up the cyclone to the dust port on my tool, and then I hook up my shop vac to the cyclone. ONCE IN A WHILE, I have to confess that I make a couple quick cuts without a mask, but I've noticed that I get a sore throat and sore nose when I do this -- even when I work outside. So I've become even more diligent with my mask wearing in the past year. I 100% understand that my shop vac + jobsite tools don't collect as much dust as expensive shop-grade tools, but since I wear a mask and work outside, I think it's OK. When I'm done working, I go inside and take off my mask, and all the fine dust particles stay outside. I try to vacuum up all the coarse sawdust that actually settles on the ground (concrete pavers) plus on my tables where I've been working.
Finally, while I'm just a hobbyist, I know a guy who developed pulminary Sarcoidosis after working as a pro carpenter for ~25 years. He now has very serious health issues. It's really awful. I think he could have avoided this had he worn masks earlier in his career.
wow.... soooooo ..... Fine Epoxy dust in the air could possibly be a problem?! 😫
Might actually be worse. I’d have to dig up the literature on it to be sure. But you’re using PPE in most of the shots I see. Definately an outlier in a good way.
Excellent video. But.. Covering the intakes on a mask sucks it onto your face makes a good seal even if you didn't start with one. To do it properly you would fit your VOC cartridges and put your head inside a small plastic hood (think upside down garbage bag) and have a scent in there. We would use a cotton ball soaked in banana oil. If you can still smell it while wearing your mask it is not sealing properly. My previous employer kept many different sizes and different brands of masks on hand to make sure the mask fit properly. It's inconvenient and not very practical but having a proper fitting mask is worth the effort in the long term.
As someone that has held many blue collar jobs and took several shop classes throughout my years in school, I was absolutely shocked by the lack of safety training.
Throughout the entirety of my 20s, I worked on cars, houses, woodworking projects, etc without ever wearing a mask. Then in my early 30s I bought a house that had asbestos flooring, thankfully I was well aware of the dangers of asbestos. In furthering my knowledge of asbestos I became curious about everything else: from the white clouds of drywall dust, to cement, and even saw dust.
I feel stupid now that I didn't know how absolutely dangerous all these things were. It was never mentioned in school. I never see respirators or even basic masks on job sites. Never saw the older generation use anything growing up as a kid. In fact I remember being absolutely obsessed with the smell of saw dust as a little kid, to the point where I'd shove my face into piles to get a big whiff.
How we can live for decades, surrounded by building materials, and not be taught there most basic properties is absolutely insane to me.
Great info! Even though I'm a hand tool guy, I opted for a power sander because of the dust collection. I don't enjoy using the noisy thing, but it's a LOT less dust than hand sanding. We need to protect ourselves!
It always blows my mind how good some of these sanders are with dust collection. I have respiratory allergy to walnut sawdust and I probably COULD get away without a mask when using the festool sander haha.
Hand scrapers and hand planes.
I haven't figured out scrapers yet, but they supposedly give a better finish then sanding without the dust.
@@WoodcraftBySuman Yeah, combined with a modern mesh sandpaper they really are excellent. I still wear a mask and run the air filter though, because I'm not taking chances!
@@brianlawrence9959 I love my scrapers, but somehow I just don't trust myself to use them for final finish. Especially on soft woods like spruce. I should try on my next build.
Amazing video. Safety is so important yet so easily overlooked. This stuff saves lives.
So many aspects to shop pollution I have never imagined. Thank you so much, Suman, for all the work you put into this report!
Great video, hope it gets plenty of views. I use 3M TR-300 PAPR's at in work in a health care setting, they are a great deal more effective and comfortable than half mask options. I've had a TR600/Adflo welding PAPR with Speedglass hood in my Amazon cart forever, just about all of their head gear options are intercompatable. Use a Speedglass for welding and a standard grinding hood for everything else; that covers impact protection, welding fumes, VOC's, and particulates/dust. The $2-3k price tag for a complete set up has me dragging my feet...
Being a heavily bearded fellow myself, i'd like to get myself a papr system. Are the non-welding ones cheaper? I had a welding job where they provided us papr welding masks that costs them something like $3K a piece, but I didn't get to keep it when I left.
For 3d printing, a decent (but not 1:1 naturally) comparison ground are production ("cancer village") areas in china that deal with similar in core composition materials. For example for PLA, the PMMA % is likely covered by just having the printer next to a regular window if the room isnt smaller than 28~30m3, same for its rarely (if the filament is made sloppily as it should be gone by end of spool production) accompanied toluene by sheer % volume (as can be seen with the few studies having it in under 10% of samples even showing up or flat out dont note), but if breakdown happens due to high temp (generally from printing over 220) its best if no food or people are within at least 2-3m of the printer, ethanal is a similar case, but does give a extra warning of "dont drink before and during printing if in the same 2-3 room space, you might be poisoning yourself more for less of the fun", meanwhile, if printing with nylon or abs, especially composite ones for strength and durability, the person might as well huff nitro or gas directly and at least get high in addition to the likely lung and brain damage if in the same room or only relying on regular window ventilation (and the death will be from it instead of cancer).
But i think most people with FDMs know and hold onto those rules (same for resin and not getting it anywhere near food and having a good enclosure to vent it out, if possible being friendly to the neighbours and birds by running it through a filter first).
This is a terrific video and i am totally sold on getting one of those monitors!y dylos ki ked the bucket a couple years ago and i've waited too long to replace it.
Theres two things i would add to your considerations. First, if you have bad collection in your shop, just walking around will kick up all the hazardous PM2.5 that was lying around. For that reason its important to regularly blow out your shop (i use a leaf blower!) To purge it of as much fine dust as possible.
Second would be exactly that... air changes! It's critical to create as much airflow as possible if you are generating dust, so that you move as much out of the shop as possible. It would be interesting to see the PM2.5 numbers from the laser etching if you set up fans to purge and replace your shop air for 30 minutes.
Overall a terrific video - thank you!
Hey awesome video !
Have you tested handtools like handsaws and handplanes ? People usually say they produce thicker dust that falls quickly on the ground but can't they also produce fine particles in a significant amount ?
Also curious about hand sanding
Im sure sanding and probably also rasping create fine particles.
This is a fantastic video Suman. One of our channel members sent it to me. I'd like to feature it on this week's Tool Show. Would that be alright with you? - Rob
Hi Rob- by all means! More people that learn about safety measures thr better. Thank you for asking.
Thanks for making this video. I ordered the air quality monitor to asses my own filtration methods.
Worth noting on the subject of fine saw dust inhalation -
Some forms of wood are also poisonous. Either naturally or because we have treated them. In the US, you're most commonly going to see this issue with stuff treated for outdoor use. Certain varieties, like yew, are just naturally pretty toxic though.
Anyways, point is that the fine dust from these lumbers are a real double whammy. You probably don't want to breathe that stuff in.
One other thing I have seen a lot -
People seem to think that odorless mineral spirits are way less toxic than the OG mineral spirits. They're really not. They just don't stink as much.
I'm glad I found this video. I'm considering taking up woodcarving as a hobby, but after watching this I clearly see I currently lack the space and ventilation setup to do it safely.
Woodcarving (assuming with knives and not power tools) should be okay. Be sure to do the sanding and finishing in well-ventilated space.
About 20 years ago I made a project out of African Padauk. It took me 5 hours to complete the project and 2 days to recover from not wearing a high quality mask. I thought my lungs would never be the same. No other tool/substance has ever hurt so much.
Just discovered your channel, thanks for the tests. It made it clear that I need to get myself a proper mask when making dust in my shop! Interesting to learn that there are filter types depending on danger we want to protect ourselves. Thanks again, super useful!
I wonder how well N95s work.
Very well thought out, researched and presented. Props to Kyle. Such a good sport.😂
Thank you for making and sharing this video with and for the DIY Community!
Thanks for covering the topic. We don't realize how much all the stuff we do.
Thanks for the measurements! Wonder if you might comment on how to determine when it's time to replace different cartridges? I would imagine particulate cartridges likely last quite a long time, but wonder a bit more about those that filter VOCs. But rather than wondering, would love measurements
Agreed! I’ve definitely started wearing a mask more since I’ve started making in the past 3 years and use the 3M mask shown here. But there is no real indication on when to change these filters. Does it come down to hours worn or do they deteriorate over time and should be changed every couple of months regardless?
This is a great question. There are a lot of factors to consider: type of agents being filtered, frequency and duration of use, and how long the filter has been out of the bag. Generally speaking, replacing the multi purpose respirator every 6 months is a safe margin, though the filter I was using in the video is about a year old.
Thanks@@WoodcraftBySuman.
Some 3M cartridges have an end-of-service-life-indicator that you can visually check.
Without that, either you can monitor the air and log every work our, and calculate /estimate the usage of the filter. Or replace when you can smell chemicals even when wearing the mask...
Id be interested to see a test of how much glue is actually needed to hold two pieces of wood together. There’s no doubt i think we waste too much glue.
Thank you and the youtube algorithm for taking my safety seriously as im about to start (a hopefully lengthy) diy journey.
Man, I’m all in on this video. As a ICU RN and a woodworker, you hit the center of my career Venn Diagram! Subscribed!
Love the content, Suman! Your dedication to the scientific analysis of woodworking and making is impressive.
I work at a research institute, and we actually did a safety analysis of airborne contaminants that need to be filtered by weighing filters on a precision laboratory analytical balance at intervals throughout a typical day. The increased mass of certain lab filters throughout the day juxtaposed to the relatively consistent mass of filters outside of those labs identified the need for increased PPE usage, shorter intervals between filter changes, and increased rates of air changes in those labs to keep aerosols from accumulating in the atmosphere of that room.
This is why I wear my respirator 24/7 and change my organic vapor filters daily. 🙃
Oh how I would love to geek out on those testing parameters. haha. What did you guys use for VOC measurements? I was not able to find any cost effective methods to measure specific types of VOCs without sending it to a lab for few hundred bucks per analysis. As you know, aggregate VOC measures are not nearly as useful as specific cancer causing agent quantification.
Also - I always look forward to your comments. Encouraging as always. Thank you!
@@WoodcraftBySuman we didn't analyze the specifics of VOCs or other airborne contaminants, we only measured the quantity of filters materials among 6 different labs: 2 small, single study labs, one empty vs. one in-use; 2 medium, multi-user labs, one empty vs. one in-use, and 2 large, multi-user labs, one in partial use and the other full of users. Collecting the mass of filtered particulates in order to estimate the frequency of filter changes needed and efficiency of the air handling for different sizes of labs was all that was measured. Most particulates were likely dust produced or brought in on the clothes of the occupants, but the likelihood of hazardous contaminants suspended in the air being inhaled by the lab users, especially for shared spaces, was the primary focus. The basis for the experiment was actually derived from a study a researcher had read about comparing conditioned office space vs. outdoor air quality. Human lungs are really good at filtering and flushing out debris like pollen and common dust, but as covid taught us, aerosols and finer debris are really hard to filter out, and can cause major health effects.
Personally I use a full face mask. The charcoal filters on it are expired, but it's fine for particulates.
It's fairly cheap at around 30 bucks.
Great advice for the DIY and fellow YTs. You don’t need to get every detail perfect to get your well reasoned and responsible point across, hopefully you start a trend.
Thank you for making some content on this subject... most people don't bother with air quality and its something that needs to be addressed.
Thank you for researching and posting this. I appreciate your test-based advice.
I use a 3m full face respirator in my wood shop for every cut and blow out the shop with a box fan currently, as I don’t have an air filtering system. I do have dust collection and use it.I should mention that my day job as a chemist has me next to a pm 2.5 monitor, hence why I’m so diligent about my protection. You would not believe how much I get made fun of by a lot of woodworkers I run into but I’m also the only one that doesn’t cough randomly.
Last laugh is had by the one that lives the longest! Keep on keeping, brotha!
Make some series for this topic, very interesting. Or maybe a second part would be nice.
Thanks Suman. And Kyle, for the sacrifice. I also weld. The risks are more obvious but at least I already have the kit👍
Thanks David. In retrospect, I should have included welding fumes, especially because I have a welder in the shop.
Incredibly summarized, thanks for sharing and highlighting this info! I will definitely be mindful to use that respirator more frequently. On that note - any tips on storing respirators? I find hanging up in the shop might just let fine dust settle on it.
Thank you! So...ideally, the VOC respirators should be stored in a sealed bag because it otherwise interacts with the ambient air and reduces shelf life. But the P100 mask...can I just tell you....I bought an entire closed cabinet workbench with drawers MOSTLY to use one drawer to store my masks bc I'm tired of sawdust landing on them. haha
Hey man. Great video, really glad this got recommended by Lincoln St.
I feel like everyone still has a bunch of FFP2 masks lying around from the last 2 years. Would these protect against those fine particulets when worn tight enough? Or are they not sufficient?
FFP2 masks are fine in a pinch but they don’t have great filtration (95% vs 99.97%) and usually have poor seal and discomfort develops quickly. For particulates, they’re still much better than no mask.
And as mentioned in the video, the air seal around leftover masks is really weak compared to a proper half-mask. But still better than nothing...
Fine dust or fumes are always underestimated, I see resin printing videos all the time in no ventilation and that's BAD. Thanks for making this video to educate makers.
Wow! That's a lot of dust to inhale over just a year. That volume seems like it would actually choke one to death, even if it took a year to accumulate!
I must say that dealing with dust collection and /or extraction has been an ongoing subroutine in my shop, and the last big change I made was to get away from my highly inefficient shop vac and install a 5 hp dust extraction system with proper ductwork.
Still, definitely not 100% or perfect in terms of removing all airborne particulates, but it is sooooo much better than when I used a shop vac on my machines!
Yea the amount shown in the video is a little more fluffy than the actual particulates we breathe in. it was measured by weight and I imagine the visual size difference would be a bit less with actual PM2.5 and PM10. Keep in mind, it’s how much we breathe in. Not all of it stays in our body. My estimates assumed normal breathing volume of 500mL per breath at 16 breaths a minute for an adult at rest working for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. The actual concentration was from the study that measured air quality in wood shops. Some voodo math and viola! 499 grams total weight.
I believe the estimated measured in the woodshops also had some level of dust collection. The fine stuff really loves to escape into the air despite good dust collection.
Watched this video and subscribed. Would love to see some of the same tests with cutting/ sanding drywall as a lot of us DIYers also deal with that. Love the content!
Extraction on all tools. A tracksaw is going to be cleaner than a lot of other saws.
Think about the filter class on your extraction too. I run the exhaust of my cheap shopvac into an M-Class machine.
Half face masks are pretty good, full face is magic. Always keep a range of masks and filter combos.
LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS VIDEO. A great follow up would be age of mask. How well do they filter after timed intervals of usage? I can appreciate developing a consistent system to start this so if you ever can... Man. I'm all over it. Thanks again for the content.
I just want to thank you to produce this very informative video. I hope that a lot people see it and understand the danger of all of this saw dust and volatile particles. Have a good day!
Appreciate your kind words. Thank you for watching.
Evan & Katelyn always wear big full face respirators when doing resin work, and have done for a few years now
As far as resin safety, I have seen very little in woodworking in general but channels more focused on making/crafts like Evan & Katelyn in particular demonstrate good techniques when handling resins and finishes.
this is what i tried telling people iworked in the medical field, like surgical masks are not made to stop viral spread they are made for surgery to prevent fluids from getting in you rmouthbecause the body squirts and ive use d surgical masks for wood wrking and it does not keep anywhere near enough sawdust out
This reminds me of when I had to unclog a dirty toilet and I had my M50 gas mask with expired training filters. IT WORKED! The filters allowed me to press on through the worst job ever. It was for a family member. Without it, I could not have done the job. It was an eye opener for how well the filters (even when expired) work. No smell at all.
Awesome video. You have a great way of telling us what we don't want (but need) to hear. Thank you
Anyone who regularly works with wood should know exactly how much dust they're breathing in. Before i realized i could just use a dust mask in the shop, i was coughing up lumps of sawdust laced phlegm every morning in the shower. Most specie of wood won't cause permanent damage from intermittent exposure. But if your lungs are constantly loaded with sawdust eventually it will cause problems.
Also, a cheap box fan with a filter strapped to the front of it works wonders, cuts down the airborn dust by half. Using a tool dust extractor helps a lot too.
If you really want to be safer wear ppe clothing. If you are spraying anything. Sure a respirator is good for the lungs, but remember the skin is the largest organ and can absorb all kinds of stuff into your bloodstream. I was a car painter for about 20 years so we always had to read the data and go by osha regulations. Sure it maybe excessive but if you spray finishes a lot it's a good idea.
This is a great point. Bunny suits are incredibly useful to protect dermal absorptions.
future idea? How to prep your garage "workshop" for success.. best dust extractor ideas, air intake filtrators (sp?), etc.. and how much you can cut down on the overall crap in the air just by doing a few basics (besides personal filters, of course)
One thing that would probably surprise you is how very little time that respirator cartridges will actually provide protection under ‘hot’ conditions. Military NBC(nuclear/biological/chemical) filters are something like 15 minutes under full contamination if I recall correctly
It would be interesting to see how much bad stuff is emitted from dye sublimation and heat pressing items - also from heat pressing transfers for fabrics. Screen printed transfers vs dtf vs laser toner vs polyester vinyl transfers.
Tons I stop doing it because of that. And I was using plastisol..smh
Thank you for the informative video, I'll make sure to pick up a respirator before my next project 👍
Question in regards to dust and air filtration. I know the dust can linger in the air for hours in your shop but if you do all your woodworking outdoors (I only use handheld power tools, jigsaw, orbital sander etc.) how strict do you need to be with dust collection? I still wear a mask for the immediate dust that gets created at the time of using the tools and do use a shop vac attached to my sander. Only thing I do inside my garage shop is hand carving with knives and gouges.
The risk is much much less when working outside. If you are wearing a mask when you are generating lots of particulates like sanding, you should be in pretty good shape overall.
Great video!
I'm one of the kind of guys who goes "screw it, I'm just going to 'be a man'" instead of bothering with finding the protection equipment I have laying around in some box somewhere.
This video has re-opened my eyes to something I allready knew to be true and important, just could not be bothered with.
Thank you. My kids will probably appreciate it in 40 years when I'm not dead from particulates and gasses screwing my body up.
This is my favourite comment. It’s people like yourself who need to see this and make some relatively small changes to prevent some potentially serious long term consequences.
You don’t want to be finding this stuff out 20, 30, 40 years from now due to some health problems and discovering it was all preventable. Unfortunately, I’m sure there will be plenty of people like that who eventually find their way here too 😢
Well damn seems like we should be masking up while in the workshop all the time! Great video Suman, out here saving our lungs
Thanks dude! Appreciate you watching.
Wow this video is fantastic and very eye opening! Thanks for sharing and RIP Kyle.
Absolutely fantastic job brother! Love this video and the work you put into it!
Informative! Thanks. I'll have to change some of my standard operating procedures.
I just got into wood working and I decided off the bat I'll use only hand tools. I've only about 4 days of experience at this point and experienced day one how much dust a rasp file will produce, so decided I'd go primarily with chisels and a planer.
Do you know any stuff about oil accelerants? I got into beef at a wood discord for swearing cod liver oil has the right type of fats to be a drying oil. Saw recently that Canadian fishermen used a cod oil and red ochre pigment, potentially with stuff like urine or birch extract added. I'm very wary of the toxicity of common accelerants so always looking for something that can dry my oil in days instead of weeks without exposing me to lead, cobalt, etc
I promise I’ll come back to the safety brief but just wanted you to know you’re doing the lords work
This video, and Jon's the other day, convinced me to buy a second respirator to use when applying Rubio. I've been talking about it as "zero VOC" for a year or two now without having read much on the can, and these tests have me feeling like an idiot.
Don’t feel bad. I have taken some chances even when I was formally educated and trained to know better. The important thing is being aware and exercising safe measures whenever possible.
@@WoodcraftBySuman besides in-shop concerns when applying finish, did you test how long finishes stop off-gassing the VOCs in unsafe amounts? Wondering now if waiting 12-24 hours is still enough time to wait before bringing projects inside the house.
@@RobSchweitzer that’s a tough one bc it depends on the finish type, temperature/humidity of curing environment, surface area of the project, thickness of the finish, volume of area of space the project is being taken to, ventilation of that indoor space, and if children or pregnant mothers are potentially involved. Some finishes continue to cure for weeks, though the rate slows down quite a bit after a few days. If pregnant mama and/or children are involved, I would give it almost a week and let it cure as much as possible outside of living quarters because they are considered vulnerable population when it comes to VOC exposure and has greater effects on them than otherwise adults.