This sawdust myth needs to be debunked!

MDF dust is much more dangerous than people realize.

This is probably the best-informed respiratory protection video in existence, as it relates to woodworking. Thank you!!!

How does the rz mask rate?

I had a stealth mask that looks to be a generation or two earlier than the one in this video and had to axe it because the sweat build up would constantly drip on my work. Have you noticed better "breathability" in this version?

The wood dust that is classified as a carcinogen is dust from pressure treated lumber.

i talked to my future self, and he wanted to thank you for helping create the all outdoor woodworking shops with fresh clear air. the transparent aluminum makes it all possible 😊

I'm quite allergic to oak. Found this out through allergy testing. I turn wood on the lathe and we all know those chips come right at you. Well i was turning oak before i knew i was allergic one day and felt really bad all of a sudden. Decided to step away from the lathe. Dizzy, felt really green and pukey. Blew off all the shavings and took my respirator off and went inside. Showered, ate a benadryl and was ok later. Oak about got me. I don't even cut down an oak tree now. I let someone else do it. Sometimes its not just the dust that'll get you but some of the wood and fungus that live in the woods will mess you up. It'll happen quick sometimes. Pay attention folks!
The smell of cut oak turns my stomach to this day.

Stumpy Nubs, the best informative woodworking videos on the planet. I wish you were my next door neighbor, I'd sure like to borrow your shop occasionally.

Like everything else, just use common sense. If you obsess over the "what if" than the hobby isn't fun anymore. It's said that bob ross developed cancer from the paint thinner. Should he have worn a mask and gloves while painting? Should he have just used acrylic paint?

This is so much fun! I am MUCH older than you! I started in the craft in the late 60's.
When I first started out, we had been taught, (in "shop class") or some kind of "training" program, all about "SAFETY GEAR"!! Long before OSHA!
Even when I went to "construction school" in the NAVY, they made a show of "safety equipment"!
In the "REAL WORLD" (especially when little brown people are trying to KILL YOU!) "Safety gear" becomes a distant second!
Coming out of that background, where "safety gear" will get you LAUGHED OFF THE JOB SITE!!
Where "safety concerns" reduce PRODUCTION!!!!
Safety gear, must be READILY AVAILABLE!!! Easily deployed! AND COMFORTABLY DEPLOYED!!
ANY GEAR that is not easily deployed, WILL NOT BE DEPLOYED!! Until it is far too late!!

James I agree with all your comments but if I had to endure filter mask and face mask everytime I went into do anything in my shop I would quit doing woodworking. I get sweaty and my mouth gets dry and I become tired quickly when using masks for any length of time. I need to stop what I am doing and take a break outside. Because the frustration the mask causes I am afraid I will lose my caution around the power equipment and get injured. Is the fine particles of dust actually ever not around us. Park your car or truck outside go back in a few hours and check the fine dust that has been deposited on your vehicle you are breathing that air without a mask. I have a vacuum system, a automated air filter hanging from the ceiling, and a AC system with three stacked air filters. I do wear a mask when doing a lot of cutting, sanding, planing, etc. My grandfather worked in farming, in a lumber mill, and as a carpenter his whole life and died at 98 years old when his body gave out on him. He never wore a mask for anything not even when mixing paint. If we are truly trying to help let’s come up with a personal filtering system that is comfortable and convenient not for a quick profit but for something that actually help. Thanks

Sawdust is my enemy. I am constantly trying to keep my wood shop clean but it seems impossible. I keep improving my dust collection system but yet there is that white film of dust on everything, every day. What bothers me is that I can wear dust protection while working on a tool but when I remove it, there is still dust in the air in my shop. With the doors open wind blows it all over the place.

Mr. StumpNubs, I find your content very helpful and informative. Can you help me create a replacement throatplate for my Delta 36-714. Thanks in advance.

I keep seeing these dust collectors for inside. How about something for outside? We don't need all those filters for outside .

He's dead, Jim.

fun fact. At the turn of the 20th century the most common facial hair in europe was the handlebar style mustache. But during WWI many soldiers suffered badly from mustard gas damage because that pesky mustache did not allow a gas mask to form a complete seal on the face. Now you know why Hitler has a narrow mustache. the gas mask can now seal to the skin .

Agree. However, added problem for people that work with exotic woods. NOBODY knows how bad this can be. Think making knife handles. Wear the mask!

NO worthwhile dusk mask will work on a face with a BEARD!!!! An UNSHAVEN face is a REQUIREMENT for a complete seal...even for a smaller type considered a "respiratory half-face" as opposed to a "full-faced with canisters" mask. If just considering fine dust....half-face w/o canister is excellent. When using chemicals, like spraying stain, finishes, etc., a full face or half-face with carbon canisters SHOULD be used. The microscopic mist of chemicals is NOT as easily dealt with inside our bodies as wood dust can be. The vapors from chemicals can ONLY be absorbed and removed from our air by carbon canisters. These are replaceable with use and SHOULD be changed after so many hours of exposure and/or use with chemicals like solvents, etc.

Love this mask for woodworking. I have used a lot of professional 3m dust mask, respirators and full face mask over the years in the marine industry where fine fiberglass particles go down into the lungs and NEVER come out. This mask has an internal rubber gasket similar to high end 3m products as discussed here. The soft rubber gasket definitely works well with beards as discussed. The seal across my nose bridge is so good that I hardly ever get a fogging problem on my glasses. Thanks for the introduction to this mask.

Tips of the day: 1) don't believe any of the ratings on the Chinese dust masks on Amazon. 2) be very wary of buying brand name masks from 3rd party sellers (FBA) on Amazon - there are plenty of fakes around.

Good advice. HOWEVER I found that implementing a dust collection system without being able to measure it's effectiveness is not optimal. I got myself an air quality monitor that measures particles to 3 microns. It was not expensive, and takes the guesswork out of the effectiveness of my dust collection efforts, and when to wear a mask.

I find the router especially dusty...

I like working outdoors. It’s a pain dragging tools out but I just love being outside anyway.

Thats why I save well and I always have my gotee. I learned to get used to the large respirator. I did a good bit of minor breathing in that junk.

What I've done is i have a good fan at my back. To throw all the dust away from me and my mask. It all goes out to another room to be collected and vented with a filter idea I had. That way I can just vacuum it up way later. My lungs are thankful. I ised to cough up some junk a few years ago and it's gotten better and I'm about 95 percent better.... also this was while doing my cutting outside mostly. I'm taking precautions it's not worth it and my idea is MUCH cheaper.

The beard looks great.... I used to work part-time at Lowes in the tool dept. and I would mention to my manager that Lowes carries all these dust making wood working tools but nothing to deal with dust collection. Just not very logical is it. Well my seasoned advice went on deaf ears...

Gonna die of something…

The more machine wood working a shop does the more dust it will produce. Hand tool wood working does not produce as much dust.

As a renovation and site based carpenter/joiner, I invested in a 3M powered respirator after figuring out I have an allergy to mould. Best money I ever spent.
It's lightweight and comfortable enough to wear all day, provides good peripheral vision, and has an impact resistant visor too. I use it in the workshop and for cabinet installations too as it's so damn good. My sinuses and lungs can feel the difference for sure.

Hand tools?

I will say: the beard is a top notch addition to the shop.

Having worked in construction as a carpenter for many years, I agree with the overall principle. Wear a mask for certain materials or prolonged exposure. Don't stress about a few cuts or cutting outside.

Clearly explained info about an important, nuanced topic. Nice video. 👍

As I posted earlier, this video, and several others, have caused me to substantially upgrade both my safety equipment and my shop practices. In working on the problem of dust, I have concluded that there are really two circumstances to deal with. The first is dust collection which seems to primarily focus on keeping you from being knee-deep in debris from tools like your planer and your lathe. Shop vacs and bag type dust collectors do a pretty decent job of getting the big chunks. In fact, my (small shop) Grizzly 1 hp collector does a good job, down to about 2.5 microns. Smaller dust than that goes right through the upper bag and into my lungs. The bigger stuff drops into the lower bag or gets swept up with a broom.

The second circumstance is the one you addressed. The fine dust that is a health hazard, especially if it comes from working with MDF and plywood. I do have an N100 face mask, but it is miserable to wear. I can last about 2 hours in the shop with it on. So, how to solve this problem? Dust filtration. It takes about $60 to build a dust filter that takes the dust emissions from your shop vac or dust collector down to 0.3 microns. There are lots of plans on You Tube for these simple filters. They consist of a encased box fan sandwiched between a course filter (MERV 11) on the intake and a fine filter (MERV 13) on the discharge. I mounted one on the wall just above the bag on my dust collector, and another one on the wall above my disk/belt sander. Both are connected into my LED lighting, and are automatically on all the time the lights are on in the shop. After several weeks of use, I find I no longer have a fine film of dust covering the shop. I also am no longer finding dusk caked in my nose and clothing. My point here is that dust collection and dust filtration are both necessary to maintain a safe work space, and they are not really solved by any single piece of equipment that most of us can afford.

You sound like most of the woodworkers/boatbuilders I know, BTW, most of them now have or have died from Cancer. Any time I produce wood dust, I strap on my 3M 7500 respirator.

Excellent advice, as always! As a woodworker with emphysema, I can personally attest to the importance of a good mask. (not the paper "nuisance dust masks") It's not worth he risks to regularly go without a proper mask...

I'm a fan of the respirator with the p100 filters. I keep three of them in my small garage/shop for woodworking and welding, and have separate specific filters for painting.

You mentioned plywood and particle board and MDF, but I would also like to point out that some species of wood can really affect some people. It should also be pointed out that reusing a respirator, or dust mask can allow particles from the outside of the mask or respirator to get to the inside. Do I use a mask and then reuse it? Of course I do. But it is something to be aware of. Great topic Stumpy.

Actually, you look better without the beard.

There really is no reason for N95 or N99 when comparing price vs performance. Think about it, N95 (95%) is like saying it passes 1 in every 20 (5 of 100) particles while an N100 (99.97%) that doesn't cost that much more passes 1 in every 3333 (0.03 of 100) or it's 167 times more effective. The ratings don't really mean this but this is simplified to make a point. Plus N100 works great for seasonal allergies.

Thank you!

This is a classic case of people thinking everything is about them. As someone who worked in sawmills for years (500000 -1.3 million board feet a shift not mom and pop stuff) I can tell you first hand sawdust is a major health issue. If you are exposed to it 40+ hours a week for years it does become a carcinogen. These regulations and findings aren't aimed at or about woodworkers.

That said if you are working with certain species of tree even small amounts can cause health issues. Educate yourself and take appropriate measures.

i just breathe it in lol

I finally got my order of the Stealth Lite masks. Just in time to use while sanding down my redwood desk to refinish. These masks are wonderful. As you said, Stumpy, they are very comfortable and seal really well. When I take them off, I have a sweat ring around my nose and mouth. The outside of the mask may be coated with fine redwood sawdust while the inside still looks pristine. Thanks for the video and recommendation!

My beard filters everything - even soup.

Beware the static buildup and sparking from PVC dust collection systems. They can go BANG!

What a great, informative, open message you’ve conveyed! I’m a Carpenter, who actually suffers with sinus issues because of the fine dust. I’ve found it best to be wearing a very good quality face mask when using power tools/saws and when not using a mask, petroleum jelly inside both nostrils. You’ve gained a new sub here too 👍

Ideally if you had a shop built like a down draft auto paint booth . . . . . .