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Breathing in hardwood sawdust

Started by WoodenHead, June 06, 2012, 09:39:11 PM

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WoodenHead

Today I tried milling my first hardwood log.  It went well.  We've been going at pine and cedar for a while now, but I have an order for some white ash.  The dust of the ash is a lot finer and that got me wondering if it is harmful to breath in the sawdust.  I believe I read somewhere that you should wear some personal protective equipment (face mask) when sawing oak because of the acid contained in the wood.

I was wondering what do you folks do with oak.  Do you wear a mask?  Do I need wear a mask for the white ash? 

Magicman

I do not saw without wearing a mask.....Period.


 
Glasses, ear plugs, mask, gloves, steel toe boots.
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

Tree Feller

Sawdust, all sawdust, has been labeled a carcinogen...breathing it can give you cancer. In addition, many people have or develop a sensitivity to certain woods, Aromatic Cedar being a popular one. Walnut is another that seems to bother some people a lot.

The level of PPE you wear is purely a personal decision. I don't wear a dust mask because I'm gonna die from something eventually. I really doubt that it will be caused by sawdust inhalation.

Others will tell you that those paper dust masks are useless in keeping the micron-sized dust particles out of your lungs. They advocate a positive-pressure face mask.

You will have to decide for yourself but erring on the side of caution will probably give you more peace-of-mind if not cleaner lungs.   ;)

Cody

Logmaster LM-1 Sawmill
Kioti CK 30 w/ FEL
Stihl MS-290 Chainsaw
48" Logrite Cant Hook
Well equipped, serious, woodworking shop

Magicman

This is the mask that I use:  LINK  The N95 denotes the filtration micron size.  It has the necessary exhalation valve which prevents moisture buildup.  Different Google searches may find a better price  ???
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

captain_crunch

M_M
Only thought you wore mask when presenting bill :D :D :D :D :D :D :D
Sorry could not help myself  :-\ :-\
M-14 Belsaw circle mill,HD-11 Log Loader,TD-14 Crawler,TD-9 Crawler and Ford 2910 Loader Tractor

WoodenHead

I'm glad I asked the question.  Thanks for the responses and for the link. 

Ear plugs, glasses, steel-toed boots are standard for me, but I've never had much success with masks for other situations (never seemed to seal properly).  I'll give the 3M mask a try. 

Although we all will go one way or the other, I'd prefer to go without suffering.  ;)  Hopefully this thread is useful for others as well.



Chuck White

You just need to realize that breathing in sawdust is breathing in a solid!

It is not natural.

I don't wear a dust mask, but if sawdust and wind are a problem on a certain saw job, I just get the saw started and let it go on it's own!
~Chuck~  Cooks Cat Claw sharpener and single tooth setter.  2018 Chevy Silverado and 2021 Subaru Ascent.
With basic mechanical skills and the ability to read you can maintain a Woodmizer  LT40!

Woodsrover

Good question and an interesting subject.  I'm in the autobody business an am pretty well versed on personal protection, especially respiratory protection, yet I don't wear a mask when I'm sawing either.  Gloves and hearing protection, but no mask.  Funny that.

The 8511 mask that MM wears is very good and what we use on the floor for any sanding tasks.  It's more than good enough for sawdust.  In the past couple of months I've cut 4000+bf of white pine and just this week 1000+bf of red and pin oak.  Neither bothered me and most of the time the wind was in my favor, but sometimes it wasn't.  With this post I'll grab a few of these masks and keep them handy.  Thanks for the reminder to work safe!

grweldon

I would think a cheap $40 respirator would be better than most things.  I wear one when I'm cutting wood in the shop, but I work with many exotics and rosewoods...
My three favorite documents: The Holy Bible, The Declaration of Independence and The Constitution of the United States.

Magicman

For me, it would be rather cumbersome when sawing.
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

westyswoods

Anecdotally, several years ago a young man who was working with a local tree care company delivered a load of black walnut chips. He had been chipping and pulling all day.

I am not sure what the toxins in BW are but this kid was one sorry looking kid. He should have been in the ER, tough young man. Saw him a week later and he had some severe respiratory difficulty that night. No known long term implications .

Stay Safe and Be Healthy
Westy

Al_Smith

I don't know about running a mill but red oak through a table saw causes me fits .Sneeze ,sneeze ,sneeze .Eyes water something terrible nose plugs up .

Ash,white oak,hickory ,pine ,fir no problems .

opticsguy

No respirator, no cutting, that is my rule.  Health is the greatest gift you have and without it if can not do anything else, care your family or yourself or your dreams.

When you find out your are allergic to a specific species or find you are getting ill from the dust, it is too late.
TK 1220 band mill,  1952 Ford F-2, 1925 Dodge touring, too many telescopes.

Al_Smith

Probabley for some .In my case having worked around industrial pollution and agriculteral dusts most of my life I just developed allergies .Fact a majority of folks in this area of the country have sinus problems so short of moving to Arizona or the northern slope of Alaska there is no option but to grin and bear it .

In a desert I'd melt and on the north slope I'd freeze so I'm just stuck here in middle ground . --sneezing --:D

Magicman

When we were created we were given a brain and the ability to think, defend ourselves, and to take whatever steps are necessary to preserve our health.  If you see a train coming, you step off of the tracks.  Airborne dust which includes sawdust is simply a slow moving train.
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

Al_Smith

Oh don't get me wrong because I fully agree with you .I forget what they call injested  wood fiber ,brown lung maybe ?Black lung was what killed the coal miners and silicoses the sand blasters and quarry workers .

My only point in mentioning allergies is due to the fact that in areas like the "Ohio valley " you live with conditions that promote problems unless you live in a bubble .People in fact who never worked in industrial or agriculutural  dust and never had any bad habits such as smoking are affected .

What works best for me if I have a lot to cut is turn the table saw around with a fan to my back and blow the saw dust outside because mask or not my eyes will water from the oak dust .Cutting ,felling with a chainsaw no problems at all ,just saw dust .

Texas Ranger

Over the 50 years or so I have worked wood, it is in the last ten that I noticed a reaction to some, walnut and cedar, now there are more.  I wear a mask, and try to keep (try the key word) a clean shop.  I used a lot of mahogany in my door making days, and that stuff was deadly.  I still stir up a little dust from some hidden corner and can tell immediately that all is not well.

Wear a mask.
The Ranger, home of Texas Forestry

Magicman

Quote from: Al_Smith on June 07, 2012, 02:43:16 PM
Oh don't get me wrong because I fully agree with you. 

I was speaking to the thread in general Al, trying to point out that what goes in....does not come out.

We had a local cement/concrete contractor that died recently.  Over the years, he literally cemented his lungs.  He breathed in dust, moisture was there, so bingo.   :-\
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

John S

Magic,
Bought a box of 10 at Lowes today, just under $20 less 10% veterans discount.  More comfortable than my cartridge respirator.  Thanks.
2018 LT40HDG38 Wide

cutterboy

I have a problem with cherry.....runny nose, sneeze, itchy eyes. A while back Magicman showed us a picture of that mask he uses in a post and I went out and bought one. I sawed up a wack of cherry this spring and no problems. The mask made all the difference. (Thank you Magic)

Hey Magic, how often do you change your mask?
To underestimate old men and old machines is the folly of youth. Frank C.

Indiana Robinson

Quote from: Magicman on June 06, 2012, 11:04:58 PM
This is the mask that I use:  LINK  The N95 denotes the filtration micron size.  It has the necessary exhalation valve which prevents moisture buildup.  Different Google searches may find a better price  ???



I find that those mask with 2 bands seal to my bearded face a whole lot better than the one band ones. I also love the exhale valves.
I used to wear dust mask when scooping grain (retired now) since it was always full of molds and stuff. I just could not breath well doing that kind of work without the exhale valve. The valve gets a lot of the moisture out instead of it clogging the mask paper.
Lifetime farmer.
Lifetime sawdust lover.
Old Tractor lover.
Have worn a lot of hats.
Once owned a Kasco mill that would saw a 30"x24' log. Now a new little LT-10 Woodmizer for my own lumber.
And yes, my woodshop is seriously infested with Shopsmiths.
Old geezer trying hard not to be one. :-)

Magicman

Quote from: cutterboy on June 07, 2012, 08:00:08 PM
Hey Magic, how often do you change your mask? 

Sometimes they just get dirty on the outside and really look bad, but most often the elastic will go bad.  Just guessing, but probably between 5-10Mbf.  I remove it and the glasses when loading and leveling logs, so it comes off often.
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

bandmiller2

Prehaps I should wear a mask but don't,I would say your nose will tell, if you must blow it often your sucking dust.I really only notice dust when cutting hardwoods that have partally dried out and/ or I'am feeding a big cut slowly.Do believe circular sawyers have less dust to worry about as it comes off the log in chunks.Probibly the wise use of a fan and air movement will greatly reduce your exposire. Frank C.
A man armed with common sense is packing a big piece

Al_Smith

I've got a couple -3 boxes full of 3M masks I bought at an auction of a cabinet shop selling out .Also a cartridge mask I use when spray painting .

hackberry jake

You guys just need to find you some freshly felled sycamore... No mask needed for that stuff  8)
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