safe sanding

[jartzh]

I am concerned with breathing in the sawdust from the nasty wood I use. I put a big strong fan on a pedestal directly on the piece now and it seems to work fine as I never see the dust anymore . it just "evaporates" as I power sand.
The question is : am I doing enough to protect myself from the spores in the wood? My nose blows cleaner than it used to. I hate a mask . but am I just fooling myself ?

[breezly]

I think you should get used to wearing a mask. The particles will effect you . Lungs and nasal passage issues later in life and you will wish you did . I always wear a mask .

[Steve Reed]

Jar, trust me, the advice given by breezly is spot on! I used to power carve duck decoys without a mask, and now have a basswood allergy because of it. The sanding dust can do nasty things, especially if you're using exotics such as cocobolo etc. WEAR A MASK OR RESPIRATOR!!!
Take care. . . .

[Bob K.]

ABSOLUTELY MUST WEAR A MASK!!! You can get a box of them in Home Depot!

[jmischel]

I'll chime in with everybody else: wear a mask. Yes, dust collection goes a long way to helping, but I've found that it's not enough. It's better than no dust collection at all, but I notice a big difference in how I breathe later between wearing a mask and not wearing a mask.

And if you're working with cocobolo, as somebody above mentioned, any spalted wood, or any of the woods you'll find on toxic wood charts, I'd suggest a dust mask at minimum. Preferably a respirator that also covers the eyes and has a better filter.