Which Dust Mask Should Woodworkers Wear? | Rockler Skill Builders

What type of dust mask should a woodworker wear? If you're protecting yourself from dust you should always try to capture the dust at the source with a shop vacuum or dust collection system, but you should also protect yourself by covering your nose and mouth with a good dust respirator. Whether you go with a disposable dust mask, re-usable mask, or a powered dust respirator, any of these options will help you protect your long-term health in the shop. Just pick one, then do the right thing and get in the habit of using it - whenever you’re making sawdust.
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[@sophiarodriguez1861]

Thank you so much !!! You saved lives !

[@isaacwilliam4314]

This was super helpful thanks!

[@sobreruedasmtb2135]

This MDF got me looking for face mask these days

[@Dindon42]

Great commentary, great elocution. Bravo.

[@bccabernet]

Thank you! Quick, to the point... and very informative.

[@VirginiaWolf88]

Wow. Awesome video. Thank you for sharing

[@MitchItch]

Clear and concise video on respiratory protection. I don't think anything you mentioned was incorrect at all. Personally, I'd take a reusable respirator over a disposable any day though. It's tough to have a tight seal in general (beard or no beard), and you can actually test your seal with reusable respirators by performing a quick negative fit check.

[@mystiquespirituals6756]

thankyou great video with easy to understand information. I appreciate it

[@crackerjackcarnivore]

Excellent breakdown. This is much needed info for me as I am working with cutting wood lately. Thank you!

[@rockler]

💙

[@nc5537]

Thank you for this 🙏🏽

[@Dave-kz3mx]

Thank you

[@eezyclsmooth9035]

Great video! Was about to buy some dust masks, glad I saw this video before buying. I am sure I would have wasted money on the wrong ones (one). Learned a lot. Thanks A+

[@pay9011]

Now they say even the cheap masks would help. Something like that might be required to enter stores soon.

[@WillN2Go1]

Good Video Rockler. Thanks. Let me add my two cents. I've used N95 respirators for years. If you're going to wear the mask for more than an hour, get ones with the exhalation valve. You will breathe a lot easier. Get masks with NIOSH ratings, or just wrap a t-shirt across your face. Those cheap single strap ones? Look at people who wear them. They're brown or gray around the sides-- that's because very little of the air is going through the filter material. It's going in and out around the edges. The .3 or was it .03 microns? What's important to know is that particles about half this size will get embedded into your lungs, or work their way into your blood. Yikes! Don't worry. The way filters work is not that they have holes of this size, it's that they are mazes of fibers that catch stuff when it bumps into the fibers, a higher rating means more fibers (and maybe tighter packed) and a bit higher chance of catching stuff. It helps. I usually use a full mask like the one at 4:16 in the video. It breathes a lot easier than any of the disposables and it's comfortable to wear all day, and it will last for twenty years. Some of the masks use less expensive round filters, so you'll change them out more often. A respirator is a good habit. I'm poking around because I want to filter the air while riding my bicycle in Los Angeles.(I like the blower, but I also wear a bike helmet...) I have the 'ahhhheems' from the air pollution. A ride on Sunday morning when most of the cars and trucks were still in bed, and I'm still aheeming. Not good. I also sea kayak. I know that within my first hour on the ocean I've coughed up all the gunk, my lungs are clear and I don't have those 'odd' pains in my chest (bronchial tube irritation or my asthma) and my lungs will feel clear for at least a day. (Actually I have to think about it; if your lungs are clear you don't think about them). I've tried riding with the respirator, but I need more air peddling than I do building ugly furniture. If a bicycle ride ends up being like cutting MDF....what's the point? Another tip from and old busy body. I spent a lot of years in a photography darkroom. When I was a rookie, I'd clean and clean and clean, vacuum the darkroom and there was always a dust problem on the negatives. Always. I thought about this and 1. Stop using cleaning products, just water to wipe down surfaces. 2. I still vacuumed, and with a cheap Shopvac, but I got extra hose and ran one of the hoses around the side of my darkroom shed. (Vacuum cleaners are like Cuisinarts for dust. Grinds it up and spits the finest most statically charged particles out the exhaust. These are the ones that stick to a negative and get lodged in your lungs). This darkroom had a door right to my backyard and the Los Angeles air, yet I never had a dust problem. By not using cleaning products I got rid of one source of particulates, by using cold water to wipe with, I picked up dirt, but also neutralized the charge. By running the vacuum exhaust away from the room I eliminated that source of charged dust. I often had mud, which would dry, on the floor of my darkroom, and still no dust problem. For a woodshop, I like the tip to capture it at its source. I would also strongly recommend just wearing a mask all the time, get used to it, always do it to the point you don't think about it. The worst dust are the tiny particles that get into your lungs and can't get out. If you can exhaust your dust collectors outside, instead of a shop vac, if you can rig up a pipe system with the collector and the motor outside. And wipe down down with just water. Maybe you'll need to do a bit more, but just use water first. And if you aren't paranoid enough, there's a terrific documentary about particulate pollution, google Chinese Doc, Under the Dome (if you don't add 'Chinese doc' you'll just get the Stephen King TV series). It was so good the Chinese government banned it the week it was released. Hope this helps.

[@AL-sf3qy]

Wow such a professional

[@LaRana08]

I’ve been working without a dust mask for a few weeks and I started noticing changes in my health. I didn’t know saw dust can cause lung cancer 😟

[@OptimusSatanas]

Great video with no annoying fat or unless info. Thanks a bunch.

[@gabrielletedara2662]

Thanks for shearing

[@eroshtik6997]

Great video

[@user-cf9jn4bf1l]

real thanks

[@shophacks]

Even short whiskers will cause some masks to pass up to 50x more particles. Masks that are not perfectly fit can do the same thing. If you have a beard, masks offer almost zero protection from the smallest, most dangerous particles and you need a powered respirator. I ran tests using a laser particle counter and I was amazed how much just a tiny leak reduced the efficiency of the masks.

[@joninfect8681]

So I'm just supposed to shave my beard?... there's got to be other solutions. I have 3M mask I use when applying urethane. I don't even get the hint of the urethane when wearing it, which suggests it works. My beard is a complete mess afterwards but it works. Came here to look for a mask that works that's not so heavy duty as the 3M

[@subscriberswithoutvideoc-ck1vm]

I am a professer but woodworking attracts me. It's a great art of craft.

[@mariolara6054]

I really like your video, it was very informative. I have a question though if anyone can help me, I was working on a small job were I had to sand this varnished shelves because I needed to change the color to white, they were big and many pieces, I was sanding outdoors with a N95 for 6 days around 6-7 hrs per day. I have a full beard but I keep it short, should I be worried that I was breathing more dust than I was supposed to?? also I have to say that I don't do this type of job for a living, it was just this one time but the sanding took forever. Thank you!

[@kevinzhang2066]

We can supply this

[@mattclark5480]

I work in a cabinet shop in Orlando FL they don't believe in any off these. I don't understand why

[@seansmythe7543]

Believe in yourself then! Save the lungs

[@graydation]

Make a call to your local OSHA office.

[@aar3682]

@@graydation snitcher

[@alexlopez515]

@@aar3682 you can’t be serious right?

[@1RamsHead]

For how many days in a row a person can use the same two straps mask?

[@aar3682]

positive pressure system for the people can afford is probably the best. since i have a full face mask is what i use, but is negative pressure.

[@POLPO_WOOD]

What you mean ?

[@JoshD4PREZ]

Time to pay up dust, I’m collecting!! Lol no but great video very valuable info, I rely a lot on my dust collection system but the masks are a sure fire way to protect you from anything your extraction system misses

[@graydation]

Now if only Rockler still carried the Trend Airshield.

[@rickshaw780]

Can you please advise, which mask is good for oil treated carbon black powder? Needed urgent help as the pink pancake mask is not working for me.

[@rockler]

Hi Rick Shaw, Please reach out to our product support team at 1-800-260-9663 or [e-mail]. They'll be able to assist you. Thank you

[@Sulkanator]

How long after I've made a cut before I can take off the mask? You noted that particles remain floating in the air.

[@rockler]

Standard dust masks are sufficient for protecting you from wood dust, if they fit properly. How long before the dust suspended in the air is gone is an impossible question to answer. The variables are too wide. If your shop has good ventilation, only a few minutes. If it is enclosed with poor ventilation and you have pumped a bunch of dust into the air … much longer. Do you have air filtration? How much dust are you collecting at the point of dust generation? Common sense is the guide here. If you have specific concerns such as an impair respiratory system or asthma … take extra caution.

[@Sulkanator]

@@rockler Much appreciated.

[@DarrinSK]

they should make one that is just like a snorkel for people with beards

[@GP-MB-Baden-WurttembergDeutsch]

This video is not so bad but I think in my mind and others will agree, clean shave first before using those mask if you don`t shave the smallest wood dust will go under the mask . Don`t shave don`t use.I use respirator 1/2 mask all the time and I clean shave.

[@jeevanjames1908]

my problem is not filtering when sweats it allows air mist and fog the googles,is there any solution for preventing the fogging of goggles

[@TheGoldnElite]

i am looking at the mesh one on rockler, and it says it doesnt fog them up. I know i have the same problem

[@Ozzzy506]

Im 23. I didnt take my astma meds since i was 12. And now ive worked as a carpenter for 5 years without a mask. I went to my doctor a month ago and after alot of test they told me my lungs are the same as a 75 year old … its horrible

[@rockler]

We are very sorry to hear that.

[@mjseth1963]

I don't do any shop working?? of any kind but i really liked this video. Not really sure how i got here tho.

[@johnconklin9039]

RZ masks are very comfortable, but "are not NIOSH or OSHA approved". Per their website.

[@thersten]

Maybe next year I'll be able to buy a mask. 😕

[@amyupchurch1265]

Did you ?

[@thersten]

@@amyupchurch1265 yes I did.

[@neilyeag]

Is the RZ mask NIOSH rated?

[@Thrudeafeyes]

neilyeag if you look on there website, they say it is not.

[@kevinzhang2066]

Free samplt

[@OnLee_Quality]

What's your shop?

[@Bluedog5581]

Step 1. Shave your face! Won’t work without the tight seal.

[@yahia3658]

can i wear a cloth mask?

[@rockler]

Hi Yahia, protecting your nose and lungs from wood dust is important, so anything you can wear in the way of a "filter" is a step in the right direction. However, for much better protection, wear a NIOSH-approved dust mask with two straps and an N95 dust protection rating. As a result of the pandemic, they're easy to find these days. A cloth mask won't offer protection against fine dust particles at the micron level of size, which is the most hazardous to breathe.

[@yahia3658]

@@rockler Thank you but what if my workspace is outdoors?

[@rockler]

You'll need to assess how much dust you're creating, regardless of where you happen to be working, and choose a level of dust protection appropriate for the situation. Ideally, wear an N95-rated dust respirator wherever you work for maximum protection. But even a cloth mask is better than no breathing protection at all. Let common sense and your comfort level for personal protection be your guide here.

[@yahia3658]

@@rockler Thank you

[@damn186]

*THICC BEARD*

[@aspunkyyacker6850]

2:00 clearly a large gap between the mask and face between the nose and cheek. Any air intake will be via the least flow of resistance, i.e that gap! Making it pointless and about as much use as a chocolate fireguard!

[@YO3A007]

The mask won't work if it tries to seal over facial hair.

[@MrJKellerLewis]

The reason I gave it a thumbs down, is that the video didn't answer the question that is in the title. I was hoping for more information leading toward a purchase rather than a lecture on the most general types of masks. However, I really like the instructor and love Rockler.

[@SVisionary]

The reason I gave you a thumbs down is he essentially did and left it open to the user of what may work best for them.

[@spacemissing]

The question asked has Not been answered, and it SHOULD be.