dust and health

[Bill Marsh <redcloud@xxxxxx>]

I wear a North half-mask with HEPA filters.  It conforms to the face
well (especially since I cut my beard off).  Sizing is important.  I
started out wearing one that was too small, and got pneumonia from dust
inhalation.  It was ugly.

Now I wear it even if I just want to walk around in the studio for
awhile.  There is no way ALL the dust can be eliminated from a  studio,
so even if you aren't carving, you are kicking it up from the floor,
etc.  I even use a gigantic squirrel-cage blower with a 12" duct right
next to the carving stand.  If I let the blower run for even 15 minutes
after I'm done, every surface in the studio is covered with a fine layer
of dust by the next day.  Tiny particles, I am told by a woodworker
friend of mine, can remain suspended in the air for days.

Next time you are working, and think you have sucked all the dust out of
the air, stop and look at a shaft of sunlight coming through a window.
It will be swimming in dust.

I know this sounds a bit reactionary, but pneumonia is no joke.  I even
mask-up when I work outside in the summer.

Bill Marsh
"Until you put a mark on it, it's just a rock."