basic safety equipment for grinding and glassing

[oops!]

a forum member on a thread here, said "he ground down some stringers and allmost coughed up a lung.....!

i thought it important everyone know the risks and see the minimum equipment for grinding and glassing.

first of all......grinding...

fiberglass dust consists of very small particles.....
once inside the human lung...they never ever break down...if in small enough amounts the human lung can "pass them out" via coughing and very small hairs in your lungs and throat. that literally pass stuff out of the lung and into the throat.......kinda like people pass back a human at a rock concert by supporting the humans body on a whole lot of hands....

in order to stop the inhalation of fiberglass dust, a proper resporator system must be worn....
one that totally seals off any air from getting by the mask. uasually a rubber nose/mouth cup with two changable filters

thoes little paper dust masks will not do the job...at all

a good seal around your face is crutial

im sorry for being blunt....but if you cant afford one of these type of masks...you cant afford to do the work.......the doctors bills in a few years will kill you if the glass dust doesnt...

these masks arent cheap...good ones are around 60 dollars.....
you might get lucky and get one at a garage sale!

these masks must be worn when doing ALL glass work......grinding...mixing or applying resin...making peanut butter...or cleaning with acetone

the fumes of resin or acetone are toxic and will harm you.....or just plain ol knock you out.....
even if your working out doors......wear your mask....

goggles are worn at the same time.....obviously when grinding or drilling....

but also wear goggled when mixing resin...! it can splash....... i got a few drops on my goggles tonight as i was mixing......so allways wear your goggles...

work safe...then you can enjoy your work
cheers
oops

 

[SgtMaj]

Re: basic safety equipment for grinding and glassing

It should be noted that even at 60 bucks, they are cheaper than the deductible for just one emergency room visit.

Great post, thanks Oops!

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: basic safety equipment for grinding and glassing

long sleeves and pants. air compressor, blow dust off you, regularly.

 

[SgtMaj]

Re: basic safety equipment for grinding and glassing

One thing I noticed after doing a bit of grinding with a grinder for the first time... grinding is REALLY loud. so ear plugs are also necessary. My ears were ringing for about 2 hours after I started (and I stopped to put ear plugs in after only a couple minutes).

 

[Robj]

Re: basic safety equipment for grinding and glassing

I actually used a full face shield when I did my grinding, provides a little more protection than just the goggles. I also used a paper type dust mask, but a fairly expensive one, not one of the el-cheapos. It worked great.

Have a great day,

Rob.

 

[SgtMaj]

Re: basic safety equipment for grinding and glassing

I'm not sure if they're cheap, but I'll bet a gas mask from a military supply would work great.

 

[erikgreen]

Re: basic safety equipment for grinding and glassing

Forget cheap... and for a reason.

The more expensive safety gear tends to fit better, and is more comfortable. The more comfortable it is, the longer you can wear it without problems, the more you will wear it, even just for "quickie" grinding jobs, and the safer you will be.

If you think itchy skin is bad, just imagine that stuff in your eyes and lungs.

By the way, for itchy skin, I wear long sleeves, and cover any exposed skin with gold bond powder beforehand. Keeps the glass out. Then start your after-work shower with cold water to wash the glass off.

I also lately have started grinding with the nozzle of my shop vac in the path of the dust.. I really want a grinder with an OSHA dust collector, but it's hard to find those. The shop vac usually gets about half the dust, and filters the air in the vicinity. It helps.

I always watch for a good sale at harbor freight or similar.. I picked up one of their organic VOC respirators for $20, and replacement cartridges for $9 a pair. The 3m stuff fits my face better though.

Anyone have a good source online for cheap safety gear in bulk? I'd love some cheap tyvek suits and respirators.

Erik

 

[Coors]

Re: basic safety equipment for grinding and glassing

I did my grinding outside, with protection, but also kept a cheap fan behind me, blowing the dust away from me.

 

[SgtMaj]

Re: basic safety equipment for grinding and glassing

This is probably silly, but I wonder how much a full NBC suit would cost, retail that is. Probably more than a brand new boat would... but BOY would grinding be safe and comfortable.

By the way, NBC stands for Nuclear, Biological, Chemical... they are pretty much impenetrable from head to toe... and by pretty much, I mean completely.

 

[jcsercsa]

Re: basic safety equipment for grinding and glassing

This is probably silly, but I wonder how much a full NBC suit would cost, retail that is. Probably more than a brand new boat would... but BOY would grinding be safe and comfortable.

By the way, NBC stands for Nuclear, Biological, Chemical... they are pretty much impenetrable from head to toe... and by pretty much, I mean completely.

OHHH man if i wasnt allmost done grinding I would say lets split it . we could send it back and forth, except no passing gas in it !!!!! hahahahaha John

 

[SgtMaj]

Re: basic safety equipment for grinding and glassing

OHHH man if i wasnt allmost done grinding I would say lets split it . we could send it back and forth, except no passing gas in it !!!!! hahahahaha John

lol, I went looking online for them, but came up nearly empty... though I did find plenty of cheap regular chem/bio protective clothing... Though, it doesn't look like it would be TOO much better than the tyvek. But for $50 for the whole get-up... might be worth it.

 

[erikgreen]

Re: basic safety equipment for grinding and glassing

Real, real expensive for a positive pressure suit. ILC makes them, the same company that makes the space suits for NASA. Check out this page:

www.ilcdover.com/products/protective_suits/chemturion.htm

The chemturion suits will keep out fiberglass, vapors, viruses, you name it.

I think you might get the ability to keep out dust if you pressurize your tyvek suit with a hose from a nearby air compressor at maybe 1-2 PSI.. but you'll look darn funny.

I like the fan idea... I wish I could work outside more myself. I'll have to see about getting a dust collector fan and a filter set. I did replace the filter on my shop vac, and it helped a lot with dust.

Erik

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: basic safety equipment for grinding and glassing

Don't Forget Gloves.

sticking for educational purposes.