Is Your Beard a Health Hazard in the Workshop?

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Respirators (including “dust masks”) are supposed to form an airtight seal against your face. But facial hair can prevent a reliable seal, allowing you to inhale dust or fumes. That’s why OSHA says “respirators shall not be worn when facial hair comes between the sealing surface of the facepiece and the face.” If you don’t want to shave, the deluxe solution is a PAPR (powered air-purifying respirator), which can set you back $1,000 or more.

Click here to see one of the highest quality PAPR’s on the market.

Next, check out five indispensable shop safety devices all DIYers should have at the ready:

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Amazon

Dewalt DPG15 Digital AM/FM Hearing Protector

You have to wear hearing protection much of the time in the shop. Why not make it entertaining by listening to music instead of the drone of power tools in the background? Especially when you’re sanding or planing wood for an hour or two. It even makes other tedious tasks like mowing or leaf blowing less painful. Learn everything you need to know about hearing protection here. Get it now on Amazon.

Eyewear

3M BX Reader Protective Eyewear

I got tired of switching back and forth between my cheaters and safety glasses so I finally popped for safety glasses that were also bifocals. The fact that they do double-duty means I’m also more diligent about wearing eye protection. See Nigel, the crash test dummy, teach a thing or two about safety in the shop. Buy these glasses on Amazon today.

Amazon

FEIN Turbo I Vacuum Cleaner

I never do any random orbital sanding without having the sander hooked up to my Fein shop vacuum. It makes for virtually dust-free sanding. Plug the sander to the Fein and the machine turns itself on automatically when I pull the trigger on the sander. And it’s the quietest shop vacuum I’ve ever heard. Here’s a bunch of other creative ways to use your shop vacuum to control dust in the shop. Get this shop vacuum now.

Amazon

GVS Elipse P100 Half Mask Respirator

There are lots of stinky, hazardous stuff in the shop that you shouldn’t be inhaling. Contact cement, polyurethane, lacquer, etc. Dust masks will do absolutely nothing to keep that stuff from your lungs. A charcoal filter respirator will. In fact you won’t even detect these odors when you’re wearing one. Here’s another tip. If you have pet messes to clean up, you can skip the “gag” factor by wearing your respirator! Get this respirator here.

Amazon

Jet Air Filtration System

Whenever I’m running power tools I start by switching on my overhead dust collector. It continuously filters the air to take out the smallest dust particles. A remote control makes it no fuss to operate. My shop stays way less dusty since I started using it a few years ago. Plus: How to operate a disk sander-dust free! Buy it on Amazon now.  

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