Doug Miller wrote:

Well, dust isn't much of an issue at the lathe except while sanding (when it's
a *major* issue)... but eye protection is mandatory. Safety glasses are a bare
minimum; turners with good sense use full face shields.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

It's always a problem for me. I seem to turn the woods that have thick
bark raided from different places as well different glued exotics I
cobble together.

The bark of mesquite comes off in clouds when you hit a punky area.
Molds? Spores? Fungus? I am sure they are all present along with the
requisite amount of fine dirt that a mesquite will collect in that
rough bark in the windy, dusty areas it grows best.

I personally am scared of the exotics and take great care aound them.
I have had some bad skin rashes caused by exotics, so I can only
imagine what that might do to my throat, lungs and sinus cavities.

And come on Doug.... you mean you don't get those fine wisps that hang
in the air from a properly sharpened scraper or a bowl gouge turned
with the flutes parallel to the cut surface?

Just kiddin'.

Actually.... I only did the bowl gouge thing once while I was being
supervised by a guest turner that uses his bowl gouge for everything.
I can do it with a scraper with a fresh edge anytime. Those wisps are
close enough to dust for me. I have tried the "Dust BeeGone" mask and
liked it, but I really like the good seal of those masks and a change
to a fresh, clean mask (not full of sweat and grime) after turning for
a couple of hours. Also, I didn't like washing it out after I used
it.

I use the booger/mucous test on those dental masks, and they do quite
well. The test of course is in the hot shower after the debris is
cleaned up. Without going into details, they passed with flying
colors.

Robert