Dust and Polishing with flexshaft

Hello everyone,

I am wondering if you have a smart tip on how to avoid inhaling the
polishing dust when polishing with the flexshaft.

I AM using a mask (disposable kind from the hardware store) and
protection glasses and I STILL feel that grit in my throat for the
rest of the night…

I am thinking of using one of those clear plastic ( acrylic?) boxes
that Rio has for just this purpose but before jumping at it I wanted
to know if you either have a better trick or any personal experience
with them. Those boxes (sorry, I don’t have the cataloque here to ref
the pn) are quite small and there does not seem to be any room for
the bar of fabuluster or whatever. This means that I would have to
keep opening and closing the box to charge my felt.

Thank you.
Irina

I AM using a mask (disposable kind from the hardware store) and
protection glasses and I STILL feel that grit in my throat for the
rest of the night.. 

I know that more drastic measures than a mask is what is really
called for here, but I really like dental masks. You can check with
your dentist and purchase the masks directly from there. They form
tighter over the face and are more comfortable, also pretty
inexpensive. I polish almost exclusively with the flex shaft, old
habits die hard. The switch to the dental masks has been a big help
to me!

Hope this helps!
Mary Linford
mary@bluestarwaxcarving.com

 I am wondering if you have a smart tip on how to avoid inhaling
the polishing dust when polishing with the flexshaft. I AM using a
mask (disposable kind from the hardware store) and protection
glasses and I STILL feel that grit in my throat for the rest of the
night. 

The first step would be to try a better quality dust mask. Spend the
extar money and buy a quality proffessional grade mask. i have always
been partial to the Moldex 2300 masks. They have an exhale valve so my
glasses don’t fog up while I am working. They fit my face well and
don’t cost too much. I buy them by the box at the local welding
supply shop and they last me for monthes. I am always careful to
store my used mask upright and in a drawer so that the inside doesn’t
get dust on it. This way I can use one mask for days .

  I am thinking of using one of those clear plastic ( acrylic?)
boxes that Rio has for just this purpose 

You can easily make a box out of plywood or scrap wood of any kind.
Sand and varnish the inside surfaces so that you can clean polishing
compounds off of it when you need to. Mount a piece of plexiglass on
the front for a window. you can make it large enough to be comfortable
and even put a light (protected with plexi) on the inside.

HTH
Dave the uber-engraver

Hey Irina,

there are two ways that i have found to remove the dust from your
bench.

#1 you can buy a fancy bench vacuum. i think they are about $500 -
$800

#2 my assistant does all of the pre finishing at her bench and we
attached a Oriek hand held vacuum to her bench. it comes with a thin
hose and removeable bags. she mostly uses it when she is using the
pumice wheel.

the vacuum cost about $75.00 they had a display model, they are
about $100.00 new and then we bought a $25.00 off and on foot switch

this system works great
Matthew Gross
mhgjewelry.com

My flex shaft is in the reversible direction so the dust blows away
from me and I also have a fan on my bench which then blows the side.

Seems to help but the dust particles are so small that I know I am
still inhaling the stuff, eek!

Laurie

Irina,

I’ve actually moved from using the mask to using a face shield
similar to what I use when grinding or polishing. It’s the type
that’s worn as a “hat” and comes down over your entire face and neck
with a clear acrylic shield (started using it when I was doing
sculptural work. What I like about it is that it completely
deflects all the particles from my face and eyes and doesn’t give
you that “heavy breathing” confinement that the masks and
respirators do, and don’t have to wear the safety goggles over my
regular glasses or try to figure out how to handle the magnifier,
safety glasses and regular glasses… Best of all, with the shield
in place, it’s so clear that there’s no interference with my range
of vision at all.

If I’m doing something that’s particularly “dangerous” in terms of
inhalation (i.e., fumes vs. dust), I can wear the mask or respirator
underneath for extra protection.

It’s somethign I’ve found to work well for me… you can get them at
your regular Home Depot/Lowes kind of store.

TIP: If you’re working a lot with polishing compounds and
abrasives, they will inevitably leave a network of scratches on the
face shield. While you can buy replacement shields rather than the
whole unit, it’s a lot cheaper to use duct tape to apply a single
sheet of clear overhead transparency film (available at places like
staples and costco) over the shield. When that gets gunked up or
scratched, peel it off and replace it with a clean one. Your face
shield will last a LOT longer that way! (similar to what the dirt
bikers and road racers use on their helmets…)

Enjoy!
Karen Goeller
@Karen_Goeller

    My flex shaft is in the reversible direction so the dust blows
away from me and I also have a fan on my bench which then blows 
the side. Seems to help but the dust particles are so small that I
know I am still inhaling the stuff, eek! 

Most products have an MSDS sheet to tell you what’s in it. I’m not a
health expert, but if it’s not toxic then your body will just get
rid of it. Not that it’s good for you, but sitting in traffic in your
car breathing the stuff from the car in front of you isn’t good for
you ether. I guess the questions are, is it toxic, and will it get
stuck in my lungs.

Just a thought, Tim…

   Most products have an MSDS sheet to tell you what's in it. I'm
not a health expert, but if it's not toxic then your body will just
get rid of it. Not that it's good for you, but sitting in traffic
in your car breathing the stuff from the car in front of you isn't
good for you ether. I guess the questions are, is it toxic, and
will it get stuck in my lungs. 

I have to bring up one thing on this subject, black lung. My
grandfather got black lung from the coal mines 60+ years ago, just
from breathing the stuff. On a side note, it helps being a left
handed, the grinder/bur rotates away from you.

        My flex shaft is in the reversible direction so the dust
blows away from me and I also have a fan on my bench which then
blows the side. Seems to help but the dust particles are so small
that I know I am still inhaling the stuff, eek! 

if you have the dust shooting away with the reverse flex motor, all
you need to do is get a dust collector for 1-200$, and shoot it into
the hose, i don’t know grizzly’s quality, but they have some
inexpensive units, and with research cheaper ones are out there,
besides the fact that you can make one easy with a motor (laundry
machine, and a squirrel cage unit, graingers supply), i have a few
of them for portable usage,dp

I would look at the quarto line, the quarto sold pure machine. You
can add a 3in slide gate in the bench and this will solve the
problem. We find the boxes to be a bit hard to work in…

Andy " The Tool Guy" Kroungold
Tool Sales / Technical
Stuller Inc
Phone 800-877-7777 ext. 94194
Fax 337-262-7791

Hi All,

I have been reading the ongoing on and off thread concerning
ventilation. As we have been blessed with all kinds of great
technical articles on everything from shaping a cabachon on a
flexshaft to laser welding, but how about a clear pictorial on
ventilation.?

Not to throw us middle aged women into a sexist group, but we didn’t
have the opportunity to tinker in the garage with Dad, and were more
likely to be given a broom and mop than a wrench. I didn’t get to
take Shop in high school, and was marched into Home Economics where
I was supposed to learn to make an oven roasted chicken dinner for my
husband to be. I’m impressed when a light bulb glows from a wall
switch! I am more often to ask my husband to help with things
mechanical which fill his life with endless Honey-do’s, besides, he
is a vegetarian. LOL

So, somebody, please help this forum out and construct an article. I
will be happy to edit your writing, pictures speak a thousand words.
It is the kind of great sharing that makes this forum
unique.

-k

Karen Christians
M E T A L W E R X
50 Guinan St.
Waltham, MA 02451
Ph. 781/891-3854 Fax 3857
http://www.metalwerx.com/
Jewelry/Metalarts School & Cooperative Studio

Karen,

That is an excellent suggestion. BTW not only for this specific
item. I can think of many things that have been suggested that sound
great to me.

I too was taught to stitch, cook, and keep house, never to build
one. I continually buy tools in fond hopes of using them. I have
quite a few right in the bags and boxes I left the store with,
especially Harbor Freight.

A pictorial is gold. Thanks for the suggestion.

Hugs
Terrie

The technicians who work in the dental industry face the same
problems at the bench as jewelers, and grind and finish a broad range
of similar materials. They often use a dust collection unit at the
bench. I have one that I adapted to the jewelers bench with the help
of Dave Arens- I have a GRS plate mounted vacuum head with a small
vertical plexiglas shield that replaces my bench pin during polishing
and abrasive use. The vacuum unit has a cyclonic pre-collector and an
adjustable speed dust collector that is both very quiet and very
efficient. My assistant uses a German unit purchased complete with a
weighted head and tempered glass shield. Benches designed as dental
work stations often have these units attached or even built in. The
vacuum draws away the dust and debris of polishing, and once you get
used to using one, is not as cumbersome as a grinding box. The dental
units even have filters designed to remove certain chemical vapors as
well as HEPA dust filtration.

Rick Hamilton

I have used a film container with one end partially cut away mounted
on my hand piece to deflect stuff from cutting/grinding. Make two
cuts parallel to the container part way into the container. cut off
the end and cut vertically into the container to the two previous
cut lines.

You need to add something on the end of the hand piece to make it
thicker to fit the film container. The cut out section is used to
prevent stuff from sailing away from the tool. I used this method
for a long time before I built a Plexiglas box to do my grinding
in.

I can send a photo to anyone interested.

Lee Epperson
In Phoenix where it was 108 degrees at my outdoor casting station yesterday

Hi Andy,

I searched the Stuller site for “quarto” and came up with no
matches. Google gave me a bunch of pages in Italian. Could you be
more specific and give us a link where we can view such a system?
Maybe even buy it? Thanks!

Lisa Orlando
Aphrodite’s Ornaments

        if you have the dust shooting away with the reverse flex
motor,,, all you need to do is get a dust collector for 1-200$,
and shoot it into the hose,,,, i don't know grizzly's quality, but
they have some inexpensive units, 

Or if you don’t have any money, a cardboard box and a shop vac.

Like I said before, read the MSDS sheets on the products you use
before you freak out.

Tim…

I built a Plexiglas box to do my grinding in. 

i do my grinding and carving with my flexshaft handpiece under a
piece of motorcycle shield that i rigged, i also focus my dust
collector intake hose next to the shield, and focus my 150 watt
daylight spectrum bulb, 150 halogen,or 300 incandescent bulb under
the shield,dp

I searched the Stuller site for "quarto" and came up with no
matches.  

I think he meant “Quatro”. They are a manufacturer of dust collection
systems.