A couple of years ago I ordered a Dust Bee Gone dust mask with little expectations. Sure, I read the hype that it was guaranteed not to fog my glasses but I had been down this road before. Still, I had to try it.

Over the years I had tried practically every type of dust mask out there but each of them fell by the wayside for one reason or another. They fogged up my glasses, they didn’t give a good seal, they were hard to breathe through or they were so cheaply made they simply fell apart. The bottom line is that they just didn’t work. Consequently, I seldom wore them, exposing myself to the risks of toxic wood dust.

Within minutes of the Dust Bee Gone mask arriving I tried it on and tried it out. I quickly realized that it was a winner – my glasses didn’t fog up and it was very comfortable to wear. It fit perfectly to the shape of my face, even over my beard and moustache.

The Dust Bee Gone dust mask is made with a patented interlaced monofilament polyester structure that’s effective against non-toxic dusts (it is not NIOSH or OSHA approved) down to 3 microns in size. This unique material allows the exhaled hot air to pass through the filter material so your glasses don’t fog. That’s right, your glasses don’t fog up! Guaranteed.

Continue reading 'Dust Bee Gone “No Fog” Dust Mask'

During last year’s Woodworkers Safety Week I did a safety assessment on my shop and one of the things that I found missing was a fire extinguisher. I’m glad to say that I now have one.

The one I chose was one with 2.5 Kgs (5.5lbs) of dry, non-toxic chemical extinguishing agent that is propelled by a compressed, non-flammable gas. This is known as a clean agent fire extinguisher. These types of extinguishers store the agent as a liquid, which turns to gas when it hits the air. Clean agent extinguishers act to extinguish a fire by cooling and smothering it

The Class rating for this extinguisher is 3-A, 40-B, C. The ABC Class rating means that this one is a general purpose extinguisher and good to fight wood, paper and cloth fires (A) as well as flammable liquid (B) and electrical fires (C). The number preceding the A and B rating refers to the size of fire they can handle.

Class A Ratings
An extinguisher for Class A fires could have any one of the following ratings: 1-A, 2-A, 3-A, 4-A, 6-A, 10-A, 20-A, 30-A, and 40-A. A 4-A extinguisher, for example, should extinguish about twice as much fire as a 2-A extinguisher.

Class B Ratings
An extinguisher for Class B fires could have any one of the following ratings: 1-B, 2-B, 5-B, 10-B, 20-B, 30-B, 40-B, and up to 640-B.

Class C Ratings
Extinguishers rated for Class C fires are tested only for electrical conductivity. However, no
extinguisher gets a Class C rating without a Class A and/or Class B rating.

Here’s a great video on how a fire extinguisher works:

Continue reading 'A Fire Extinguisher For The Workshop'

The Atlantic Tool Collectors Association held their Spring meeting this past weekend at the Museum of Industry in Stellarton, Nova Scotia.

The association was formed in 1994 with a view to promote public interest in the history and preservation of antique and collectible hand tools in the Atlantic Provinces. The semi-annual meetings offer an opportunity for the members to display their collections in public, do a little trading and bring each other up to date with what has been going on in their local area. Presently, there are over 60 members.

The meeting began with a business session that was ran very professionally and concisely. Several matters were discussed including safety signage and liability insurance for meetings. Financial, website and safety reports were given by the respective board members.

The business meeting was followed by a short glass cutting demonstration using a variety of glass cutters and tappers.

At noon the members opened their tool displays to the public and an active show, swap and sell ensued! This is the highlight of the meeting and a buzz of activity. The theme for this meeting was ‘Member Favorites’ so you can imagine not only the variety of tools on display but also the exuberance of those members displaying.

Here are some photos of the woodworking related tools that were on display:

Continue reading 'The ATCA 2009 Spring Meeting'

Well, once again we give a nod to safety in the workshop with Woodworkers Safety Week 2009! This is the second year that members of The Wood Whisperer Network who blog and podcast have gotten together to create an abundance of safety related articles.

The purpose, of course, is to bring safety in the workshop to the forefront of our thoughts, at least for one week.

Obviously, work shop safety is important but all too often it is overlooked, or worse, forgotten. This week serves as a reminder to this all important issue.

There is a list of last year’s Woodworkers Safety Week articles located here and there are other safety related articles located here.

Help make this week a success by being accident free. Keep safe!

Back to the shop…