TubeNet

bloke wrote:

knuxie wrote:Goggles?

Yeah...Thanks for the suggestion. Most goggles are plastic. After one or two uses, they become scratched. With my 55-year-old eyes - and the object being a mirror finish - I really need to be able to see as well as possible. I guess I could look for some glass ones, but another huge problem with goggles (even though they have nothing to do with respiration) is fogging.

Have you considered a full, pressurized, filtered mask such as this:

http://www.thesafetyhouse.com/respirato ... -papr.html" target="_blank

This is the kind of thing the guys in the shipyard use when they are applying the toxic wonder coatings on yachts. A little expensive but quality tools cost more...

Get a better dust collector, rearrange the hood and shields so the stuff doesn't fly.

I have a 3 phase 1-1/2hp centrigugal blower that I don't use now, if you're interested. It puts out a prettty good howl but it moves a lot of air. I used it for about 10 years with a phase converter, in case you don't have 3 phase.

Bloke, your suggestion of petrolatum application BEFORE refinishing should definitely help........in my world ( OB-GYN ), petrolatum or even vegetable oil ( shortening, anyone? ) is used for women with chronic skin problems as a barrier to prevent more irritation......

Bloke is correct. There isn't much that can be done to shield ones self from buffing compound that's been thrown from a high-speed buffing wheel. I run two 10" diameter x 4" wide wheels at around 3,000 rpm powered by a five HP motor. Grit goes EVERYWHERE... even gets BEHIND safety glasses. I think about the only thing that would work is one of those Tyvek suits that has an air supply that keeps a positive pressure inside.... and that would be very cumbersome and limit visibility.

I speak from experience....

Woodworkers face similar problems with some woods. Padauk is an example since sawing or machining it results in an extremely fine dust that gets EVERYWHERE and is classified as a a severe respiratory, eye, and skin irritant. I have a serious 2.5 hp dust collector AND a ceiling-mounted electrostatic air filter, AND I wear a mask and often a full face shield, and the stuff still gets to you. And I don't have to see as clearly as someone trying to put a mirror polish on metal.

If you can't wear some kind of fully protective goggles or full-face positive air pressure mask (expensive, but if you do this a lot, are a pro, and it doesn't inhibit what you're doing ...), then the only other alternative is preventing the dust from getting to you in the first place. When I know I'm going to spend a lot of time with stuff like this, I end up fabricating vacuum pickups that are as close to the workpiece as possible and apply significant vacuum where the stuff comes off the tool. An alternative approach would be to apply positive air pressure to blow the dust away from you as it's coming off the tool (and let your dust collection environment handle it). I've done that kind of things with tools whose dust output I couldn't otherwise control. But my guess is that in general you would find this difficult to do because of what you're polishing and how you have to move it around, etc. Also, it still just reduces the problem and doesn't eliminate it.

You might try goggles in combination with a "defogging" agent. Motorcyclists use these things and they sort of work (depending in part on temperatures involved). Or try coating the inside of the goggles with a little bit of detergent. But I suspect you wouldn't find that satisfactory.

Another somewhat spooky and bizarre alternative might be to modify something like a hocky mask so that the eye holes are very small, you can see out of them, but your eyelids and surrounding tissue are not exposed. Just a thought. I try all kinds of goofy things. Sometimes they work.

Otherwise, the vasoline or something akin to it may be your best compromise. But the stuff is still getting to your eyes.

Oh, one other possibility: dirt bike or motocross goggles with "tear-offs" would solve the problem of the lenses scratching after a couple of uses. But I don't know if the optical quality would be what you need.

military surplus gas mask?

I have NO idea what I'm talking about but just thinking out loud here, motocross goggles with Noxema where the goggles contact your face? Or just cheap protective glasses with the aforementioned Noxema in the exposed areas. ?!?

Consider a face shield. They don't fog and if they scratch you can replace the lens. You can where your glasses under them. A shield is a little bulky...... Also even if you have a dust collector, wear a respirator with a P95 rating from NIOSH. The particulates you are dealing with are under the 5 micron rating that most dust collectors are focused capturing. These respirators are rated at 0.3 microns (95% efficient at 0.3 microns) and do a much better job of protecting those great tuba deep lung area. Both Moldex and 3M make great disposable versions that you use for a day and throw away. There are skin barrier creams out there too. Check with your safety equipment supplier or on line. They work a little better than petroleum jelly.

Brian "with a masters in industrial hygiene"

No doctor here, but from my years of experience as a chemist, I would recommend something along the lines of what Tony Suggested. Motor cycle or swimming goggles that seal around your eyes may be the key. They may scratch, but swimming goggles are fairly cheap, and you retain a full field of vision. Silica (altogether quite nasty stuff as a particulate) is quite abrasive, and wiping off the plastic surface will scratch them, you may have better luck dipping or running water over them. I would be hesitant to operate around aerosolized silica in my job - it is a suspected carcingen and I would not want any mucous membrane exposed to it.

Hope you find a solution, irritation is no fun.

TubaTinker wrote:Bloke is correct. There isn't much that can be done to shield ones self from buffing compound that's been thrown from a high-speed buffing wheel. I run two 10" diameter x 4" wide wheels at around 3,000 rpm powered by a five HP motor. Grit goes EVERYWHERE... even gets BEHIND safety glasses. I think about the only thing that would work is one of those Tyvek suits that has an air supply that keeps a positive pressure inside.... and that would be very cumbersome and limit visibility.

I speak from experience....

A 10" wheel at 3000 rpm is ENTIRELY too fast SFM for buffing... it's no damn wonder it gets everywhere.

Doug Elliott wrote:.... A 10" wheel at 3000 rpm is ENTIRELY too fast SFM for buffing... it's no damn wonder it gets everywhere.

This is an edit. My earlier response agreeing with you is incorrect....

Here's the 'poop' of buffer speeds... http://www.schaffnermfg.com/speed-chart.html

My buffing spindle is driven by a 5HP 3,4500 motor with an 83% speed reduction through two pulleys. The buffs are 10" diameter when new. That equates to 7,497 surface feet per minute... right in line with manufacturing recommendations.

Even my 'rinky-dink' pedestal buffer/grinder drives a thin 8" diameter wheel for 7,450 SFPM.

What are you buffing with?

bloke wrote:Every few years, I'll buy some more fronts for my face shield, and - after a day or two - stick it back in the bottom drawer. The silica scratches those face shields pretty quickly, and - yeah - they fog up in the winter. If they aren't scratched when the silica hits them, they end up scratched when (even very gingerly) trying to clean them.

The problem with buffing is the extremely high level of vision that is required to judge the quality of the work one is doing.

thanks for all of the suggestions!

Perhaps the multiple tear off visor protectors that open wheel racers use on their helmet face shields would work. Fast and easy to do in a fast paced operating environment.

Have you considered a...



You could actually probably build one fairly reasonably out of 1/8" plexiglass and silicone caulk. Cut the sleeves out of a raincoat and duct tape surgical gloves to the ends. Cut an exhaust port and hook up a shop-vac to it, and...Voila!

The standard industrial solution is to put in local ventilation. Basically, an elephant trunk or flexable hose with a small hood on it. That hood should be placed such that it collects the particles from the buffing and pulls them away from you. The suction through the hose needs to be great enough to capture the particles. There are mathematical calculations that will help size such a system. Not a cheap solution, but it is cheaper and less painful that the health problems likely from continued exposure to theses particles. There are also industrial helmets that have built in positive pressure. A cheaper but still expensive solution. 3M sells them and maybe MSA. They have a film that goes on the face shield that b=can be peeled off and replaced when scratched. Think of it as a big piece of scotch tape that is clear.

Please don't ever put petrolatum products on your face. They can be really irritating; I am so glad you went with the shortening.

If you want to really get serious ...

http://sandblaster-parts.com/index.php? ... ct_id=3000

There are tear-off lenses available for this as well. Pricey, but it's a business expense and eliminates a lot of danger to lungs and eyes.

Now would be a good time to follow the lead of auto dealerships' service departments and tack on a "materials" surcharge to cover the tear-off strips.

And a hazardous waste disposal fee.

LJV wrote:

TubaTinker wrote:

I love this picture!

I showed it to my wife and reminded her who you were. She reminded me..." we own him and his lovely wife lunch, don't we?"

Yes we do. Collect anytime!

We'll make it back up your way again one of these days. I was in Grand Rapids in April for NABBA... and back in Muskegon in May for the Association of Concert Bands Convention.