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Thread: Dust mask which works with beards

  1. #1
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    Dust mask which works with beards

    I know of no dust mask which works with a beard. The beard breaks the seal between the mask and the face, and dusty air gets into my lungs. There's another way to seal breathing apparatus to the face: the mouthpiece from a scuba snorkel. It seals with the lips, and a beard is no problem. So I made a dust mask with a snorkel mouthpiece. It works beautifully.

    Here's a pic of the mask in place. It uses standard 3M filters. In this pic I'm not wearing my safety glasses, but this design is completely compatible with glasses.
    respirator1.jpg

    Here's a pic from the face side. The green thing has the snorkel mouthpiece in the middle. It is hollow, so there's a breathing passage from the mouthpiece to the filters.
    respirator2.jpg

    Here's a pic of the two filters, snapped off the green thing. Any of the 3M filters fits. I built the green thing by 3D printing it.
    respirator3.jpg
    Last edited by Jamie Buxton; 12-17-2018 at 10:41 PM.

  2. #2
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    Very interesting! Any problem making sure to keep breathing through your mouth?

    Tim

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tim Janssen View Post
    Very interesting! Any problem making sure to keep breathing through your mouth?

    Tim
    Not really. When I first started using the mask, I'd occasionally forget, and breath in through my nose. But then I get the odors of the shop, which are a quick reminder that I don't want to do that. Now correct breathing is ingrained.

  4. #4
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    Any issues with dry mouth from breathing thru your mouth? I have a beard and I also have sleep apnea so I use a CPAP machine with a nose pillow mask. I wonder if an adapter could be made to connect the hose from the CPAP mask to a pair of 3M filters?

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Doug Garson View Post
    Any issues with dry mouth from breathing thru your mouth? I have a beard and I also have sleep apnea so I use a CPAP machine with a nose pillow mask. I wonder if an adapter could be made to connect the hose from the CPAP mask to a pair of 3M filters?
    Dunno. I had to look up "nose pillow mask". Does that mask really seal the CPAP thing to your nose without leaks? That would be important to prevent dust inhalation, but I don't think it is a design requirement for CPAP. If it does seal perfectly to the nose, making an adapter to 3M filters shouldn't be too difficult. I'd want to secure the filters to your head somehow; if they just dangle on the end of the CPAP tube, I think they'd be in the way of the woodworking.

  6. #6
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    Sorry, I shouldn't have assumed that everyone is familiar with CPAP masks. Yes they definitely seal with little or no leaks, the CPAP works by pressurizing your airway so the seal is essential. The machines actually measure and record any leakage so you know it's time to replace the mask. I agree you need to secure the filters but rather than secure them to you face I would run the hose behind your back and secure it there. That way the weight on your face would be the mask itself and part of the hose which would be less than your approach where your face has to support the filters and the snorkel mouthpiece. Do you ever find the weight bothers you?
    This is the mask I wear, no that's not me its another dummy. One possible issue is that the mask has a mesh vent that would have to be sealed and of course the price of the mask (this one is on sale for $109 CND. )

  7. #7
    Two links one to a snorkel type respirator
    http://duxterity.com/resp-o-rator/

    and another to air mask type.
    https://www.rockler.com/trend-air-ci...ield-pro-34492
    I have a full beard and they both work well for me.

  8. Where can I get one?
    Bill Churchwell
    Z-Cuts, LLC, Epilog 50w

  9. #9
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    I want one. Back when I was doing a lot of swimming, and a team coach, we did a lot of stroke technique with a snorkel that stayed in front of your face, as opposed to being on one side. It was not hard at all to learn breathing only through your mouth even with the nostrils open under water.

    It would be nice to have one with a mouthpiece like the Finis:
    https://www.finisswim.com/shop/techn...MaAqkrEALw_wcB

    I did a bit of google searching. TYR makes one now too, and I found replacement mouthpieces pretty cheap:
    https://sunplay.com/products/tyr-ult...EaAuH4EALw_wcB
    Last edited by Tom M King; 12-23-2018 at 11:00 AM.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tom M King View Post
    I want one. Back when I was doing a lot of swimming, and a team coach, we did a lot of stroke technique with a snorkel that stayed in front of your face, as opposed to being on one side. It was not hard at all to learn breathing only through your mouth even with the nostrils open under water.

    It would be nice to have one with a mouthpiece like the Finis:
    https://www.finisswim.com/shop/techn...MaAqkrEALw_wcB

    I did a bit of google searching. TYR makes one now too, and I found replacement mouthpieces pretty cheap:
    https://sunplay.com/products/tyr-ult...EaAuH4EALw_wcB
    Yeah, those replaceable mouthpieces made from very flexible rubbery stuff are not uncommon. But what purpose does the very flexible mouthpiece serve? Why not just grab the harder plastic with your teeth?

  11. #11
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    In the water, the soft one stays in place with no effort to amount to anything. I don't remember ever using a hard one. You forget you have the thing in your mouth pretty quickly. The soft ones still have the little things that go inside your teeth. Hard ones might cause some irritation, whereas the silicone ones never do. The stiffness probably matters for holding the filters up with no straps though, but probably worth playing with the design some. It's a very promising concept.

    edited to add: I remember there was something similar available. The filters hung right behind the user's neck.
    Last edited by Tom M King; 12-24-2018 at 8:42 AM.

  12. #12
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    Greensboro, NC
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    That's very cool! Any chance you want to share that Gcode file?

  13. #13
    "I remember there was something similar available. The filters hung right behind the user's neck"


    The resp o rator is a commercial product that works well with a beard. It uses a snorkel mouthpiece and the filters are behind your head.

    ROR-500x333.jpg

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