The stool is finally finished, at least the structure, so all that’s left is sanding and painting. Saying “just” is an understatement, as sanding usually consumes a large amount of time in the workshop. The chronology of making a piece of furniture, or any other wooden item, usually goes: design, design, redesign, design, measure, measure, redesign, measure, measure, cut, assemble, disassemble, sand, sand, sand, sand, glue, sand, sand, sand, sand, sand, sand, sand, paint and wait without touching until it’s completely dry (and we could end with: and tell the whole story to your most patient friends while proudly showing off what you’ve made).
So today, I spent a good part of the afternoon sanding the wooden stool. Luckily, I no longer end up with my nose full of sanding dust like I used to before using these masks and vacuuming in my woodworking shop. The best thing about these masks is that thanks to the double fabric on the edge and the strong elastic bands and their anchoring system to the mask, almost no dust gets inside. They also have an active carbon filter, although it’s unnecessary for sanding wood.
Even so, the mask doesn’t fit well just below my eyes, and although little dust gets in there, the problem is that my breath’s vapor goes straight to my safety glasses and fogs them up. I need to try placing some foam or something similar in that area, especially because working with fogged glasses is dangerous (one tends to release a hand from the tool to put a finger inside the glasses to clean them a bit) and taking them off to clean them continuously is very inconvenient.
As for the dust collection system I use in the workshop, as you can see in the photos, it’s nothing special (although the gadget is a bit expensive, after all, it’s not much more than a paint bucket with a few modifications). In the center, a regular vacuum cleaner hose is connected (this is protected by the bucket’s fabric filter), and the chips and dust come in through the black tube from the machines, entering the bucket through the white elbow seen in the photo, anchored inside the lid. The fabric filter should not be left unwashed if we’re not going to use it for a while, as it absorbs a lot of moisture with the wood dust and turns black.
I actually bought this bucket to vacuum the ashes from the iron stove and the fireplace (it’s highly recommended for this task, as it does it quickly and cleanly) and use it in the workshop by connecting it between the vacuum cleaner and the power tools whenever possible.