Ok I know it sounds weird but I am considering starting to wear a dusk mask when cutting. Little background I have a bunch of sinus/allergy issues. No issue burning wood in woodstovge though. Anybody else out their do this? Also thinking about when at work cutting old poles it might be advisable.
sharpen your chain ? some medicinal cannabis might help with allergies/asthma ( post cutting of course ) I've known a carpenter that insisted on a dust mask even with good vacuums connected to all his saws/sanders, so if it helps it helps
I don't have problems with dust when I am cutting firewood. Are you cutting dead wood? Live or recently felled wood produces chips, not dust that you could inhale, at least that is how it works for me.
I have the sinus/allergy issue but sawdust has not bothered. It certainly would not do any harm so long as you are still able to breath. That is my problem in that if I have to wear a mask, I have problems getting enough air.
Wood that has begun to rot can be bad. Fungus and mold can be released from the wood into the air while cutting.
Look into what grade of dust mask you will need for sawdust. I somehow think that the dust from cutting wood with a chain saw is very large so you shouldn't need much to filter that out. The mask could present more of an issue than it solves. Men cutting wood sweat. Sweat and mask are a poor combination. I doubt you will have it on very long.
Some circumstances a mask may be good. I cut mostly green birch out in the woods , Dust is not an issue there
most wood is live or recently felled some standing dead. Chain is sharp and all. It may not even be the wood could just be my sinus/allergy issues and hatred of taking medicine. Hard to say.
allergies can suck might not even be the dust, it could be a sensitivity to something bizarre specific like mold or lichen on the bark my sister has to keep a inhaler nearby. maybe an epipen too I'm not sure Had to get those pin prick patch tests after getting bit by a fly at the beach and blowing up like a balloon allergic to mold that grows under tent bottoms ( plus a bunch of other things) . she had to sleep in the car when we went camping she moved to Texas and her allergy suffering went away for about a year but then started developing allergies to things in the environment there. Came back here and that process repeated itself. If it an allergy that is getting worse a mask might not be such a horrible thing to try considering the alternatives.
I see no problem with keeping out the dust if you need to. What are the old poles at work? If they are treated I imagine you should have some kind of breathing protection, especially if you do a lot of it.
old utility poles. i think the older ones most of the creosote may have leached out. the newer broken ones i dont know though. i try to set up so most dust goes away from me.
Old poles are treated with coal-tar creosote, a known carcinogen. It doesn't leach out (not water soluble), though over time it seems to diminish with repeated hot summers. The new ones are treated with CCA (copper, chromium and arsenic). I wouldn't breathe either one.
