So I heard from my friend and it was corroborated on here that when sanding/cutting laminated bows, a respirator's the best idea. I have one and have been wearing it while working on my bow (my first), but had a quick question for you experienced guys.
I notice that my clothes get a rather good dusting with all the stuff I'm sanding and am wondering if it's overkill to worry about any of it? I have a 4 year old and a 7 month old, and I certainly don't want to do something that would make either of them sick. Is a good shake and vacuum of the clothes good before being with the kids or is the dust bad enough to warrant changing first? Thanks for the help.
Jeremy
I believe I would, if I had little ones around. There's no sense in taking a chance. Just remember that a child's skin and especially a baby's skin are extremely sensitive. Something that would be a mild irritant to us, might cause some serious injury to them.
You didn't mention wether you're working on all-wood laminated bows or glass-wood laminated bows.
Here's a Fiberglass Fact Sheet (http://www.idph.state.il.us/envhealth/factsheets/fiberglass.htm) from the Illinois Dept. of Public Health. After reading it you'll probably be stripping in the back yard before going inside to the kids.
If you're doing just woods, I'd still try very hard to reduce the dust your kids are exposed to. Some woods like ipe can actually be toxic to certain individuals.
I don't want to be an alarmist but kids can be pretty sensitive. Hope this helps.
Guy