Face shield protection

[Grant Wilkinson]

@Roy: The Airmate is made by 3M and has the blower in the helmet. The battery is worn on a belt. The Versaflo is also made by 3M. It has the blower and battery mounted on the belt. The biggest advantage of the Versaflo is that you can use different filter cartridges on the blower unit - dust and chemical. Also, the helmet is lighter because the blower is not in the helmet.
@Dave: I have been reading the AAW thread since it began and have read all of Lynne Yamaguchi's blogs, too. Her accident was terrible!

The downside of Odie's set up for me, at least, is that there is no fresh air coming into it. Or, at least he is using the Resporator which has a scuba-type mouthpiece and nose plugs. So, to get filtered air, you need to breath through your mouth.

[Dale Bonertz]

Agreed Grant. My only point was if your going to compromise a health thing it should be the impact portion since it is less likely to happen. Exposure to dust is constant every time we turn. I would much rather have a helmet with face shield and dust protection (my 3m airstream as400 provides) than a hockey face mask with no dust protection. I said airmate above when I meant 3m airstream.

I will look for a link Roy. Just know they are pricey however new lungs cost way more.

[Dale Bonertz]

Roy here one of many places 3m-airstream-powered-air-purifying-respirator-papr-system.html. If you google it there are a lot of places that come up who sell them.

[Randy Walker]

Lots of interesting stuff in this thread. I am currently using the Trend air shield. It is a bit top heavy but it does a good job of filtering the air. I'm not sure how it will work out in my shops cold turning area but the cool air on my face during the heat of the summer is nice. I have taken a good look at the battery, fan, and filter system and I think that I can take them off of the helmet and attach them to a belt then use a tube to pipe the air to the helmet. I will have to figure a way to attach the tube but it won't be an obstacle for me. I have also been looking on eBay and discovered that I can get a 12v LI battery pack and a high power computer fan for maybe $50 bucks. I believe I can engineer a good filtered air system from these components too. I am curious to know if anyone else has tried anything like this and how it worked out.

[Roy Scudamore]

Thank you Grant and all that replied

[Matt Mattingley]

I personally don’t think you’re going to get better than a riot shield headgear with respirator or even a goalie mask helmet with eye protection and respirator.

[Grant Wilkinson]

@Dale: You and I are on the same wavelength completely, Dale. I'm just greedy, so I want both. :-) I turn many open segmented pieces and although I've been fortunate to keep most of the intact, I've had some hiccups with pieces flying off. To date, they have been small segments that bounced harmlessly off my Airstream helmet/visor, but I'm always looking for ways to keep the nice air flow and add extra impact protection.

@Randy: Alan Zenreich has done quite a few mods to 3M units, including using lightweight lith ion batteries. He has also rigged up a system to provide air to a 3M bump cap from a hose attached to a hepa room air filter. I think much of what he has done is documented on the AAW forum, and I know that he has some YouTube videos, too.

[Dale Bonertz]

Yes, I spoke with Alan a couple of weeks ago for about an hour. Great knowledgeable guy. I agree totally with you and I want both. Unfortunately what is currently available on the market forces us to compromise in one area or the other. I hope that gets resolved someday. I to have had bark or bark inclusion break free and ricochet and hit me in the face shield. Fortunate for me these occasions didn't harm me or the shield. I really can't imagine anyone turning without a face shield at the very least. Have a great weekend everyone. Turn happy and safely.