Scared of leather dust...

[Erfan]

Hey All, 

I've been leathercrafting casually for about 2 years now and am mostly involved with making watch bands using vegetable tanned leather (roughly 10 or so hours a week). I use contact adhesive and for the first year/year and a half was using it without a mask, now wear a mask with a filter but can sometimes still smell the fumes so am going to change to using the eco-weld glue (I'm guessing no mask really needed for this glue?).

I'm not really sanding any of the leather (have sanded just a couple times using a dremel stupidly without a mask), but I do a fair bit of cutting, skiving, burnishing with gum tragac etc and am not wearing a mask for the full duration of making the product, I do see leather particles and fibers on my work table and use a small usb vacuum cleaner now to clean most of it up, but that's more recently. I've read a bit online about the carcinogenicity of leather dust and am now a little scared, especially as my work table is in my study at home where both myself and my wife spend a bit of time (this is also where I store my hides) - do I need to worry too much about possible small level exposures from making watch bands? I'm guessing (as with most carcinogens) it mainly is an issue for people in the industry breathing the dust constantly every day (and even then not all are affected?) and not really an issue from just manually cutting and skiving as you're not really kicking up any dust and the particles created are too large to be of concern?

Would appreciate any help, do you think I need to change anything or move my table? have a bit of anxiety and I think I'm maybe overthinking it all a bit too much.

 

[Rockoboy]

I have no knowledge of the possibilities, but I do not have anywhere near the level of anxiety you are having. I don't wear a mask for any sanding and glue-up I do without getting too close to the glue can or the project.

I did buy a mask for using when spray painting, which I have plans to try out, sometime in the future.

[HeatherAthebyne]

Re: cement fumes, pick out something in the Renia Aquilim line. Good stuff, no fumes.

I wear a mask when I am actually taking sandpaper to leather, but nothing else is making enough dust for me to be concerned about.

[Handstitched]

@Erfan  I used to work in the fibreglass pool industry for many years, I wore a paper  mask or a respirator everywhere I went around the factory.  A lot of us  even had ( almost permanent )   red marks on our faces where the masks sat.So I was fairly savvy with health & safety . ( even when the owner wasn't ) 

I would always wear a mask when grinding leather ,  and even using an old  vintage vacuum cleaner  as a dust  extractor but I have to admit, I have become  a bit slack these days . But I do definitely wear a respirator when using dyes through a spray gun or an air brush .

But if you have any concerns, wear a dust mask or a respirator, regardless of our opinions and advice. They're your lungs and they're the only ones you have   

HS

[Erfan]

Thanks guys, think I was being a little overall paranoid (I do have a bit of hypochondria), don't really do any sanding and if I do in the future I'll wear a mask. Have slowly been replacing the materials I use with less harmful ones such as the eco-weld glue instead of contact adhesives. I also don't do any spraying of the dye, just use daubers to apply it onto the leather - although I must admit I have been a little slack with wearing gloves and have gotten dye on my fingers, but have been much more careful, more recently and I use gloves now pretty much for the whole process of making my items. I'm going to be moving my work table out of the house into our double garage too just to keep our study a little cleaner. 

 

Just been paranoid recently over the crap I've done in my 20s without full protection (using spray paints, sanding wood/metal etc). I'm much more vigilant these days (early 30's), better late than never to start with protection :D 

Edited October 15, 2019 by Erfan

[Handstitched]

Nothing wrong in being a little paranoid.  Our health and safety is important, regardless if its a hobby or  a business. But like I said earlier, I have been slack in that regard, so I should....correction ...will be more vigilant. But  I  always use a respirator  when spraying dyes & sealers ( and with lots of ventilation) as I don't know what chemicals are in them .  As for dye on your hands, I tried using rubber gloves  and different grades types etc. only to find them more a hindrance than a help and making a bigger mess as they don't always fit properly  .  So these  days I just use  scrap sheep skin swabs without gloves. ( Cotton ear buds are handy  for dying  in intricate bits too.)    Sure I'll get dye on my hands, , but it wears off in a few days . If customers ask about the authenticity of  my products being handcrafted, I just show them my hands....simple   

I also use a moisturiser cream on my hands   

HS