[TheForge] The Beard vs. the Respirator

[Bob Willman]

	When I had to enter the local refinery for service work on the
paging system (before retirement), you could not get past the gate with
facial hair of any kind because it interfered with a mask if you needed one.
Even side burns had to be less than a prescribed length and no lamb chops
allowed. We could not even take the required annual safety course with
facial hair. No exceptions! 


Bob Willman
Bowling Green, Ohio
The Eagle's Anvil
WB8NQW

-----Original Message-----
From: theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net
[mailto:theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Mark Novak
Sent: Sunday, January 13, 2008 12:41 PM
To: theforge at mailman.qth.net
Subject: [TheForge] The Beard vs. the Respirator 

I need to ask this question before I shave. I wear a respirator when I'm
grinding, so as to minimize the amount of metal dust I inhale, but I have a
beard that interferes with the effectiveness of the mask. The guy at my
local Safety Store told me in no uncertain terms, "If you don't shave the
beard off, the mask will never work properly," which is what I was noticing
while wearing it. He told me that there is no respirator that works on guys
with beards... they all need skin contact.

Does anyone out there have a beard and wear a respirator effectively?  
And if so, how did you do it? Did you fill your beard with vaseline?  
Did you shave a silly looking thin line wear the mask can rest on your skin?

Mark Novak
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