Homemade Shop Dust Masks

[CDR_Ret]

Well, with the coronavirus panic-buying depleting all the dust masks at our local home improvement stores, I was at a standstill with some of my workshop projects. However, my  wife has been following some fabric arts forums where they are discussing making masks for hospitals to supplement those needed for non-critical care situations, so they can use the N-95-esq masks for critical care/COVID-19 cases.

 

So, she found the pattern, we selected a fabric, got the elastic bands, and I made a nose-bridge support out of a piece of copper wire.

 

The result looks like it will work fine!

 

[reklein]

That looks like it will work fine. I bought a pack of N-95s about 3 weeks ago. Good thing I did too as I've been power carving basswood which is really dusty. Also I gave two to some friends who have been cleaning out an old house and a shop that were mouse infested. You can geet the Hanta virus from mouse waste. Anyway good on your wife. I see mostly women doing this around the country where they can get the material.  Bill

[Bob Blarney]

we're making masks for the medical caregivers too.  But now elastic is out of stock, so we're making them with long ties that can be trimmed to length.  My daughter creates fabric print designs and contracts with a printer to produce a sampler proof cloth for the designs.  She's now cutting up the proof samplers for masks.

 

 

[CDR_Ret]

Nice looking masks, Bob.

 

My wife says she has enough elastic for the apocalypse, which she has been collecting for decades.