On Mon, 27 Dec 2004 04:47:32 GMT, vj wrote:

i REALLY don't want to go the route of an entire respirator if i can
help it. everything i've ever seen would make me so uncomfortable i'd
never be able to work at all - and i'd have to give up metalsmithing
entirely. that's why i was trying to find a mask i could wear. even
they aren't comfortable, but it would at least keep the 'particle
inhalation' down.

Just to make sure we're using the same terminology - as I'm
using the words, "respirator"= half or quarter-face (nose and mouth)
and "mask" = full-face (as in "gas mask"). I'm not sure if this is
how the folks who make 'em and sell 'em distinguish them.

I just looked at the current Rio tools & equipment catalog.
They're calling all types, from the disposable 20-to-a-box cheapies to
the $90 full-face wear-it-to-the-crater-of-Mt St Helens model
"respirators." See pp 452-453.

Cheers!
Neil