It appears that a bike/cycle store is a great place to get some safety gear for the workshop! I’ve wanted to get a neoprene dust mask for a while, but the one I’ve seen by RZ Mask doesn’t appear to distribute in the UK (if they do & you know where leave thta down in the comments please). RZ Mask do ship to the UK and they have an extensive range available, but the shipping cost to the UK is more expensive than the mask, and takes over a week to arrive…
While trying to find a UK based retailer though a lot of similar product kept popping up for cyclists & motor cycle riders in city/urban areas - so I checked out my local cycle store (Evans Cycles) online & they had the exact thing I was after, plus a lot of other gear very useful in a workshop…
Dust Mask - Techno Gold
This mask is really comfortable, has a velcro strap to secure at the top of your neck, under your hat which is useful. The metal nose piece means securing the mask tightly is easy. The exhalation valves mean that normal easy breathing doesn’t fog up your safety glasses like some masks do - this is essential for woodwork & metalwork of course so you can see what your doing!
This model is the top of the range & cost me £30, and you can get replacement filters for around £10. The filters are hepa-style, charcoal based to absorb sub-micron pollutants & odours, so would be a good option when finishing a piece - they come in a range of sizes & colours but I just wanted a nice black one - must be a bit of Henry Ford in me!
I’m impressed with this mask & already it’s a workshop essential!
cold weather gloves - endura fs260 pro-nemo
I use professional framer gloves in the workshop, particularly for moving bigger sheets of timber (ply or OSB) or metal. They have decent grip & are hard wearing but aren’t very warm & after a while can get a bit shift.
While picking up my new dust mask, I saw these gloves which are neoprene, not very thick & have fantastic grip on the palms & fingers - I guess for staying on your mountain bike when you’re throwing yourself down a red run!
I used them this week in the workshop as I’m cutting a lot of 18mm ply to size for my new mitre saw station - it’s been very cold in North Wales (around -8 at times) so these gloves have been brilliant
At £20 they are cheaper than decent framing gloves so that’s a win!
Here are some of the other useful items I spied that would work out in the workshop - mountain bikers knee pads - really comfortable with all-around knee protection & support (£32), cleaning & degreaser products that would work out for cleaning the chainsaw or other high maintenance tools (less than £10), head lamps for extra light doing intricate work (scroll saw perhaps) & a massive array of allen keys, wrench & spanners…
