A very promising new dust protection system that doesn't use a face mask and works for bearded folks. Snorkles anyone? See the link at:

http://www.woodworkersjournal.com/ezine/interview.cfm

Alas, it doesn't work yet for vapor protection, per the inventor. Here's our email exchange:

Scott,
The way this will be sold it has a 99% dust filter media. This will filter dust very well, however it is not made for fumes of any kind. Later I may develop cartridges to work with vapors but for now I am just trying to get it into the market with the best dust filter ever built and keep the price reasonable. Should retail for $49.95. $49.95 plus a $15.00 face shield is a better system than anything under $500.00 and has no batteries, chargers, noisy little fans and high maintenance. A pack of two filters should retail for about $7.95. They hang behind your head, out of most of the dust, and are three times the filtering surface of most. You will be amazed how long they last, I don't care how much dust you make.

Jim Duxbury

Scott Fitzgerrell wrote:

Dear Mr. Duxbury, Saw with interest your new respirator on the Web, courtesy of the Woodworker ezine. As a boatbuilder working with epoxies, and as a woodworker working with dust, I'm interested in your filter media. Will your system work with the vapor filters/cartridges required for epoxy work? There's a whole bunch of folks out there who would love your design if it provided vapor protection as well as dust protection. Thanks in advance for your reply. --Scott Fitzgerrell