That expensive dust extractor I laughed at saved my lungs, I swear

Ngl, when my uncle handed me a $1,200 Festool dust extractor and said it was a game changer, I almost laughed in his face. I've been doing drywall and woodwork for 8 years in Nashville, always just rocked a shop vac with a crappy filter. First time I used it cutting MDF for a kitchen remodel, I didn't have that nasty cloud of dust filling the whole room. The air stayed clear, my sinuses didn't clog up by noon, and I didn't sneeze brown gunk for three days after. Took about two weeks of using it on every job to realize I wasn't coughing at night anymore. What made you guys finally switch over to proper dust control, or do you still rock the old setup?

3 comments

3 Comments

parker_hall510d ago

Honestly, nothing like brown lung to make you rethink your budget.

oliviabutler10d ago

Oh MAN this hits home. It's wild how we normalize our own suffering until something shows us it doesn't have to be that way. I see this everywhere, not just with tools, people just accept headaches and coughing and bad air as part of the deal because that's how it's always been. It's like we've convinced ourselves that things HAVING to be hard or uncomfortable is just part of doing good work. And then one upgrade makes you realize you were basically using a sledgehammer to hang a picture. I'm glad your uncle made you try it, sometimes the expensive stuff is actually worth it when it keeps your lungs pink instead of brick colored.

craig.olivia5d ago

@oliviabutler talks about normalizing suffering. That's exactly it. The shop vac setup felt like paying my dues. Like real workers deal with the dust. How long did it take you to admit the old way was actually just stupid and not some badge of honor? Because for me it was about three weeks of not waking up hacking.