3M™ P100 Particulate Filter Respirator - provides 99.97% filter efficiency against oil and non-oil, certain dusts, fumes, mists, radionuclides and asbestos-containing dusts and mists. Click here for more information and if you buy one, don’t forget to wear it!
According to my calculations, a person wearing one of these filters could work in dusty conditions, every week day for well over 12 years, and still not inhale the dust that a non-protected person would inhale in just one day…
This is an installation of California Gold 16”x16” Indian slate tile in a theatre room. This is a fantastic looking slate and the brick pattern installation is particularly attractive.
Silicosis (also known as Grinder’s disease and Potter’s rot) is a form of occupational lung disease caused by inhalation of crystalline silica dust, and is marked by inflammation and scarring in forms of nodular lesions in the upper lobes of the lungs.
Silicosis (especially the acute form) is characterized by shortness of breath, fever, and cyanosis (bluish skin). It may often be misdiagnosed as pulmonary edema (fluid in the lungs), pneumonia, or tuberculosis.
This respiratory disease was first recognized in 1705 by Ramazzini who noticed sand-like substances in the lungs of stonecutters. The name silicosis (from the Latin silex or flint) was attributed to Visconti in 1870.
For the full Wikipedia article, please click here.
Slate with a natural split-face has a good mechanical coefficient of friction because of the rough surface.
With honed/polished slate, as with any other product that has a smooth surface, it’s a different story - it can get slippery when wet. New Dimensions Solutions, LLC produces an interesting sounding product called “Skid Safe”.
I do not have any personal experience with this product, but if the advantages are as good as claimed, it seems like it would be a tremendous safety addition. For further information, please have a look at their website: http://ndclean.com/skidsafe.html
If anyone has used this product, please leave a comment with your experience of its efficacy.
Silver Gray Quartzite 12”x12” Indian slate tile installed in a kitchen of a client’s home. It looks magnificent!
In many ways the slate industry in North Wales was as important to the local economy, culture and history of the area, as was the coal industry of South Wales. Both industries arose out of nothing, became giants on the world stage and then suffered catastrophic decline and almost total extinction. But whereas in South Wales it is sometimes difficult to trace where collieries once existed, due mainly to reclamation, in North Wales there are still many visible examples of the slate industry. Often a little exploration will reward the interested party with a gem of industrial archaeology or an insight into a way of life which nowadays seems harsh and bleak.
The main production areas were around Blaenau Ffestiniog, Bethesda, Llanberis, Nantlle, Corris and Llangollen/Glyn Ceiriog. But, in the boom years, wherever there looked like being a remote chance of finding slate - even if miles from anywhere, then the prospectors would be out scratching at the barren hillsides. Many of these speculative sites never got beyond tiny workings whereas the giants of the industry employed over 3,000 men in huge quarries. In between were scores of medium sized workings often with impressive buildings, inclines, machinery and production methods.
Words and photo by kind permission of Dave Sallery. For more information from his tremendous website, please click here.
Ground slate daggers are found in Korea, northeastern China, the southern Russian Federation maritime province and to the south in western Japan. They represent some of the most skillfully crafted slate artifacts ever manufactured by a Stone Age culture anywhere in the world. The more elaborate examples were apparently used as ritual objects but other more plain examples may have been used as weapons. An estimated date for these daggers is sometime between 1,000 to 300 B.C.
To read the full article, please click here.
A wet tile saw is a vital piece of equipment for installations. Having water streaming on the blade eliminates any dust and accurate cuts can be accomplished with this type of saw, where the tile is placed on a movable saddle. Click here for a short video from YouTube.
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