Cutting fibreglass safely

[deephaven]

I have a batch of PCBs which have been panelised. I need to now cut off the small remaining bits of fibreglass to seperate the boards. I just got a Dremel with a cutting disk for this purpose and it works like a charm. The only thing is I get a strong smell of fibreglass when I do the cutting, even at the Dremel's slowest speed. I'm worried about inhaling too much of this stuff in and would welcome any comments on what to do: mask, ventilation or use something different?

[sonicj]

i would suggest at minimum a mask or preferably a respirator & to do it outside.

safety glasses are a must-have with cutoff wheels!
-sj

[HLA-27b]

The dust that comes off when cutting it is largely glass (or quartz if you like). Inhaling quartz dust causes silicosis - a serious illness.
If you can, use tin snips to cut pcb's without dust and smell.

[IanB]

I agree, definitely face mask and eye protection if cutting fibreglass.

I'm not sure, but maybe scoring and snapping is a suitable  technique for separating the pieces?

[ejeffrey]

A simple dust mask (like you use for wood working) will keep out the glass dust.  The smell is from the burning resin.  A dust mask won't keep that out, but blocking the dust is the main thing.  The solution to the burning smell is better ventilation.

[mikeselectricstuff]

These are the ideal tools for depanelising
http://grovesales.co.uk/categories.php?id=67

but failing that, a cheap set of sidecutters will do the job ( will wreck blades eventually so use a seperate cheap pair for PCBs)

[deephaven]

Thank you for all the very useful replies, much appreciated.

Mike, many thanks for the link to the special tool. That is perfect and I shall order one straight away, they're reasonably priced too. I hadn't come across that supplier before, I shall spend some quality time exploring all the stuff they stock 

[siliconmix]

hey deephaven if it makes your skin itch hand,arms or anywhere try vaseline on exposed parts