In an earlier post in this thread, I said "As turners, we should all be accustomed to wearing masks. When I first started turning, I used bought a box of utility dust masks from the hardware store. Still have them - they didn't work well. There is one elastic band that is attached only by a staple and that pulls out when you try to put the mask on. "
Just out of curiosity, I tried to solve that problem. After all, we are currently housebound, and it's raining so indulging in curiosity is a good thing! So I first started by putting a dab of PVA glue between the elastic band and the mask fabric adjacent to where the band was stapled to the mask to reinforce the stapled attachment. To get a good bond, I put a clamp on the glue joint until the glue cured. This seemed to address the problem of the band tearing away from the mask. However, the process was slow - apply the glue, attached the clamp, wait for the glue to cure and then repeat on the other side of the mask.
So I said to myself, "Myself, wouldn't it be faster to use hot-melt glue?". Again, that hypothesis proved to be correct - it only took seconds for the hot glue joint to cool enough to be handled, so it really wasn't even necessary to use the clamp. But I noticed something very curious - - - there was no problem when I put a drop of hot glue on the band and pressed it against the mask fabric, but when I tried to put the glue directly onto the fabric and then press the band into that bead of glue, something strange happened. I finally determined that touching the tip of the hot glue gun to the fabric caused the mask fabric itself to melt.
I was under the impression that these masks were made from paper. Not all papers are created equal - there is a small paper mill not far from here that I know makes specialty paper specifically for filter applications - automotive air and oil filters, furnace filters, etc. But the fact that the fabric in these masks melts when exposed to heat suggests that it's made from some kind of artificial (plastic) fiber rather than cellulose based fiber. That's interesting! I don't know what brand they are or where I bought them, and I have only tried this with this one box of masks so I don't know if this is a universal thing, but others may have similar experiences.