With every craft, there are health concerns. If you are an oil painter, you're breathing in alkyds, turpenoids, and mineral spirits; you're even exposed to natural pigments that can kill you, like cobalts, cadmiums, and flake white, which is basically white lead. Bow makers are exposed to resins and epoxies probably as much as rod makers are. When you consider the finishing of a rod, you are exposed to spar, or urethanes, which contain benzene; even tung oil has a drying agent that, if inhaled over time, can mess with your immune system. There is, however, a simple rule of thumb I follow: minimise inhalation and exposure by using organic respirators.  Above photo: An assortment of my stabilized spalted maple, koa, and walnut spacer blanks Use gloves when handling epoxies and use only vinegar to cut EVERYTHING! Not paint thinner or acetone. I used to work with GE Polymer Solutions, and the chemists all taught me that vinegar is your best friend when cleaning your hands and ma...