Bamboo Rod Makers and health concerns

 

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 machinery when using epoxies and varnishes. I have found over the last 30 years that vinegar works better than anything for cleaning string binders, for example. I am speaking from a lot of experience when I say, “You will eventually get sick from a lack of safety precautions”. I have had anemia, blood disorders, immune disorders, and extreme allergic reactions. I actually had a fungus attack my sinus cavity from turning spalted reel seats. Spalt is literally a fungus that has left its pretty marks all over blanks. Spalted wood, unstabilized, is actually quite dangerous to inhale. So the list goes on, but my best advice is that whether you are a rod maker or a rod builder, use a respirator at all times. I am a rod maker, so if I am pressing nodes while leaning over a heat gun, I am inhaling cane dust from the roughed strips and splines for hours. Over time, it will wreak havoc on your sinuses.

A lot of this is common sense, but you really see the light when it happens to you or your fellow rod makers. This entry is not meant to scare you; it's meant to prolong your ability to practice your craft.

                 Thanks for letting me share ~Clint Bova          www.cjbovarods.com