Do the best job you can do to insure you have good ventilation in your working area as you do the various jobs associated with building rods.

Many of the glues, finishes , cleaning products and solvents can be harmful to the lungs and other body parts over long term use.

Many of the effects are additive. i.e. when the body is exposed to some of these products, the effects of the products build in the body and over time the built up effects can result in allergic reactions or worse.

ON the surface, most of the commonly used products are perfectly safe.

Just use common sense and use good ventilation to help your body.

As my Dr. said a long time ago, if you can smell it, it can hurt you. So, the intent of workplace ventilation is to remove the fumes such that the fumes - no matter how slight, never get to your nose and lungs.

Be safe
Roger

Roger,

We all know but sometimes we need reminders.. Acetone is a great example. Again as we all know, it is very flamable too. The fumes stay low and travel around the floor area. If you are close to the water heater pilot light, it will be too bad.


Another thing which is plain and simple is to make sure your alcohol lamp has the lid on tight. I waved mine by a wrap one time and it
was not on tight, the next thing I knew my hand was on fire.

We can never be too safe. Thanks for the reminder.


Bill

Ohio Rod Builders

Canton, Ohio

And I would guess the foods you eat and the air you breath are - Clean ???

A little Reality Check You eat and breath so many chemicals you would not believe ??

Check the labels on the things you eat. If you can not - Pronounce it - It is bad for you. And we eat them every Day !!!

Bill - willierods.com

Hey... Roger is the one recommending people use Xylene to clean a blank. Guess this is the warning label on the directions. LOL

-----------------
AD

Epoxy plus acetone equals trip to emergency room eventually. I found that out with a smallpox like reaction that took a second trip and IV steroids to clear up. I now have ventilation fans pulling air off my work bench along with outside air in from opposite end of shop. Started using respirator while mixing and applying epoxys. Gloves, and long sleeves also. So far no repeat visits.

Tony,
That is the remarkable thing about the human body. The body will absorb abuse - whether from what we breathe, eat or drink.

Finally, one day the body stops tolerating the things that we are doing to it and it says NO. This may be in the form of an allergic reaction or something worse.

For those folks who have not had any reactions yet from their envoronment, do everything to keep this from Ever occurring.

Roger

Just a side note : When making trim rings with a hole saw on a drill press or drilling holes, it's a good idea to use some ventilation or a respirator to protect the lungs. Anything made in China that's plastic can't be good for you to breathe either!

Randy

Just add up what it takes to build a rod, finishes, glues sanding some amount of heat ,cleaning liquids. All these combined cause some kind of irritant to our bodies. I now have to use latex gloves when applying finishes and mixing glues or bonding agents. My skin is so sensitive that I will breakout with a scaly rash and then I have to call my Doc for some expensive oil and creams. So take head my friends and read all health precautions and keep the fresh air flowing I was one of those who said it will never happen to me. But it did did and now I suffer when I throw caution to the wind. RIGHT KERRY!!!!!

Good Wraps Bob

This all is true and possibly the scariest part, is that no one knows how something will impact them until after the fact. How is it that someone can work or be exposed to toxins for decades and show no ill effects and their neighbor uses a household cleaning product once and is stricken for life? I once met a gentleman who's job was doing research on houselhold chemicals and their interactions ono the human body, both seen and unseen. It was an enlightening and frightening conversation. One thing he was sure to convey, was that exposure to such chemicals can impact us down the road, not just when using them. For example, years of working in a metal shop may result in sensitivity to you wouldn't know of until, say, you built custom a custom rod. Some will survive with little more than a scare, a medical bill and some knowledge. Roger's Doc is wise in stating that non-organic (for lack of a more proper term) odors should be considered a potential hazard. Until a number of people become ill, testing is never really done, now is it? Remember DDT and PCBs? Had a friend who painted aircraft for the USAF. They never were issued respirators. A few years later he was ill. Urethane paints being the culprit. Remember too, your skin is an organ not just a covering! So many expamples out there. No need to live in fear, just be cautious and live to enjoy your craft/hobby and it's rewards. Just my 2 cents worth

My real daytime work besides as a Structural Engineer is as a consultant in hazardous materials inside buildings. I test indoor air quality for all sorts of different materials and allergens and must as a requirement of my liscensure must get a lot of training and annual refreshers. All that said, all people are individuals and are different. That is why some are more sensitive to different materials. When replying to a conversation such as above, I like to use the analogy that Poison Ivy causes a wide variety of reactions to different people. Everyone does not react to a stimulous in the same way or within the same time frame. Basicly don't be paranoid, but be careful. As was said above, you can be exposed to all sorts of materials by inhalation and/or Injesting (don't eat it) and/or thru absorption thru the skin. I think it is ironic that many react to the latex in the gloves they use to protect themselves. BTW the fiber/cloth particulate "respirators" that cover the nose and mouth are for the most part pretty much worthless, even though they are NIOSH rated. If you haven't spent about $30 to $50 or even more on a half face respirator and have a magenta color filter AND a VOC (activated carbon) filter sacked together, you are wasing your time amd $$$ in my opinion. And the masks they wear in the hospital is not to protect the wearers, but to prevent saliva from contaminating others. I too believe that any particulate you introduce into your lungs is not good, but we have to breath. Actually wearing a HEPA respirator requires your employee to have Doctor's examination and certification that he/she are healthy enough to wear a respirator. Enough of the rant and back to dreaming of that Wilderness Small Bass fishing trip with my sons & grandkids.

Something else to think about. I am getting ready to buy a good cyclone dust collector system for my shop. Today I was talking to a company rep from the Oneda company and asking him some questions about the system I want. One of the questions I asked him was concernining fumes and eliminating them from my shop so they wouldn't just being recirculated thru the shop. So I asked him if I would have access to the bottom of the large micro filter that I could connect a pipe with a gate in it and attach it thru my shops wall so when I was working with product that produce harmful fumes the gate could be opened and they could be blown outside (would need a air inlet to the shop) so I wouldn't be breathing them. He said, that those kind of fumes will clog the fine holes in the filter. I have since come up with a new method of ridding my shop of the fumes and just using the dust collecting system for saw dust and similar things. Finally, yep Bob I told you, LOL
Kerry

I think it is great we are discussing such topics. I don't want it to appear that anything I say is in opposition.

Mr. Jones makes some great points. I work at a hospital and am a certified fit testor for respirators. Folks need to be sure what they use fits properly and is suitable for the intended purpose. I'd suggest buying a good name brand that has consumer friendly tech support.

I'd like to make a somewhat different point. One I know has been mentioned before. IMHO the most dangerous practice is that of using a solvent to remove epoxy from your hands. One should use a waterless hand cleaner and wipe well. Follow up with soap and water.

Personally I don't see the need for most solvents. I use acetone on boat hull work but not rod building. Alcohol seems adequate. I don't use permagloss but that is one I'd want a good respirator and a lot of ventilation. There are certain tasks I think are best done outside. I glue my grips and seats outside. I'd rather do any grinding/turning/sanding outside too if possible.

That leaves me with thread coating epoxy being my only concern. I generally have the AC on and use a 3M filterine in it and have added a small fan powered HEPA filter to the area. I'm not overly concerned with the fumes from thread finish but I may regret that down the road. I'm a lot more worried about the stuff I use in my boilers but I reckon most of you aren't using that!!

FWIW there are some foods that cause the same amine allergic reaction.

Russ in Hollywood, FL.

I have been told that fish slime also has Amine in it? Not sure, but if true, yikes!!!!!

I have been thinking about fitting a shop vac. hose to a a celling light fixture (lights removed) that can be lowered over a turning rod and mixing table then run a exit hose out a window. Or maybe make a enclosed drying table with a out side vent. The enclosed table would eliminate dust I already have a portable Hepa filter. any thoughts?

Good Wraps Bob

Bob,

Venting an enclosed dryer with a Hepa filter inlet sounds interesting, but it would have to be air tight or vent fan would pull a LOT of dust through any gaps in the dryer box instead of drawing air strictly through the filter. Maybe seal the door with weatherstripping?

Good luck!

Dan

To finish my rods, I use Classic Rod Coat. Unfortunately, I only have a reasonably confine space in which to work, but the ventilation is good. Some time ago, I sent a request to George M Allen, Rod Products Co requesting copies of the relevant Material Safety Data Sheets for both the resin and hardener. Unfortunately, I have not received a reply. Are you familiar with this product? If so, would you be in a position to advise the ingredients of both items? Classic Rod Coat is a good product, but both the severe warnings and comprehensive first aid advice concerns me.

Regards
Dick Dangerfield
Toowoomba
Queensland
Australia