Hand stiffness

[Dusty Buffalo]

I actually did what I consider to be my first carving. I received my beginner kit from Rick, which by the way, is awesome.

I carved a dragonfly body for this stump I've been working on. I carved it out of a dowel. My only problem was that my fingers and hands wanted to keep cramping up. I do type all day for a living (it supports my wood habit) and my hands/fingers do get sore.

I figured part of it was the size of the item. It was only about 4 inches long and I think I used a 3/8" dowel. So there wasn't much to hold onto while carving. My carving hand didn't seem to be bothered, just my left hand from holding the piece.

Does anyone else experience this problem and are there any solutions or ways to work around it? I refuse to let this stop me from learning this incredibly fun hobby.

[whitecree]

Unless you have a family history of arthritis, I wouldn't worry too much as it is almost certainly caused from hanging on to something so small. Same thing happens to me and every carver I know when carving miniatures.

Solution? Something called a pin vise. Lee Valley has them for a decent price.

Looky Here

[AlArchie]

Typing and carving.......well, just about ANYTHING and carving, bring all sorts of different muscles and tendons into play. The more you carve, the more likely you will experience less and less of those stiff fingers. New muscles....new cramps. Even some of the arthritic symptoms may seem to ease after a while. You must also learn to recognize the fatigue onset, and be wiling to take a break, wiggle those digits around a bit, and maybe have a cupa Joe!

Al

[Canopener]

Dusty,
I think there is a good reason why many people advise you to carve every day. Muscles need to be in shape.
The same thing happens to me all the time because I only carve a couple days a week.
Imagine how you would feel if you spent all day chain saw carving. Trust me, more than your fingers would hurt.
Keep at it and have fun!
Jim

[wade clark]

Kelly,
One solution to holding such a small carving while carving it would be to carve it on the end of the dowel before making it a separate piece, then cutting it or carving it off the dowel.
Good luck! Keep carving!
Wade

[Kenny_S]

Arthritis in the hands and carving is not a happy marriage!

[Irish]

Kelly, I believe this is fairly common with any new carver! You are doing something very new and so you tend to tense up ... both in holding the knives and in holding the carving. Without realizing it you are concentrating so much that your hands begin to feel the stress.

Wades suggestions is excellent. Stop once in a while, take a small walk and do some finger stretching exercises. As you become more experienced in carving you will begin to loosen your grip.

Susan

[Mitchell]

Kelly, I have at times had problems with my hands cramping. Especially on small pieces.

I will sometimes use my work bench to support the carving as I work on it. Actually, I have a wooden bracket that fits over the edge of the workbench and brace the carving against it. Since it's wood, the tools don't get dulled when the edge comes in contact with it. The bracket is basically shaped like a "[" and slides onto the edge of the work bench edge top.

What I do is hold the piece in my left hand (I carve with my right hand) and rest part of it against the bracket. Since the carving is braced by the bracket, it takes much less hand strength to hold onto it.

I believe I read about this type of bracket in a book by either Marv Kaisersatt or Pete LeClair....I'm not sure which.

[Smokey]

There is a trick that I use when carving wood spirits on #2 pencils--I suppose it would work as well if you got a 6" length of rubber hose(3/8 inch inside diameter) then wrapped this with several layers of tape, to build up the diameter of the outside of the hose. Stick the dowel inside and it should be tight. By increasing the size of the "handle" it will be much easier to hold for lengths of time. You can pick up this hose at any auto store or hardware store for about .20/foot. Good Luck

[squbrigg]

Great advice all......just the place to help to get you through the beginning parts of carving. Yes, many carvers find this a problem when beginning, grip so tight their hands cramp, but it will pass as you become(your hands become) more use to it and you find new ways and better ways to hold the piece you are working on.

In this case your hand doesn't want to stay closed on an object that small for a longer period than it normally would, so your solution is to make something to help you hold the piece, to enlarge the area you are holding temporarly!

You could wrap something around it , like Smokey suggests, hose, or clamp it, or any of the other good suggestions. You'll work it out in a way that works for you.

Have fun and good luck,

Bob