Just starting out and need some input

[agaboric]

Hello I am new to the wood working forum and am loving it almost as much as woodcarving, actually my hands get tired kind of fast and I was wondering if there is some sterching or something that I can do to build up to longer carving sessions?
Also I am reading the book Easy Woodcarving and still going through the pratice excirsizes and I am doing each excirsize twice, and I can actually see small improvments from first to the second anyway I'll keep chiping away and thank God for carving gloves!

Andy

[mikeg]

I don't know of any particular exercises. I have a squeeze ball I use when I'm thinking at work. I do make a point to take a break and stretch my hands, arms and shoulders from time to time while carving. I find that if I'm doing carving on a regular basis, that strengthens my hands.

Glad to hear you're using a carving glove, I'm a big fan as well. I hope you're using a thumb guard on your carving hand.

mikeg

[William]

Hi Andy,

Sharp tools will make a tremendous difference in the effort rquired, but it may take some time to learn how to do it.
Switching between a knife and a gouge when removing wood will transfer the effort to different muscles and take the strain off of your wrist.

HappY Carving
Bill
^v^

[Plain_Ol_Ed]

When you get tired, it's a good time to strop your tools. Gives you time to look your carving over too.

[agaboric]

Thanks a bunch for the input, I try to keep my tools as sharp as I can. I am also noticing that certain parts of the carving get harder to carve than other parts. How often should you strop your tools and do you do it by hand or have a power strop? Anyway I will keep chipping away and thank you everyone that responded. I have I feeling that I will be spending a lot of time on this forum!

Andy

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

I strop about every 5 or 10 minutes...you can feel it when they are not cutting like they should...sometimes it is the wood and in those times, I just mist a little rubbing alcohol on it, helps a lot.

[Plain_Ol_Ed]

About the amount of time Hi-Ho said with maybe 15 mins being the max. I strop by hand with 10 or 15 strokes per side.

[agaboric]

Hi Ho Sliver thanks for the adivce but I am curious as to what the rubbing alcohol does exactly or if you don't know that is okay too. Thank you!

Andy

[Donna_T]

Dave may reply before my posting shows, but I keep a little spray bottle, that is 1/2 water and 1/2 rubbing alcohol, right next to my carving supplies. The alcohol seems to soften the hard spots (usually end grain). The weater evaporates.

The more you carve, the stronger your hands and fingers will be. Of course, as you age, you're hands just seem to hurt more anyway! Stopping and stretching your fingers backward, then make a fist, then stretch them backwards again, helps relieve hand stress.

Donna T

[hruukki]

To quickly build up hand muscles, you could squeeze a tennis ball or some such, or use that spring device, whatever it's called. Carving builds the muscles up too, but as the fingers are more static there, you'd need both. Now that I mention this - I haven't done any myself.