New-ish carver with a safety question

[sharonsikes]

I've been carving almost a year but still feel very new! Right now, I'm trying to carve the egg hedgehogs in the latest issue of WCI - the instructions are for power but I am hand carving. Question - how do I hold the egg, secure it, clamp it so that I don't spill blood?!

[Tom Ellis]

Sharon, Make sure you have a good quality carving glove, and be aware of which way your blade will go if you slip.
I also like to anchor my thumb while carving, so I wear a rubber fingertip, like a secretary wears to turn pages.

Carve safe, Tom

[carvingbarn]

As Tom said get a good carving glove and thumb guard. Keep your tools sharp. Whatever tools you are using make small and slow cuts. Trying to force a cut is when I get cut. Good quality basswood eggs helps.

[Claude]

Welcome to the forum, Sharon!

Another possibility is to get a small piece wood such as a 1.5 inch x 1.5 inch square piece maybe 6 inches long. Drill a hole in the center of one end about 1 inch deep. Cut the head off a 2 inch long dry wall screw (dry wall screws are thinner than standard wood screws, so less likely to split the wood egg), Mix some two-part 5 minute epoxy up and put some down into the hole (couple of drops is enough) then insert the head end of the screw. Let dry. What you now have is a screw holder. Drill a small hole into the bottom of the egg, than turn the screw holder into the hole. You now have a nice secure way to hold the egg without your fingers right next to the blade. The safety gloves are still needed, in my opinion, but the stick gives you something to hold on to. If the square stick is to large for your hand, a piece of 1 inch dowel, or even the end of an old broom handle will do nicely. If you feel you need to plug the hole in the egg when the carving is finished, just put some white glue in the hole, and a small piece of dowel that fits, let dry and trim flush.

Claude

[sharonsikes]

Thanks! I do have an excellent carving glove and am very conscious of carving safely (after spilling a lot of blood early on) - I hope the carving stick will help - the hen's egg is just so darned hard to hold and appears to have a mind of its own. Using my vise hasn't proved secure enough to use both hands to carve.
The process of hand carving is what I love but I may eventually have to supplement with power.

[Tom Ellis]

Sharon, You might try one of the kevlar gloves with the rubber coating on it, That helps hold your wood a lot easier.

Tom

[scooter]

All of the above.

Also, make sure your steel is sharp. While both dull and sharp blades will cut meat (read: your fingers) quite effectively, a sharp knife will be easier to control, be less likely to slip, and generally, behave more to your liking.

S~

[Gulf Coast Handyman]

Good quality glove Buy Safety Glove, Extra Extra Small 3" - 4" at Woodcraft.com

Dave