no more carving for a while.

[takeaction]

I was working on my new WIP... I call him "the ugly man"... Since I can't afford tools and such, I was using a leather work glove... Guess what... They DON'T WORK!

I was working on the feet, and the exacto blade slipped. I never felt a thing so I kept going as usual. I turned the figure over to work on the other side of the feet, and saw red... pulled the glove off and the blade went right through the glove and into my knuckle. Called Karen in and she bandaged it up. I made it to my 9th carving before my first cut...

She said no more carving till I have a REAL safety glove. I agree with her! LOL

Probably be next week before we can afford it, so the projects will have to wait.

it's really hard to type without using your left index finger... HAHA

Wayne

[GeorgiaCarver]

I hate to hear that you got cut. Just remember that a good carving glove will not protect you from a stab, only a slice.

I hope you heal up soon.

Greg

[Iowa Carver]

Oh man that stinks! Sorry to hear about it. A better glove will help but safe cuts is the key. You can make patterns and such in your off time!

Corey

[takeaction]

Corey,

great idea! One thing that is bothering me though... I have SO MANY things I want to do... I want to make bowls and spoons SO BADLY... I have some spoon blanks on the way thanks to a member on here, but as for bowls, I gotta get some oak or something. My mother-in-law noticed that 2 houses down from her cut down a huge redoak the other day. She says the tree is in chunks at the end of their neighbor's driveway, but it's behind the fence, and they are not home. She is going to try to get it for me. She said the chunks are at least 2 feet in diameter, and 12"+ high each...

If I can get my hands on that, I can make lots of bowls and boxes and spoons too. We have an oak here that needs to come down, as it got a spot on it, and it's dying slowly. It's bleeding black... the top is still live, but the bottom half of the branches are all dead... I want to get it down before the whole tree is ruined. The problem is, I don't have a chainsaw...

On another note. Between the kids, the wife, and I, we now have lots of cedar and pine knot. And one pine burl... Just gotta get batteries for the camera so I can put them on the website for people to claim if they want them.

Wayne

[gene-messer]

Wayne .. Sorry about the mishap ... Hope the recovery is soon .. something we have all gone through ...

Wayne .. just a bit of advice .. dont go for quanity .. just relax and enjoy the carving .. at first we all get in a hurry because we have so many ideas .. but next time .. take that time to put it down when you get tired or just to rest the hands ..

God Bless
Gene

[Dan S]

My last knick is almost healed. Happen pretty darn quick, don't they?
If you are going to get those large chunks of wood you will need to seal the ends so they doesn't split. Sorry I have no suggestions on what to use.
Dan

[againstthegrain]

Wayne,

What rotten luck! Unfortunately, our hobby requires a lot of safety equipment compared to some others, but it is definately necessary.

Keep your chin up and if you can't get to that wood, there will be others.

That means you will be on the message boards more often, right? We just have to give you more time to respond because of your decreased typing speed...

[Claude]

Wayne:
Sorry to hear about the cut. Best advice I can offer is to always hold the work such that when the knife slips, it won't hurt you. Do this before each and every cut. Look at the position of your hand, the carving, and the knife; assume it will slip and see if it could hurt you. It it can't, go ahead and cut; if it might, repostion your hand or the carving. Also, do not use your shoulder and upper arm muscles to carve. Use your wrist only. If you don't put your whole weight behind the cut, it will be less likely to slip and hurt you. Remember, take small chips of wood off when using a knife or gouge and hand-holding the wood. If you have to use your shoulder and chest muscles to carve with, you using too much effort.

Clalude

[imahic]

Sorry to hear about the injury. I was working on a walking stick one time at a boy scout camp and did exactly what I told the boys not to do and made a nice little modification to my finger. Left some nice stains on hickory walking stick too. They are still there to remind me not to get my hand in front of the blade.

[Keoma]

OK! The upside to this is you will have a great scar to remember your early days of carving with!