I'm fairly new to relief carving, and forgive me if this is already common knowledge among all of the pros here, but I just found a great way to keep my relief carving from sliding around the workbench without the need of any kind of vise or clamps!!!

Get this...you can use a leftover scrap of that rubber stuff people put under rugs to keep them from slipping!!! (can you tell I'm a little excited?) I've found this works great, since I am always turning my piece, the use of a clamp is incredibly annoying. As long as you don't attempt to cut out larger pieces of wood than you should, this is a safe and cheap way to secure your project.

the perforated router pads work as well, they also sell the same thing to put in shelves for dishes. :P

[AlArchie]

Good tip, B.E. I'll have to try that....I've used the shelf pads, but they get slippery after a while.

Al

[Captain_Bandaid]

Anti-slip floor pads can be made 'tacky' again by washing them in a SLIGHTLY soapy hot water. Rinse well and air dry. Been using one of these for several years now and rarely use my carvers hook. They can still slip on you so don't stop wearing your personal protective equipment!

I asked on woodcarvers porch about getting a plan or drawing for a carvers arm...but the message was lost or something, besides I had the wrong email address! Does anyone here have a plan for a carvers arm?

[Bandaid]

Hi hi ho...(sounds like the 7 dwarfs ) check out carving tips at www.wilkersonwoodcarving.com he has some pics, of the carving arm he uses, it might give you some ideas. This fellow does some great work and his site is definately worth a boo! 8)

[Callynne]

Hey BriteEyes, thanks for a great tip, just happen to have some of that stuff left over and never would have thought to use it. Can't wait to try it!

I bought a big bag of rice over the weekend and intend to make up a 'holding pillow', anyone ever hear of this or use one? A lady told me about it the other day, you make a 'pillowcase' out of heavier material, fill it with rice and sew it shut. The idea is to nestle your small carving in it instead of holding it in your hand. Sounded like a good idea to me, I'll let you all know how it works....may be a week or so though, lots of company coming and going the next couple weeks...reunion time you know!

Thanks again for the tip, BriteEyes! Callynne

You can use the barley husks they advertize for pillows and also dried beans work well...remember the bean bag ashtrays?

[Bandaid]

Hi Callynne...one quick way to make a holding pillow is to cut a length of the leg off an old pair of jeans. Just sew up the ends and your in business. The denim makes a fairly durable cover. Just a thought... 8)

Callynne,
I read that same idea a few years ago. I can't remember where I got it (maybe a yahoo carving club) but the directions were to use old denim pant legs and fill them with generic cat litter (not the newer gelling kind). I have 4 of them made that way and use them all the time. Also, the rice might attract rodents if you live in an area like I live....15 miles from town, between 4 corn fields ;^D
Another use for the rice bags (using cotton material) is to make a neck pillow filled with dry white rice. This can be microwaved repeatedly for a long time, and is great for an aching neck. Just be sure never to heat for more than 3 minutes at a time, or the rice will burn up (turn brown and smell burnt) eventually. Also if you go longer, you risk steam burns when the rice is fresh. The heated rice works great on any aching body parts.

Donna