[Mercurial]

Hello,

I have been lurking for awhile and have decided to come out of the shadows.

I have been carving for about six weeks, reading this forum for several months. I work with stained glass, am a calligrapher, do some painting, bookbinding etc.
I am carving with traditional edged tools and have made two trips to the ER for stitches so far. I dropped a newly sharpened gouge and it stuck into the floor about 1/4" and about an inch from my little toe. The first thing I thought was Oh Bleep! I hope I didn't mess up the edge on my gouge! I had just spent several days learning to sharpen and had finally gotten it right. I never thought I would worry so much about a tool! Then I thought Maybe I should start wearing shoes And, I remembered Ken's post and the tag line " Safety first, then enjoy the carving" I am trying to practice it now as well.

I am carving some Basswood, Cypress Knees, Cottonwood and Pine Knots and trying some of the "Traditional European" carving; scrolls, grapes and shells. Just practice stuff so far. I am having a lot of fun. It is easy to forget about everything and suddenly realize you have been carving for 7 hours!

I have enjoyed the lurking and getting to know everyone through your post and have benefited greatly from your experience and knowledge.

OK, TOO long, stopping here
except now ulterior motive becomes apparent, I need to ask a question and will do that in the tools forum a little later,
Nice ta meet cha!

[wood-whittler]

dani,

welcome to the board we have a great group here with alot of different interests,if you have any questions please ask.

bart

[Ashbys]

Hello ,

And glad you decided to stop lurking and welcome.

Ash

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

Welcome Dani and you will do all right.....worrying about your chisel instead of your toe...excellent LOL

[squbrigg]

Welcome out of the shadows into the light!!! Glad to hear you are enjoying your foray into carving, time does tend to slip by once you get rolling. Great, relaxing, time though.....well used.

Get use to the ER......I'm on a first name basis with them here and get frequent flyer points now!!!

I'm glad to hear that the first important skill you learned was sharpening..... you did lurk for a while didn't you? Well done.

Have fun and enjoy yourself.

Bob

[Just Carving]

Welcome Dani!!

Glad to see you're well on your way to being a carver like the rest of us---errr, well hopefully better than the rest of us!

Watch them toes!! You're gonna need 'em to carve wood when your fingers are all stitched up!

Have fun enjoy and ask questions!

[Mercurial]

Bob,

If I can make things that are recognizable with my hands I'll be doing well!

As far as getting used to the ER and frequent flyer points, I have been envious of my husband for some time. He travels extensively and is a member of all the elite little clubs, platinum with the airlines and hotels get Bday cards form Hertz. If I get FF Miles with the hospital I will have that going for me! Especially if they run in to the little cubical and put Oreos and bottled water on my night stand. Hopefully I will never be there long enough for them to slip a USA today under my door in the morning, lol

It might be cool if they had a coffee cup in the waiting room with my name on it like Tim Taylor has!


Thank you all for the welcome.

I am still working on my question believe it or not.

[carver6]

Hi Dani!!
Welcome to the forum. You're bound to be an okay person with a name like Dani. It's the same thing we call my granddaughter, (short for Danielle). You've apparently passed your tests for being a certified wood carver. You have to check into the ER at least once to be certified and have at least 2 stitches. Just be sure you have an exciting story to tell when you leave.
Garon

[Mottles]

Hi Dani and welcome, Yep ya got to careful. Sounds like your on your way and please share some images of your work. Hope you wear a carving glove and thumb guard. Also you might add a foot gloves. Or better yet wear shoes when carving. Funny how we worry more about damaging our tools than our limbs. LOL The carving club I belong to gives a carving 'bloody thumb' award to anyone who draws blood at one of our carvealong meetings. The person receiving it has to keep it until someone else draws blood. It's really funny to watch the person who has the award as they are watching and listening for any sounds that might signal a cut, stab etc.
Take care and looking forward to your threads and posts.
Kathy

[squbrigg]

Dani.....your prior experience with calligraphy will be a real asset to you, the styles of drawing will make great chip carving. It will also make pattern transfeer much easier for you, as will the stained glass experience. The stained glass experience can also lend itself to some amaizing work in intarsia.

You are in for a fun time, once you get rolling, combining all your various skills together!!! Have fun.

Bob