[Bartster]

here is a tip for a thumb protecter i came up with at work the other day.
a fellow worker had gotten a new pair of work gloves, we wear the smooth cow hide kind not the rough suede. well he got the bright idea to cut the thumb and index fingers off so he could turn small nuts and bolts and not take his gloves off. any way i found the cut fingers and slipped them on my thumb. fit pretty good not perfect but good.so i brought them home and tried them out after wrapping them with some vet wrap tape to snug them up but not to snug so i could slide it on and off. i carved with it for awhile and it was really comfortable and will last quite awhile. so if you want a custom fitted thummb guard buy a good grade leather glove and cut thee fingers off. you may only have to do this once because a pair of gloves will give you ten so it would probably last forever. just a thought.

you may also be able to do this with the store bought ones. i never liked them cause they didnt fit. but you may be able to wrap some vet-wrap around them and make it fit more comfortable. but rememember not real tight cause you want to be able to slide it on and off and still not slide everywhere.

just a thought, hope it helps

bart

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

Now see...if the "cleaning demons" didn't go around throwin' stuff away, you would have some old gloves to cut the fingers off of! ha ha

[squbrigg]

Sounds like a good idea. I tried it with an old wielders glove once, but the finger was so stiff with something, it kept falling off. I think I had used the glove to paint with, to load the woodstove for a while, when we burned wood years ago, and Lord know what else, so it was stiff with paint. Must look for a better one and try it again.

Good suggestion! Thanks.

Bob

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

the heat from welding and holding hot steel causes the leather in a welding glove to get very hard..........you could soak it, and soften again I think. should have said in some kind of oil.....water makes leather hard as well.

[Krum]

Bart that's what I do. But I use a piece of leather and cut it only for the front side of my thumb. Since I have little thumbs I'd have to much material to do what you get to do. I wrap with the tape just like you do. They last a very long time!
Thanks for sharing!
Krum

[Bartster]

krum,

thats a good idea also will have to keep that in mind,i could almost split the finger and do like you do and have 2 for 1. thanks for the idea.

bart

[Tucson Bill]

Another idea I saw at a carving club in Washingon State was from a lady who did not like leather thumb guards because they can be cut. She took a 2 liter soft drink bottle. At the bottom of the bottle are several indentaions to allow for pressure build up in the bottle. She cut these indentaions out and trimmed them down some. When placed on the thumb they make a great shield that will not cut. Just use some vet-wrap to attach.

[Krum]

That's another neat trick. Always great to find out things others come up with isn't it? Thanks for sharing the idea!
Krum

[Blake Lunsford]

I've heard of people using the finger covers from office supply places that help them flip through pages as thumb guards. They are made of a rubber material and I have been told that they are very difficult to cut through. Anyone use these. I think they are also a cheap solution.

Blake

[Bartster]

blake,

i use those some too they work good,but the only problem is that they get sweaty and kinda slide around sometime. i guess it is because they dont breathe.and let the air in. but in a pinch they work fine or if you are only gonna carve for a short period of time they will be ok.

bart