first day with my chainsaw....:0

[Thor]

Wow! I wish I had started this years ago before my back, shoulder, forearm, and neck could stand the strain of chainsaw carving better. Oh, it won't stop me, but I think I will be pretty sore tomorrow.

I can't even show you a picture of the mess I made trying to carve an owl today, but I learned a lot. First of all, I knew sharp things were fun, but sharp things whirling around with horse power behind it is so much "funner".

Another artist who carves in wood happened by today as well, and he had to try it out too. Thankfully, he wasn't any better at it than I was, so I got a little more confidence that I will improve eventually.

Folks like Colin make it look so easy, and then others post pictures of their first "bears" and "mushrooms" and "benches"....well, this is NOT coming naturally or easily to me. It will be yet another hard learning process.

I wore my helmet with ear muffs and a face screen, and was careful not to hold my hands wrong to avoid kickback.....I did wander off and cut down three 30 foot trees too, and only one of them fell on me. That was a surprise. All in all, a very fun day.
Thor

[GeorgiaCarver]

Are you ready for Saturday :>)

Greg

[brianh]

I can give a few suggestions on comfort.

1 Wear padded gloves they will absorb most saw vibration that will cause nerve damage and numbness, I use fingerless mountain biking gloves I get at my bycycle shop ( I ride a bike a lot so it works for me I am sure there are other places for padded gloves)

I also wear a arm brace if I am carving for hours it is the type used when sombody has a sprained wrist it velcros on and gives great support.

your muscles will take time to adjust also.

Brian

[Lightningbolt]

Thank's for such an inspiring post about your day! Currently I'm not in the positon to have such a great day of carving and will be on the road again tomorrow dealing with other things for a while, but I'll be back at it again pretty soon too!

Very glad that you took several steps toward safety which is really a factor that can't be short cut when using a chainsaw in a way that it wasn't made to use. Cutting firewood with a chainsaw vs sculpting logs is like comparing driving the car to granny's house vs the Indianapolis 500... dramatic extreme's in use (and the danger factor) between the two.

I participated in a log cabin building class in 1995 learning how to hew logs flat and using the chainsaw to make our half-dovetail notches. That was when I learned about how much the "tip" of the blade must be used to cut and dress those notches with just enough "curve" so that when stacked on each other they would make the tighest fit possible. Took a lot of practice and I got a lot of kickback but during those two weeks of practicing all day, I must say that I left feeling much more confident and competent with using the chainsaw in a new way.

If your muscles are sore then I'm sure that you know that those are the one's you need to tone. Being an avid runner and bicycler my lower body is my greatest strength so I could use this very advice myself to do more push-up's and squat's! I would also suggest that you should be sure to wear a good pair of leather gloves and long pants. Leather chaps would be ideal but if not, then long pants for sure.

Once again, thank's for an inspiring story... carving isn't always JUST about showing a finished project but, for me anyway, it's more about the story of how you got to it!

[Thor]

Hi Greg,
Yes, I think I'll be ready for your visit on Saturday, and very excited!

Brian, thanks for those tips. I will try to find my bicycle gloves to use, and the arm brace is a good idea too. Next trip out, I'll get one.

Dave, I couldn't sleep last night for all of the ideas in my head. I spent the evening hours looking through the two chainsaw carving books that I have, and now I want to try everything! I hope I have time to crank it up again today.
Thor

[brianh]

Thor if you want some inspiration check out the pictures I took at Ridgeway PA last February they have a huge chainsaw carver gathering for the week.

The level of skill of some of the carvers is amazing, here is the link
http://s98.photobucket.com/albums/l2...%20Rendezvous/

Also if you don't know about it already a lot of info is to be had at
http://www.chainsawsculptors.com/

[twoclones]

There's nothing quite like spending a day with the one you love

I'm heading out back to do exactly that!

Butch

[stickman]

chain saw carving is cool.and its even cooler that your teaching your self. stick with it and you will only get better.

someday I hope to do some chain saw carving but the expense is just to much for me right now . good luck

[Colin-Partridge]

Thor,
We would love to see what you carved an owl isnt probably he easiest thing to carve. I have had many years of carving with a chain saw so I am totally at home with one in my hands. If you think of the chainsaw as an extension of your hand just like you would use a knife it may be easier.
Colin

[Irishman]

Thor, I envy you. With the size of carvings I've been doing lately, I would love to use a chainsaw. Good luck with your projects.
Patrick