Chris Pye - Woodcarving
A GUIDE TO SAFE WOODCARVING
1: Introduction
I have been teaching woodcarving for many years, to hundreds of students, and I can say that the worst injuries sustained in my classes have been small nicks to fingers.Such cuts are invariably got when picking up tools from the bench or toolroll, rather than while actually carving.
The most annoying consequence is a blood spot on the work - I sometimes suspect students are happy mixing this blood with their sweat and tears, to collect the complete set...
Given that we are handling extremely sharp cutting edges for hours on end, it surprises some visitors that there is so little bloodshed.
I've written A Guide to Safe Woodcarving to explain why this is so.
What follows is an overview of my attitude to safety in general and a description of some of the specific precautions I teach.
My hope would be that all carvers adopt these practices from the start. More than anything, safety is an attitude - as much as it is a checklist of do's and don't's.
Because all workshops and carving situations are different, I can't pretend cover all circumstances. But with correct attitude, you should be able to carve without significant accidents.
Although the bulk of my notes are aimed particularly at woodcarving, I recognize that many carvers work in a more general workshop environment.
For that reason, I've included some wider-ranging comments on certain commonly used power tools.
I'll begin by saying that safety is partly in your hands, and partly in your mind.
How is this so? Let's start with your Best Safeguards
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Contents | Download this Guide
2.Your Best Safeguards | 3.Consider your Workshop | 4.Woodcarving Specific | 5.Your Body | 6.Power tools
Dedicated to the teaching, learning, and love of woodcarving