A GUIDE TO SAFE WOODCARVING

Here are some things to look out for:

Standing and relaxing:

As a general practice, it's always best to stand when carving. However - depending on the size of work - standing may not be important.
Indeed, standing can stress hip and knee joints and exacerbate varicose veins. If you find standing difficult, arrange to sit comfortably, either at the bench or on a 'carving horse'.

• Walk about every so often.
• Stretch your arms, particularly behind your back.
• Arch your back - carvers tend to use the front-of-chest, pectoral muscles a lot.
• Loosen your neck and shoulders.
• To relax the eyes, occasionally stare away from the carving into the distance.

Besides the mallet, carvers have always driven their gouges by striking them with the palm of the hand, perhaps building up quite considerable calluses over the years (so-called 'carver's hoof'.
Although this may work for occasional, light carving, there is a real danger this method could damage the large numbers of nerves and tendons that pass through the wrist and palm - the 'carpal tunnel'.
The effect varies between individuals but thickening here can give rise to a well-recognised, claw-like deformity of the hand (which many carvers also had). The surgical repair of this condition is often unsuccessful.
If you must strike the handle with the palm, use the meaty bit at the base of the thumb or its equivalent on the other side; and avoid the centre. Do this lightly and infrequently.
Palm mallets made of leather and resilient gel pads are available, and give some protection.
Better still, use the mallet.

Carvers prone to repetitive stress injury will feel a burning sensation in the wrist and elbow joints, accompanied, in severe cases, by redness and swelling.
The condition is caused by mechanical stress on a particular joint, especially through holding or repeating the same, tense position in the same joint for long periods of time.
In the elbow, this condition is familiar as 'tennis elbow' or 'condylitis.' In woodcarving, there may be a case for calling it 'carvers elbow'.
The earlier you recognise the symptoms the better. Don't persist in the activity which is causing pain hoping it will get better. Pain is a warning. Do not think the problem has gone because you have taken pain killers, or used ice.
Seek medical advice early. This is important for reasons of health insurance: it can be a slow condition to clear up and may be incapacitating in the long term.

Best of all: be proactive. There are things you can do, such as using special forearm straps to remove strain from the elbow.
To minimize future strain from the joint, you may need to find new carving techniques, tool grips and working positions. Luckily there is plenty of scope for this in carving.
One of the best things you can do - and all serious professional carvers will have worked conscientiously on this ability from the start of their careers - is to develop ambidexterity. Being able to switch hands will not only help your carving, but it will also distribute the workload more evenly between the arms and muscles of both joints.

So finally let us look at safety concerns with using: Power tools