sore wrists!!

[lindsay]

Since specialising a couple of years ago in creating sculptures made out of alabaster my small, delicate wrists have taken a bit of a bashing. Using power tools and angle grinders has resulted in a soreness that I not only feel in both wrists but, in both elbows and moving on upwards!

Any advice (apart from retire now) would be appreciated.

[dondougan]

Hey Lindsay,

You can purchase gloves from sculpture supply houses that are made with either or both anti-vibration padding and wrist-area bracing.

Another thing you might already use are mallets rather than steel hammers. Alabaster is soft and does not require the sharpness of the steel-to-steel blow that harder marbles require. Wood, plastic, leather, zinc, and bronze mallets all hang above my workbench alongside several different sizes and styles of steel (& iron) carving hammers. I use each type for working stones of varying hardnesses as well as for different types of operations (roughing-out, surfacing, fine detailing, lettercarving, etc.). The lighter weight mallets don't remove material as quickly as the steel hammer and chisel, but are a lot sweeter to work-with and much easier on the wrists and arms than the shock of steel-to-steel. Repetitive blows aggravate or foster carpal tunnel syndrome, and I find that switching tools makes for less-tiring, less-repetitve working.

If you use mallets you should try using mallet-headed chisels -- the larger, rounded head will increase the life of your mallets and makes the carving process less demanding of precise aim and direction of blows.

Another thing that can affect the arm muscles is the height of the workpiece. For roughing and general carving the workpiece should be at a comfortable height below chest level so that gravity will aid each blow. When doing detail work at the end the workpiece should be higher to allow for closer inspection while using the lighter-weight tools with greater control — too low at the end and your back will start complaining instead of your arms.

And last but not least -- keep those chisels SHARP. A dull chisel requires a lot more force to achieve the desired result, and a sharper chisel allows much more finesse and subsequent ease of working. For me stone carving is not about brute force, but about judiciously-applied force for the greatest effect with the least outlay of elbow grease. Not saying there isn't an awful lot of elbow grease required, just not as much as one might think . . . <grin>

Good carving to you,
Don

[The Forge]

Check where you are holding the hammer. If it is too close to the head, it will put undo strain and vibration on your wrists and decrease the impact of the blow. As for the angle grinder, I had a similar experience and discovered that the one that I was using was too heavy. I bought a smaller diameter and lighter one. :)

[evaldart]

On the days my wrists are distractingly barking I wrap them tight with elastic straps/ace bandages (purchased out of powerlifting catalogues). This gives tremendous support by virtue of the applied exoskeleton. This is a good short term fix...will get you through the day. But in the long term this can affect your hammering technique and end-up actually WEAKENING the wrist due to lack of exposure to the assertion of the usual force. You'll become "addicted" to the added support, unaccustomed and less able. Some amount of chronic pain can simply be endured , some cant...you know yourself, your tolerances, your limits...and its a GOOD thing to be near those limits; pain and all.

[evaldart]

heres what they look like

[jOe~]

Take at least 3 or 4 days off. Consume a steady diet of anti inflammatory meds. When you start again, PACE yourself with frequent rest periods and stop long before you are tired. Reduce your pill popping, but don't stop. Of course, follow the advice given for technique.

you know yourself, your tolerances, your limits...and its a GOOD thing to be near those limits; pain and all.Ignore this attempt at humor. He's fibbing.

[evaldart]

Take at least 3 or 4 days off. Consume a steady diet of anti inflammatory meds. When you start again, PACE yourself with frequent rest periods and stop long before you are tired. Reduce your pill popping, but don't stop. Of course, follow the advice given for technique.

Ignore this attempt at humor. He's fibbing.

"Stop long before you're tired" !?!?!?

[obseq]

Second Joe's advice regarding rest.

I've found that wrist/forearm stretches for carpal tunnel pain help quite a bit.
You can find specific stretches from a cursory search online.

Also, be sure to literally knead and massage your forearms all the way down to your finger tips.

[jOe~]

"Stop long before you're tired" !?!?!?YES! This is a must to heal injuries, or if you're old. I have much experience with both.

[Portoro]

Sounds like you are having trouble with weighty equipment (power tools/angle grinder). Check out the latest, lightest models.
Are you using this equipment to strip away stone on big jobs?

[tonofelephant]

Don't forget that carpal tunnel is also aggravated by posting on sculpture boards via computer.

I really don't have CTproblems with the tool weight or sculpting. Problem comes in when I have been at the computer too long. Now use a wrist band. The wrist band is not so much for support but reminds me to keep the wrist in the right position. If I don't wear the wrist band, I feel the deleterious effect of working at the computer after 45 minutes.

Carl

[StevenW]

As Don said, get some gloves and the only thing I might add is that you're holding the tool itself too hard. With angle grinders there's a tendency to hold on for dear life in a sort of death grip so that we don't ever lose control of the tool when in fact it can be used quite delicately and with great precision (in experienced hands) almost like a pair of hair clippers. Pay attention to those times where you're using the grinder to take out large volumes of stone and are really holding on and digging in and then back off and let your wrist and the grinder itself rest a bit and use it more in a finesse mode. In short, let the grinder do the work and not your wrists.

[The Forge]

The angle grinder is designed to be used primarily in a downward direction where it's weight is adding to the cutting force. One other thing is to be sure that the wheel that you are using is not 'loading up' and decreasing it's cutting ability, making you push harder for it to remove material. Of course, using a number of different grit size wheels from roughing to finish, will let the wheel do what it is designed for and you work less.

[sculptor]

lindsay;
and:
Be careful to hold your tools in an ergonomically sound manner
the forearm should line up with the tool without the wrist being bent
this will put more stress on the muscles controlling the forearm, relieving the strain on the wrists
(cup your hand and hold it in front of your body with elbow bent and observe the line of the fingers on your palm and the angle between that and the line of the forearm .. . that should be your optimum)
the working face should be near your center of mass balancing the apex of the triangle from your shoulders and the piece
the knees should remain slightly bent to facilitate free motion of the body to maintain the strength inherent in the well balanced triangle

using wrist immobilizing wraps as evaldart suggested can help train your body to save your wrists, but caution ---too long a use of a crutch can make cripples of any of us

assuming the strain of the actual work is the same, the load will be transferred to the stronger parts of your body

hope that makes sense
bonadventure
rod

[obseq]

As you hold the grinder, try favoring subtle pivots through your feet and hips to maneuver it. You'll save some additional strain.

[lindsay]

Thanks for all the advice guys - you are the wiki epedia of sculpture with a much more personal touch! At the end of the day with or without pills my wrists are screaming rest me - so I´ll work smaller maquettes, softer stone - soapstone and reduce the heavy machinery.

I am lucky enough to live in a beautiful meditteranean climate so swimming twice a day helps but maybe there are more preventative measures I could take - eg. exemption from all household chores?!

[furby]

Think more & cut less :)

I have a Bosch 5" grinder thats specially "anti-vibration". Recommend something similar, lucky they are cheap as they don't tend to last. try also lighter grinders, and if the wheel gets a nick & becomes unbalanced, change the wheel. If the grinder gets dropped & shaft bends slightly & it gets unbalanced, throw it away too.

You have to take it seriously, give it a rest when things hurt. You may need to be really careful for a while, or maybe forever. Once you have this kinda thing you always can get it back. But from such comes the wisdom of age :) You learn to think more & cut less.

You might need to change your work habits. I can't go all day anymore for similar reasons. Some things i do to break up a day are - spend some time sketching/thinking/measuring/working out math (proportions)/sweeping/go for a walk.

Sitting at a desk doing the measurement math is a good thing to get done & feels useful, while actually giving a break. While sculpting i stand & work hard. Short bursts carefully planned is how i do it now. not go for it like i got all the vigour of youth (and lack of thought that goes with it)- sad but i like to think i'm beyond all that now i'm mature, hahaha.

[evaldart]

1 "Stop long before you're tired"

2 "Think more and cut less"

3 "Never stand when you can sit; never sit when you can lie down"



Sheeeesh!

[jOe~]

So to paraphrase the three its: lie down so you can think more, and stop long before you are tired. Yeah, you hippies had it figured out long ago.

[evaldart]

Hippies dont do nuthin' that would make their wrists sore. Oh wait...BONGOS.

[jOe~]

Close. Hippies did Bongs, Beatniks did Bongos. That extra "O" turned into a smoke ring.