Protecting thumbs

[Julianna]

Hi.

I was wondering how other stone sculptors protect their thumbs when they're chiselling. I've seen chisels with thumb-guards, but they have been "standard" chisels, mostly for the removal of tile. Are there thumb-guards I can purchase to slip onto my own chisels?

Thanks.

Julianna

[G. Murdoch]

Julianna,

Greetings, ah yes, smashed hand syndrome, I know it well. Regardless of skill level, if one swings a hammer often enough, some blows will miss the chisel head. I'm looking forward to arthritis in my left (chisel) hand later in life. Trow & Holden may carry hand guards, not sure.

On a positive note, if you are hitting your thumb occasionally, it stands to reason that you are hitting the chisel often. Hammer to chisel to rock, hooray! Glad that you are carving.

Graham

[Julianna]

Haha!

Thanks. I'll take a look at their stuff.

[sculptor]

Also:

always hold the chisel near the top
then when you miss
the chisel
and hit
the hand
it has a ways to travel before the crunch

my one thumbnail has a right angle bend from a godawfull smash years ago which crunched bone and left the thumb a bit wider than its mate

Most handguards I've tried either block my view or affect my sensitivity

[Merlion]

Gosh! I'd better bear this in mind. The thumb is important for clay modeling and many other tasks of course.

I like to explore other sculptural techniques, and I wish one day to take up stone especially marble carving. But I have double vision which means I do not have two-eye binocular vision and cannot hit accurately.

Already I know I cannot take up welding which is a pity as my background is mechanical engineering.

[Arrow]

Pneumatic.

http://trowandholden.com/sculpting.html

[Merlion]

Thanks Arrow for the information.

I think when I do take up stone carving, I'll rely more on diamond saw & drill, and pneumatic hammer, and less on hand chiseling. But I suppose one cannot do away with the latter, especially when I am more into figurative sculpture.

(This is unless I take on a sculpture style that does not have smooth curved surfaces, like that of the Taiwan sculptor Ju Ming.)

[Cantab]

A primary technique - always aim the hammer to hit the chizel on a straight line with the line of the chizel as it points at the stone. Also keep your body aligned with the chizel and the hammer blow. This process of alignment reduces the frequency of missing (often the result of an angled, glancing blow). As you work around the sculpture, remember to move round with the work, thereby avoiding working at an angle to the blow. Of course, it is not always possible to maintain such alignments, for some work....

[Julianna]

Hi, folks.

Trow & Holden doesn't have handguards. And thanks to Rod for reminding me that they obscure the view!

Pneumatic is a bit of overkill for alabaster (espeically on a budget), but I'll definitely switch over when (if?) I start on harder stones.

Thanks for the tips!

[warren01]

Back many years ago when I could not swing a hammer straight and hit the hand more than the chiesel a senior work member gave me something to try.
Take a 4 to 6 inch piece of automotive heater hose (garden hose could work but I was working on cars). Slit it down one side and open up. Poke a hole through it for your chiesel at one end. Slide the hose to the top of the chiesel. Hold the chiesel normally with the slit hose over the top of your thumb and hand. If hose is too long or too wide trim to fit your hand.

warren

[Julianna]

That's perfect, Warren! Thanks!

[Archris]

I don't know how well this would work for sculpture as you probably want the feel of the chisel in your hand but I saw this safety gizmo at a building contractor/architecs convetion a few months ago. It was a hollow handle with a strap of leather running through it. The idea was that you put the chisel through the loop and tighten the leather with a screw type thing at the bottom of the handle. It looked like a great device for building but since you would essentially be holding the chisel at a right angle to what you would be used to it probably wouldn't be worth it. Just thought I'd throw it out in case it intreagues anyone.

[Julianna]

I'm having a difficult time picturing it, but I'll keep my eye out for that the next time I'm at a home building place.

[tonofelephant]

Julianna,

I use pneumatic tools on alabaster. Not a big problem just have to be somewhat careful. As to banging your hand/thumb, I agree that hurts. I assume that you use leather gloves when you are banging away. The leather glove especially the softer leather work gloves are great. They go on great and do not block your view of the stone because they are so form fitting. Go to industrial supply house to get these not the local hardware store.

By the way how are you holding your chisel? If you are running your thumb up the shank of the chisel you are making more of a target of your thumb. Tuck your thumb into your fist while carving. That way your thumb will be more protected.

Hope this was not to simplistic.
ps. sorry for any misspellings. Am on first cup of coffee.

Carl

[Julianna]

Thanks for the tips, Carl.

[dondougan]

Hi Julianna,

As a self-taught stonecarver I used to bang my thumb all the time (well, after my the first twenty minutes of working when my arm started to get tired!), when after a couple of years of insatiable technical research (ongoing yet) I found a reference to a 'traditional' English stonecarver's grip for the chisel.

The four most common chisel grips are pictured here on my website:

http://www.dondougan.homestead.com/T...7_History.html

The one at the left is probably the one that you use and bang your thumb.

The second from the left is the 'traditional' English stonecarver's grip mentioned above.

The other two are grips that allow a bit more control when carving more precise detail using lighter blows and/or smaller hammers and/or smaller chisels.

I still bang my thumb occasionally when I grab the chisel 'normally' -- but I quickly remember to switch to the second grip before my thumb gets banged a second time in the same carving session!

And, nothing gets in the way while you're carving . . .
Cheers, Don