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I have been carving (Thanks to Marty!) for a couple of years now. I make mostly small things, like napkin holders. But, occasionally venture into plates and boxes for more extensive work. I found out early on that good lighting and good posture were keys to a comfortable carving sessions. I will save the lighting for another post. But, I struggled to find the most ergonomic posture. I came to realize that my favorite place to carve was on my lap with my feet flat on the floor. But, a simple board didn’t provide the optimum angle for my hands because it actually created a downslope instead of a flat or upsloped angle. I looked online at various lap boards for writing, etc., but none seemed to give me the angle that I was looking for. I experimented with a cardboard mock up and found that it worked surprisingly well. After making a lot of projects on the mock up, I came across some 1″ polyethylene foam packing sheets leftover from an online purchase. I glued them together and eventually came up with the prototype shown in the picture. It weighs in at about 2 lbs. It has an ABS surface to make it easy to maneuver the piece and a “chip cup” on the right side so that I don’t have them all over the floor to step on or track around the house. The 5 deg. positive angle of the board allows for a nearly neutral wrist angle which works really well for me. I also added a piece of non-skid to the bottom so it stays in place on my lap. I think I have about $18 invested in materials when all is said and done.
This post was originally just about the lap board, but you might also notice from the picture that I wear golf gloves for carving. Might seem odd, but don’t knock it until you have tried it. I get a much more positive feel with the knife handle regardless of whether it is humid or dry. Also, wearing one on my non-knife hand yields the same positive feel while maneuvering the piece I am carving. Plus, no more sore fingers from handling sharp corners and edges. I have been wearing the MG Golf (mggolf.com or you can find MG Golf on Ebay). They have a couple of different styles, but they are full cabretta leather, which is the only way to go if you want a long wearing, comfortable, supple glove. MG Golf sells these things for half or less (~$7) of the price of name brand gloves. Sizing is always a challenge, but you want them a little snug at first. They will stretch a little to conform to your hand. After a quick break-in you won’t even notice that you have them on. I have worn them for golf for a number of years and they are the best I have found.
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