Thomp In Hospital

For those who are not on the WOODCARVING ILLUSTRATED magazine Forum, and have seen my posting, Thomp is back in the hospital. I don't know what the medical classification of his condition is, but he's a long way from being OK. He's there because of complications of congestive heart failure and diabetes. Of course those of us who may have one or the other (or both) of these conditions know that some very serious life threatening problems can result. That's where Ol' Thomp finds himself now. Thomp's wife has asked me to let his friends know, and to ask for their prayers.

Carving Safety

Since Thomp started this blog for beginners, thought I'd list 10 tips about safe wood carving, that were published 10 years ago in WOODCARVING ILLUSTRATED. 1. Keep your tools sharp. 2. When making dust or using chemicals, protect your eyes, nose, mouth, and skin. 3. When running machines that produce high decibels, protect your ears. 4. Properly dispose of rags that have been used to apply oil finishes. 5. Don't carve when tired, distracted, or under stress. 6. Read the instructions that come with power tools. 7. Protect your hands. 8. Wear eye protection when power sharpening, or using power tools. 9. Make sure your woodcarving is securely clamped or held down whenever possible. 10. Take lessons from the experts.

New Year - New Beginnings?

As this new year begins, I am putting out a call for "guest" contributors. Ol' Thomp is kinda off his feed, and I'm in one of those times where there is just way to much on my plate. I keep thinking I can get everything done like I used to do. I used to pride myself with being able to work any 21 year old into ground. Not any more! A good hours work knocks the piss out of now. Anyway, this blog deserves some new stuff. So, if there's any regular follower that has something that they think will help a new carver, or that may be of interest to any of us.......let me know. You can leave a comment, and some way for me to contact you; and we'll go from there.