# Keeping log from moving while carving?



## Horse (Mar 20, 2010)

I am wondering if anyone has any tips and photos on how to keep your vertical log stationary while carving.
Do you toenail it down, clamp it, run a rebar through the bottom of it or what?


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## wooky64 (Mar 20, 2010)

*Everyone has thier own way of doing it.*

I use another log chunk cut to the height that I want, and then toenail 3 wood screws into the bottom to hold small chunks. Large chunks I have my wife hold. HAHA. I hope this helps you


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## Horse (Mar 20, 2010)

*I was thinking of toe nailing the log to a scrap piece of plywood and then nail it to a work bench, also I could lay it down to keep it from rolling around.
I'm not sure I understand exactly how your holding yours down though, with the three small chunks.

My wife will do all my burning and finish work like polyurethane etc.*


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## twoclones (Mar 20, 2010)

I sometimes use the 'toenail' method with deck screws. For smaller pieces I carve on a hydraulic table (covered with plywood) and run a lag bolt up through a hole in the table into the block of wood. An impact driver makes fast work of running the lag bolt in or back out...


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## ultimate buzz (Mar 21, 2010)

*Tips*

Jim, Here is a post from October 16 , 2006 that I put under the chainsaw section on another forum:

" The main thing, is to carve safe. Wear protective gear,and realize that wielding that saw at arms length and head and chest heighth is fatiging. Take breaks often,and step back and analyze your cuts before you make them. 

To save your back when carving, try to work at waist heigth. A lot of times I set the log on 12" to 24" cut off logs to put where I'm cutting at a comfortable heigth.

To keep your workpiece from moving around, I'll run a few drywall screws through some flourescent surveyors tape and then into an edge of the workpiece into the stump. The tape reminds me where the screws are so I don't hit them with my saw! "

Since then, while helping out at the Loghoggers shows here in Wisconsin, I have seen a few of the carvers pound about three sixteen penny nails through a piece of 3/4 plywood in a tight (about 4" apart) triangle, then flip the board over and drywall screw it onto a two foot tall "stump" .Then, all they do is literally drop the log into the nails and the log is held in place. Obviously, how secure the log is anchored is going to depend on how far the nails permeate the log. Most of the carvers have the length of the nails cut back and reharpened with a grinder so they stick up only about 1&1/4" high. This serves two purposes: the log can be seated all the way down to the plywood, and when not in use, you can make a safety "sheath" out of a piece of 2x10" that drops over the exposed nails.

Some of the carvers also use the new hydraulic clamping Workhorse to hold their work, but it is made in Communist China, and I'm old enough to remember that they were military advisors for both North Korea and North Vietnam, and taught them unimaginable ways to intimidate and torture our men fighting over there. I do everything in my power to avoid buying their products and supporting them.

An alternative to the Workhorse is to find an older (made in America!) Black and Decker Workmate, and use it to hold a board that has your workpiece screwed in through the bottom -ken


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## Horse (Mar 21, 2010)

*So far all of these ideas seem really good, I will incorporate a mixture of all, and find out what works best for me, depending on the material I have available to me. 
I really like the lag bolt idea.

Buzz I was a Pipeline Surveyor for about 15 years,I still have about 10 boxes of flagging in just about every color. Great tip. *


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## ultimate buzz (Mar 21, 2010)

*Not recommend*

Jim, Here is what not to do, from a post on Valentines Day, under the chainsaw category.It is from a sixteen year old, proud as punch about the gift he made. No one said anything to the young man about safe procedures.

___________________

Quote:
Originally Posted by nategyoder 
Very cool! Any tips on how you held that in place while you cut it? (I hope your little brother was not involved HAHA). I would like to try to make one for my grandma. 

Thanks,
Nate 

with my foot. i actually milled the faces from the top of the log down to where i wanted the base. Just stand it upright figure how thick you want it, cut the front and back you get the idea. The only hard part is finding just where to make the cut. Me i think about 3 cuts ahead of where i am at so i dont screw up too bad. I free handed all the cuts i dont have nothing fancy to make it square. 
__________________

-ken


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## Horse (Mar 21, 2010)

*Safety First*

*As always, one should apply safety first above all else. I have a couple of scars from going into the zone and going too fast.
I used to have a saw when I was cutting brush and the brake did not work, so the chain continually ran until you turned the darned thing off.
I now take the time to look at my surroundings and get everything in place and secure before starting a job, even if it takes half a day to get organized. The end result is much quicker and very safe.*


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