What do you do to spare your hands

[Arron]

I have RSI, plus various other injuries to my hands and arms. Further, my arms have been operated on numerous times (though not because of the RSI). All of this adds up to a loss function - or really more like a loss of endurance - I can hold things just not very tight and not for long.

I expect this type of problem is fairly common among woodworkers.

I'm hoping to start a discussion about what people in this position do to minimize the stress, pain or wear and tear on their hands.

Naturally I'm doing it because I want to learn a few tricks which will make my own life easier.

I'll start off with one suggestion. Nowadays, in the workshop I almost always wear gloves - those cheap little gardening gloves you can buy at Bunnings. The ones made with thin fabric overlayed with extremely grippy nitrile coating on the palms and fingertips. My thinking is that, with an artificially enhanced grip you don't have to squeeze so hard to hold an object firmly. I am certain they reduce the stress on my hands and forearms. Not only does this mean less suffering at night, but also greater accuracy because I'm not hurrying to get a process over and done with before the pain kicks in.

over to you.
cheers
Arron

[BobL]

Despite a bit of a battering my hands are not too bad.
I can't fully close my first and second fingers on my left hand due to a crush injury in 2010 and I have noticed a distinct loss of grip in this hand the last few years.
To help with grip (e.g. keyless chucks) I sometimes use pieces of soft foam rubber mesh anti-slip bench protectors.


Normally I don't wear any gloves especially around rotating machinery.
Even when welding or plasma cutting I usually only wear a LH leather glove.
Recently I have been doing a lot more metal work so I have been getting more metal splinters and burns so where appropriate I have started wearing leather gloves a bit more often.
For burns, SWMBO taught me the iced water for 20 minute trick and that works really well.

For painting and greasy work I use those disposable latex gloves.

For cleaning non-water based paint brushes I use the same gloves and wad of toliet paper and squeeze the toilet paper around the brush.
Do this a couple of times and it really speeds up any subsequent cleaning process and uses a lot less solvent.
Wearing the latex gloves for this process makes it dead easy.

For working with Chemicals etc I have a pair of Viton rubber gloves.

For general work I use Ironclad Ranchworkx gloves. I have one pair in the shed and two pairs in the car.
One pair in the car is for when I pick up stuff like steel from the steel supplier or handle rough saw timber from the milling yard.
The other pair I use for chainsaw work and these are often greasy from chainsaw bar oil.
When they get too greasy I chuck them in the washing machine and that washes some of the excess oil out.

I also have a nice pair of gel-padded gloves. Quite expensive but work great on vibrating machines like sanders and chainsaws. I bought them because the vibe from my old 111cc chainsaw used to numb my trigger finger after about 15 minutes. These days I use a remote throttle on the chainsaw mill and the saws I use are not as bad vibe wise as the 111cc saw.

[Optimark]

I suffered a severe loss of feeling in both hands, about 10 years ago. The Neurologists I visited were unsure what exactly was wrong, but they all agreed (three of them) that there was a definite loss of feeling, strength and to a lesser extent, co-ordination.

One suggested to try some gloves with the nitrile palms, which weren’t readily available at that time, she sourced some from the USA for me and I was away. These days I pick them up from a local glove supplier at one of the local markets for a piddling sum in comparison to my original pair.

I nowadays have squillions of these gloves to hand, a couple in the ute, some in the house, loads in the shed, and often a pair in my shorts pocket. I liken them to a second skin as they allow me to grip and hold things, where without them, I struggle to complete tasks requiring usage of my hands.

Like Bob, I use latex gloves for cleaning up paint brushes. With oil based paints I’ve found Diggers Easy Cleanup Paint Brush Cleaner (their wording) leaves anything I have ever used before for dead with its ease of use, amazing minimal amount required, plus its cost, which is really cheap. It is available from Bunnings over here now, but before it was available from specialist paint shops.

One thing I am slightly worried about is that I am finally getting into turning wood, having recently acquired a wood lathe from a forum member. I am finding I need to hold the tools with light nitrile gloved hands as mentioned earlier, otherwise I find they start to move after a few minutes of work as I cannot feel them slip and unless I grip them extremely tightly, this always happens. As I have adjusted virtually all things I do to allow gloves being worn, I feel it won’t be a problem, but I worry still.

Mick.

[Evanism]

This might not be good for others, but I'm an IT guy - type ALL day... Programming and reports, etc.

Quite a few of my chaps over the years get similar problems. I use a pair of body builders hand crunchers. I'm not sure exactly what they are called, but you hold them and squeeze them 20 times in each hand, then upside down. Use those 4 or 5 times a day.

They come in a great many resistances according to need.

It makes my arms, wrists and fingers very strong. It also makes my knuckles strong.

I had a doctor also recommend glucosamine and chondriton (sp?) for a snapped cruciate ligament that has given my knee a degree of bodginess over the years. I notice a VERY distinct improvement in all my joints when I re-start taking it (I'm a bit slack!)

[BobL]

One thing I am slightly worried about is that I am finally getting into turning wood, having recently acquired a wood lathe from a forum member. I am finding I need to hold the tools with light nitrile gloved hands as mentioned earlier, otherwise I find they start to move after a few minutes of work as I cannot feel them slip and unless I grip them extremely tightly, this always happens. As I have adjusted virtually all things I do to allow gloves being worn, I feel it won’t be a problem, but I worry still.

Just in case newbies are reading this it should be noted that using gloves close to any moving machinery (like lathes) represents a high risk.
I guess only you would know if the risk of a slipping tool would be a higher risk.

About the only rotating machine I use with gloves are angle grinders. Even a very close fitting soft latex gloves can resist enough to pull a hand in for a a machine to grab a hold of.

Stay safe

[Optimark]

Bob, I really do hear what you are saying.

Recently I visited Blackwoods to pick up an Armadillo face shield, along with a pair of Peltor H10B 290 behind the head earmuffs specifically for turning. Whilst there and getting another couple of pairs of gloves, I was informed about these, http://www.kbsworkgear.com/

I can say they are tremendous and after everything else I have worn, they do make life a lot better, plus they fit like a second skin.

They are patented, although I'm not sure if the applicable patent, whatever that is, makes them easier to wear for anyone. But I can, with certainty, say they are really comfortable by comparison with any other nitrile glove I have worn. The ones I have are called, "Black Lightening Nitrile Gloves".

Mick.

[Robson Valley]

BobL/Post #2: that anti-skid bench covering is wonderful for wood carving. When the pieces get choked
with sawdust fines, I wash them in the sink with a little dish soap, rinse, wring out and hang to dry. Easy.

Gloves: Most of the year, my carving shop is cold, the gouges are cold and my hands are cold.
I wear cheap work gloves which have some sort of leather palms and flannel cloth lining.
Treated myself to new ones just yesterday $7.99/pr. The other advantage is that they soak up a lot of
vibration on days when I'm swinging a mallet for hours.
Took a while to get used to wearing gloves but for years now, that's pure comfort.
Yes, I am positive that I would have some hand cuts as well, without them.

[FenceFurniture]

I was informed about these, http://www.kbsworkgear.com/

They look excellent Mick. Will investigate further, and thanks for posting.

One little trick I've learned for opening bottles with safety-squeeze caps (turps etc) is to rotate the bottle rather than the cap. I know it sounds like it should be the same but it's definitely easier. Prolly something to do with not squeezing and rotating with the same hand.

Further to Bob's comment about the ice-water trick for burns I find an ice brick (or any package of frozen food etc) is miraculous by comparison. Have to be careful with some burns in regard to the skin sticking to the brick, but for small burns where there is no immediate blistering it works wonders, and is pretty quick compared to water (and the hand hand or whatever doesn't have to suffer the cold punishment). It can be applied very localised, and if the brick is too cold then wrap it in a towel. I've been using this technique for many years and recently decided to leave one really really minor burn untouched to see what would happen. Blistered after a while and it reinforced how well the brick works. Previous to that I had a more severe burn (but still quite minor) - put the brick on and the next day it was like nothing had happened.

Maybe it's something to do with getting the energy out of the burn quicker, dunno.

[BobL]

Further to Bob's comment about the ice-water trick for burns I find an ice brick (or any package of frozen food etc) is miraculous by comparison. Have to be careful with some burns in regard to the skin sticking to the brick, but for small burns where there is no immediate blistering it works wonders, and is pretty quick compared to water (and the hand hand or whatever doesn't have to suffer the cold punishment). It can be applied very localised, and if the brick is too cold then wrap it in a towel. I've been using this technique for many years and recently decided to leave one really really minor burn untouched to see what would happen. Blistered after a while and it reinforced how well the brick works. Previous to that I had a more severe burn (but still quite minor) - put the brick on and the next day it was like nothing had happened.

Maybe it's something to do with getting the energy out of the burn quicker, dunno.

The energy of the burn is removed in seconds by some water or ice. In terms of pain the reason this works is because it reduces swelling around the injury site that contributes to the pain. The cold also brings more blood supply to the area which assist with healing. Nevertheless I am still amazed by the degree of healing that seems to happen so quickly.

I agree that the ice packs are better in most cases. If no ice packs are available then plain tap water is nearly as good but the cooler it is the better, so running water is better than water in a container and iced water is better still. It doesn't matter how bad the burn is getting cool water on it immediately is really worth doing.

The ice also works well on crushes and bruises. 4 years ago I had my fingers on my left hand crushed in a goods lift door. The person I was with was smart enough to (after dealing with the bleeding) immediately fill two plastic bags with crushed ice and wrap these around my hand, The effect on the pain control was very significant. This got me to triage where they swapped over to cold packs and a few Codeine tabs. I did have anaesthetics while they stitched up and reset my fingers (fortunately no surgery needed). The pain killers they gave me we Oxycodone which I reacted to badly so I switched to ice packs for the next few days until the pain subsided. I even slept with my hand wrapped in a towel, and then two ice packs strapped either side and every few hours I would changed these. 7 days later when I had the stitches out the nurse remarked how well the fingers were healing. I'd recommend this method to anyone even when taking painkillers.

[AndrewOC]

"what do you do to spare your hands"
After having both wrists done for carpal-tunnel r.s.i. my father's doctors said 'don't use your hands as hammers!' Dad was a motor mechanic.

Don't get randomly intimate with your material- to avoid those nasty burrs, splinters and sharp edges.

I try to remember to have a quick escape for my hands when handling stuff- think if you were in a workshop in your socks; dance out of the way when the steel starts to rain down.

enough rambling...
A.

[BobL]

"what do you do to spare your hands"
After having both wrists done for carpal-tunnel r.s.i. my father's doctors said 'don't use your hands as hammers!' Dad was a motor mechanic. . . . . . ..

I was terrible for bashing things with my hands till I met a bloke with a hand riddled with cysts. It looked like he had a half dozen walnuts under the skin of his hands, but they weren't muscles.

[Glenn.Visca]

My grandfather, my father and now I suffered or suffer from dupuytren's contracture.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dupuy...7s_contracture

I still hear my grandfather (deceased long ago) and my father to this day yell "don't use your hands as a bloody hammer!! ... You will regret it"

Dad had the palms of this hands cut to ribbons to correct the affliction. Looked rather unpleasant, though it didn't seem to worry him too much at the time.

So I would agree with others, protect your hands and use them for the purpose for which they were cleverly designed.

If something needs to be hammered, use a hammer.




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[Rogue Oranum]

As for beginners its very important that they know how to stay stuff and spare your hands when working on any project. One thing to note is that hand gloves should not be used all the time because there are certain machinary that wearing gloves can be dangerious, so be extra careful.

[old1955]

Welcome to the forum Rogue.

[Berlin]

I was suffering from an aching elbow while building our house. My wife realised that what I was suffering was tennis elbow and suggested I size my hammer handle like a tennis racket ie. much a fatter. Apparently you should be able to get a finger between your fingertips and the pad of your thumb.

I was happy to try anything at this point but was a little dubious about how effective it would be and it felt pretty odd at first but after a week it felt natural enough and the pain has gone completely.

It's interesting because between the two grip thicknesses you can feel the muscles in your elbow engaging to increase your grip force it seems. But try as you might with a fatter handle you can't engage those muscles in the same way which means much less tension builds up (I'm happy to be corrected on this, but it's certainly how it feels).

The first photo is the old handle, the second the fat version.

I know this isn't strictly a way to save your hands but I'm sure the bio mechanics of grip shape and size could have a large impact on how long and comfortably you can work.

Cheers


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