Elbow in pain after handpushing

[Rstripnieks]

Hello,recently after engraving with hand pushing technique im having terible pain in elbow ,and this is not the first time, it mostly happens after more than 9 hours of work,im a begginer and I dont know what am I doing wrong,im not trying to force the graver but I am holding it firmly when im engraving.Is it common problem or should I change the way I hold the graver,,distance from ball vice ,,or something else?

 

[John B.]

Hello,recently after engraving with hand pushing technique im having terible pain in elbow ,and this is not the first time, it mostly happens after more than 9 hours of work,im a begginer and I dont know what am I doing wrong,im not trying to force the graver but I am holding it firmly when im engraving.Is it common problem or should I change the way I hold the graver,,distance from ball vice ,,or something else?

Some pictures of what you are cutting, how deep etc. would be helpful.
And are we talking about 9 hours of solid push engraving ??
That seems excessive, especially for a beginner.
You might try cutting for an hour, rest and draw for an hour until you build up to longer push cutting sessions.
Take care to let your elbow heal from the excessive cutting. Just draw until it heals.

 

[AliAtiyabi]

I have the same problem and unfortunately the pain resists and not improved due to hard work something method as your hand push which we call ghalamgiry technique. John is right there should be some rest in intervals.

 

[Brian Marshall]

It definitely IS a common problem with hand pushing.

I have had 5 carpal tunnel surgeries (1 doesn't count, because I had my wrist reconstructed after a car wreck) and both elbows have had what they call "release" surgeries.

This was over a 20 year period. About then, power assisted engraving was brought "out of the closet", and I have used that method ever since - with no further surgeries.


Brian

 

[Southern Custom]

9 hours is, without a doubt, too long to work at a stretch with a hand pushed graver. Especially for a beginner who hasn't learned to use the tool efficiently. Laying off, less time and ice are the ways to recover. I suffer from tendinitis in my left elbow of all places but it makes sense considering that is the hand that does the most work. With a pneumatic system the graver hand mostly stays still.
When hand pushing, try not to force too deep and long of a cut. Give the elbows a break or they'll give out before you learn. Good reason to spend your time with a pencil which is just as valuable if not more

 

[Dave London]

RICE. Rest Ice Compression Elevation. The elevation should be above your heart. Slow down you have a lot to learn. Good Luck

 

[mdengraver]

Perhaps your tools aren't sharp!

 

[monk]

many aches and pains were mine early on. back, neck, and the worst ever- i maintained a "death grip" on the graver handle.
more often than not, i'd have to pry my fingers apart to put the graver down. ugh!. fortunately, i overcame the tendency to grip that way. did you have an elbow problem before you began engraving? good luck, hope yer problem goes away.

 

[JJ Roberts]

I believe Ken is right about the sharping of your graver's, if there not sharp correctly your only going to straggle check the geometry and after you sharpen you graver's stick them a piece of soft pine to make sure there no burrs. J.J.

 

[Thierry Duguet]

I have sometime that problem,I did alleviate it by resting my forearm on a "little table" covert with a "pillow". That little table is actually a computer monitor stand so it can move it freely horizontally and the height can be adjusted, I cover it with a pillow of sort so if the point of my elbow touch the surface it does not pinch the nerve. If you have a wide angle with your pushing tool you are going to convey it to your wrist and I find it more comfortable if my wrist is, as much as possible, aligned to my forearm and the forearm in the same plan that the surface I work on. A smaller angle of your tool would help you get into that position, do not try to remove too much material at once, light cuts are easier to control one can peel the metal until the desire deepness is attain.
I find very important to be as comfortable as possible when I engraver since I do it all day long and expect to continue to do so for years to come. Keeping my body in working order is a priority, pain and discomfort are not conductive to productivity or quality.

 

[sam]

You might try Penetrex. It's a rub-on anti inflammatory that has worked miraculously for many people. I learned about it from a musician friend who suffers from tendonitis and decided to try one last thing before having surgery. He said "it stopped my elbow pain in 7 miles". He put it on his elbow and drove 7 miles to a gig. Amazon has it. We use it for occasional aches and pains and it really does work.

 

[mitch]

i'm certainly not the hand-push expert around here, but one thing to remember when cutting curved lines is to turn the vise and hold the graver more or less stationary. it's actually more akin to a lathe cutting action, with the stock being rotated into the fixed tool. others can explain this much better than i can.

 

[Leland Davis]

I experienced an elbow injury after polishing gun actions for 4 days straight. spent an entire year wearing a brace and trying not to move it. The orthopedic surgeon I met with suggested changing the way I held my arms he said keep your elbows as close to your body as possible. It worked for me polished 2 1873 Winchester actions last week without pain.

 

[Marcelo]

Some people when writing press the pencil very hard. This is very common and a problem. You may be pressing the graver with excessive force, just like the ball vise.

 

[Big-Un]

You might try Penetrex. It's a rub-on anti inflammatory that has worked miraculously for many people. I learned about it from a musician friend who suffers from tendonitis and decided to try one last thing before having surgery. He said "it stopped my elbow pain in 7 miles". He put it on his elbow and drove 7 miles to a gig. Amazon has it. We use it for occasional aches and pains and it really does work.

I've never heard of that one Sam. I use "Two Old Goats" cream. Sounds crazy but it works.

 

[Rstripnieks]

Thank You all for advices, I also found another option to relive pain and possibly not only elbow but also,neck,back etc.
Its called "taping" _stretchy colored tape applied to muscles outside the body(you may have seen them on tv ((olympic games ,american football,baseball,etc)) when I played baseball it helped with my sholder pain and correctly applied it really does miracles ,you can get it online without a problem. I will really try it soon.

 

[Crossbolt]

As a fellow beginner I suspect the comments on assorted "death grips" and excessive force along with posture are the correct diagnosis rather than blunt tools. I experienced this both with hand pushing and hammer and chisel and spent a reasonable amount of time trying to adjust both my working position and hand grip deliberately. To the benefit of my comfort I focussed as much if not more on what my muscles were doing and changing that less so than exactly how I was engraving. That seemed to produce decent results, comfort wise.... not yet engravign wise . I figure that maintaining comfort and being "injury" free will aid me better in the long run in focussing on the details of what I'm hacking up in an effort to produce something rather remotely resembling engraving

Jeremy

 

[silverchip]

Make sure your tools are SHARP to begin with,and work in intervals if you can. I have experienced pain in the elbow like tennis elbow. You can buy a brace that will help but exercise for Carpal tunnel therapy and stretching will help too. 9 hrs as a beginner will end your hand push experience quickly.

 

[monk]

Thank You all for advices, I also found another option to relive pain and possibly not only elbow but also,neck,back etc.
Its called "taping" _stretchy colored tape applied to muscles outside the body(you may have seen them on tv ((olympic games ,american football,baseball,etc)) when I played baseball it helped with my sholder pain and correctly applied it really does miracles ,you can get it online without a problem. I will really try it soon.

DMSO, or dimethylsulfoxone for short, can work wonders. not sure if one can still get it. used it a bit when i was into running.