Body Posture while braiding

[Opagon]

Hi all,

I was waiting for my chiropractor appointment and reading an article about body positioning while at work. It got me thinking about how my current braiding station was set up and what I could change to make it easier on my back and hands. I try very hard to sit without slouching but I am sure there is more that I could be doing to reduce the stress.

What other things are you doing to keep yourselves in good braiding form?

Heather

[leatheroo]

for long pieces of braiding, i always braid standing up...the piece i am working on is attached to a door handle..no slouching!

[rgerbitz]

After an all day braiding session my whole back and shoulders can get pretty sore. Some of the things that I have done to help with that are to raise my work bench up so that when working on braiding anything in a vise I can either stand or sit on a bar stool with out having to slump over. When working on knots I find it helpful to rest an elbow on the bench wether I am sitting or not. Otherwise I find myself about bent in half wondering why all the blood is rushing to my head.

Rob

[rawhide1]

Heather

I like to stand while braiding. And this is going to sound plum weird. But after standing awhile my knees and feet start a hurting so I'll stand on one foot and rest the other by putting the bottom of the foot on the calf of the leg I'm standing on. I'm sure it looks weird but it sure feels good. When I'm tying knots I like to sit for awhile and then stand up and lean against a counter or something. And like Rob I really feel it in my shoulders and my neck. I also have to make a effort not to stand all hunched over.

Mike

[Spence]

If my back is bothering me, I'll sit in a straight-back wooden chair. I've stretched out on the floor, with the work tied to a doorknob. Most times now, it's all done in the Lazy Boy while watching TV.

[Opagon]

I also find that its my shoulders that tighten up on me the most after a day of braiding. With the kids in school I am finding more time to braid but my body seems to be protesting. I am building up my hours slowly to get use to the longer hours. I want to be able to keep braiding for a long time without having to worry about my hands/shoulders going out on me. I am getting ready to put together a new work station so I am very curious about this..... I want to design it so that I dont have to be looking down all the time but I also dont want my arms dying from holding them up.

Idea's are greatly appreciated! Angle of arms while braiding? Best style of recliner? (I really need to try that more)....

Heather

[cybertracy]

I made a "braiding pony" out of PVC pipe. It can easily be extended by adding more pipe pieces, and as the braid gets longer I can wrap around a lower "T" to take up slack. With the pony between my legs, I can sit fully back in a chair with the braid always at the right height to avoid straining. I change the height occasionally just to keep from sitting in one position too long. It even works in the car, and can be dissassembled to travel.

[Spence]

I made a "braiding pony" out of PVC pipe. It can easily be extended by adding more pipe pieces, and as the braid gets longer I can wrap around a lower "T" to take up slack. With the pony between my legs, I can sit fully back in a chair with the braid always at the right height to avoid straining. I change the height occasionally just to keep from sitting in one position too long. It even works in the car, and can be dissassembled to travel.

That PVC Braiding Pony sounds interesting. Any chance of getting a picture, diagram and/or measurements? Tks

[cybertracy]

Hi Spence,

I'd love to send you a picture but all my leatehrworking goodies are packed and stored at the moment. I tried to do a rough sketch (don't laugh) to give you an idea of materials & how it (sort-of) works. The horizontal and vertical pipe lengths are adjusted to the comfort of the braider. I keep several different lengths on hand and swap them out as my braid grows in length. For really long projects, you can unsnap the work from the top L and wrap it behind & bring it down and hook it to the middle T (and back up if needed). I find I use shorter lengths when sitting in a car or recliner, longer when on a straight-backed chair. You can place the bottom legs under your own to use it like a stitching pony, or put T's on the leg ends to make it more like a stand. I put a cupboard hook in the top L and hang my fid there.

When you have to pause in your braiding, you simply split your strings and wrap them around the pipe opposite directions and loosely overhand tie them together, keeps the braid secure and laces from tangling.

The project is completely inexpensive and with all the different PVC doodads completely customizable to whatever you may dream up.

Sorry about the long explanation for a rather simple idea! If you have any questions, just pm me.

Happy braiding.

[Leerwerker]

I am not much of a woodworker - so I did some very rough engineering to come up with my braiding post. But it works very well:

• I can slide it under any chair
  
  • I have a few hooks at various heights so that I can sit upright depending on the chair I am at
    
  • I can collapse it for transport