Carpenter prising pieces out showing initiative (12)
I believe the answer is:
enterprising
'showing initiative' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'carpenter prising pieces out' is the wordplay.
'out' indicates the answer is hidden within the clue (I've seen 'out of' mean this).
'ENTERPRISING' can be found hidden inside 'carpenter prising pieces'.
(Other definitions for enterprising that I've seen before include "Full of initiative" , "Entrepreneurial" , "daring" , "Adventurous and imaginative" , "Showing initiative" .)