Carving Post

You guys are speaking a foreign language to me on palms (we're all pine, poplar, and hardwoods down south)...but cool carvings Mad and Tony! Keep it up.

I had to add I'm sure no master by any means but I think any style mastery list should include Keigs. He has taken the torch from Bill Westenhaver and ran with it in ways others could only ever hope to do. I would love to apprentice under a golden age of tiki icon like that...what an oppurtunity!

Kahaka, in the meantime start looking for a lighter wood to carve (redwood) and let the palm dry (6 mos. to a year) although some palm you can carve into right away without cracking, depends on the amount of water stored. Sealing palm doesn't work, at least I've never heard of it. Palm is very porous, like a sponge. Good luck.

On 2003-04-15 21:46, Basement Kahuna wrote:
I had to add I'm sure no master by any means but I think any style mastery list should include Keigs. He has taken the torch from Bill Westenhaver and ran with it in ways others could only ever hope to do.

BK, you're right. Sorry Keigs, didn't mean to leave you out! Yes, Keigs work is definitely Da Kine - a true "passing of the torch" of Witco style.

I would love to apprentice under a golden age of tiki icon like that...what an oppurtunity!

No kidding! To my knowledge, there's only a few of the great masters left and I don't think anybody else is sharing their secrets!

Yes, I would have to say Keigs is another great carver, soon we will not know the real Witco from his. He has been taught very well and has showed us that in his work.

Bk, I know your last carving was from white pine. It is a great piece of work. How does other pine do carving, or any other kind of wood I can get down here in Florida? I want to jump to something else while I'm waiting for my palm log to dry. If anyone knows of another wood I can start on that I don't have to wait until it's dry please let me know.
Thanks, MaD-TiKi :evil:

MT,
Lately, I've been carving with Pine. I don't know the different kinds of pine so I'm not exactly sure what type it is.

I've been carving the logs sooner than later because they're softer. I have a pine log that I dried out (about 12 months) and its hard as a rock. I don't even want to carve it anymore because I'm afraid it will really dull my chisels! Now I'm carving logs that are only about 30 days dry. I just seal them completely with several thick coats of varnish (per ChikiTiki's advice) and so far, they've been fine - no cracks, checks, etc.

The negatives about carving these pine logs in comparison to palm is that they're a heavier because they're still densly packed with sap. This makes it a little harder to manage the log. Also, they seem to be a little more of a pain to bark. Other than that, they smell great while you carve em - Pine Fresh!!!

BTW - I'm no pro, so take this info with a grain of salt, if you will. I know a few other carvers on this board have carved pine - Chiki, Tikifille, Hula Hula to name a few. Maybe they can give you some input as well.

White pine tends to be less grainy than other varieties such as yellow pine or pumpkin pine, and the layers seem to definitely have better adhesion in white pine (I.E. it's less easy to accidentally peel or knock off a previous detail). It is an excellent carving wood, along the characteristics of Basswood. Buy yourself a good DRAW KNIFE and the bark will come off in long sheets. Then all you have left to do is chisel off the remaining sapwood layer until you get a nice, clean, white stick of raw material. You can do some of this with a good quality handplane. Starting out with a good, clean surface will save you work in the end.

Thanks for all the info Poly-Pop, They are cutting down pine trees across the street to build new houses so I will go over and see if I can cut a few four feet logs. Do I have to seal the top and bottom before I start to work or wait and seal it all after I'm done?

Bk, thanks for your info also. How hard is it to get the layer of sap off? I don't think we have any white pine around here so I will just try the pine I can get. I have a few drawings ready to go, so I can wait to get started. Thanks guys for all your help.

MaD-TiKi

[ Edited by: MaD-TiKi on 2003-04-17 11:50 ]

MT,
Go get those logs!! I've been carving pine lately because my buddy just cut down a 45 year old pine tree and saved me a bunch of logs. So needless to say, I've got pine coming out of my ass right now.

To answer your question, I sealed the logs AFTER I carved them.

It wouldn't hurt to seal both ends ahead of time. Use Deft clear sealer (you have to saturate with this) or a good pruning seal, such as Spectracide. Logs lose 85 % of their moisture through the cut ends. This slows the drying and therefore slows the cracking and checking.

Great job on the shelves Tikitony. Those came out looking very sharp. Mad-Tiki, your carvin' is too bad ass for birds, you should make it an alligator feeder! Just watch the fingers!
BK, Mahlo for the draw blade and planer tip. I have been using a 1" chisel up to now to get the bark off and have never thought to use a planer.
Here is my new garden tiki named appropriately enough Kupukupu hulu (Fern hair.)

Kupukupu is made from the tree that smashed my buddies truck.

I made a bowl in the top of his head using charcoal embers.

It was very tribal and interesting technique to use, but It took awhile to do and I smelled like smoke for three days. It also caused a few cracks. After the hole was burned out, I sanded it and sealed it with pruning seal then gave the whole log the tung (oil that is.) After that I drilled a drainage hole and filled it up with soil and a fern. And there you have it.
A few things had me....stumped, but overall I am happy with the way it came out and I had a lot of fun making this one.

Thanks for peepin'
Chongolio

Aloha Chongolio,

I love the technique you used to burn the spot for the fern. Is that stump-turned-tiki still in the same place as it was when it was a tree?

Up here on Vancouver Island our beaches are full of all sorts of driftwood, many still tree size(too dry maybe?). I've been thinking of trying my hand at carving, and we have pleanty of cedar! I was wondering if anyone has tried Douglas Fir? I seem to remember fir being a softer wood, since my parent's house had floors of it.

-Tikiwahine

Bk, Polypop, madtiki, thanks, I too am no master. When I think I am doing ok Bill brings me back to reality. Wish I had half the talent and artist eye he has. He can not only carve a piece of wood but brings it to life. His attention to detail is amazing. I dont think that can be taught. Must be a natural talent. Maybe many years of trial and error. Maddtiki I always carve my initials and date on a piece so it is not mistaken for Witco. There are a few pieces I forgot to sign though. Everyones stuff looks great. A nice variety, makes us all masters no matter what anyone else thinks.

Here's Cookollosu's new home for now....He may go to Hukilau to keep us drunks company in our swank hotel room at the Holiday Inn Beachfront!

[ Edited by: Basement Kahuna on 2003-04-17 22:02 ]

On 2003-04-17 17:36, Tikiwahine wrote:
Is that stump-turned-tiki still in the same place as it was when it was a tree?
-Tikiwahine

No, the log I used is at my pad now. I have the tiki sitting on a old stump that is in my backyard.
Chongolio

New guy... ready for staining...!

[ Edited by: Lake Surfer 2005-09-01 09:19 ]

Nice stuff, Lake..Is it Basswood?

Aloha B.K.!

Yes, more basswood, but a better chunk than some other ones I've had. I've noticed that basswood varies depending on what part of the tree you cut from. I'm going for the newer growth lately, the grain seems tighter packed and doesn't chip and crumble as much...

Mahalo for the compliment!

Here's my latest, named him Bad Hair Day

Here are a few totems I just finished for some fellow TCers. I hope they dont mind that I posted pics.

Hey Keigs, what kind of wood is that? I like it.

[ Edited by: jungletrader on 2003-05-05 07:45 ]

Hey guys, stellar work as always! Got some more logs here I've been wanting chop into, just haven't had the time. Need more practice if I want to get as good as some of the folks here.

Damn, Keigs...that's some top knotch stuff! I feel like going back to the drawing board...

Nice rootball "do", too jungletrader. love the styles here.

... from Italy my tiki carvings

[ Edited by: tiki mauri on 2003-05-05 09:57 ]

Tiki Mauri, Aloha and Welcome to Tiki Central! Hey, very cool carvings you have there. What kind of wood is that? Nice to see tiki coming out of Italy!

aloha to you :D
the wood is tek and pine... but tek is better one.
I have some problem in my preference... the HTML option is enabled but the page dont show the images...

... I have fix my post with "i BBcode" tags

jungletrader The totems are made of cedar. Nice rootball
BK thanks no need to go to the drawing board though your totems are awsome. tiki mauri great stuff and welcome to TC. Poly pop start choping(chopping)

thanks... robably they are the only ones tiki in Italy. However these are my first tikis, I have found the wood in attic... when I worked the crying tiki it smelled of skin! Which tiki it is of cedar?

the white tiki is working progress, please let me know which color is appropriated for the tikis... I use rosewood.

tiki mauri, welcome to TC. Did you say the white one is rosewood? I like it best but they are all very good.
Thanks for sharing guys.
I've got another Bad Hair Day in progress for AlnShelley.

jungletrader, I use a synthetic shade that simulates the rosewood color.... I don't know the wood of the white Tiki, I suspect that is Tek. It's very strong wood.... but I don't know the woods very well, it could be an other type, because is a very clear wood.

Very nice work, Maury. The standards are getting very high around here!

[ Edited by: tikifreak 2006-02-28 10:31 ]

Cool piece!

[ Edited by: tikifreak on 2004-12-20 12:02 ]

Uh-huh, that's a more popular style T.F. Nice work.

cherrrrrrry! HO! you guys been bizzy ya, I see all da new pix posted! plus some new carvers on board. I been swamped on 2 projects. No time fo play on TC. I miss reading all da post and seeing all da kine pix.

you guys kick ass braddas and neva forget da carving wahine on da board to.

I get plenny of reading to do on da rest of da post so, SHOOTZ!

Hey Gecko I was wonderin' where you been. Post some pics of your latest projects when you get them finished.
Yeah! nice tikis Keigs20 and Tikifreak. Those planter tikis Italiano are very cool Tiki Mauri. Keep up the good work keeping tiki alive in Italy .
Chongolio

[ Edited by: Chongolio on 2003-05-10 11:01 ]

[ Edited by: tikifreak on 2004-12-20 12:01 ]

[ Edited by: tikifreak on 2004-12-20 12:02 ]

Damn, you're on a roll T.F. Keep it up.

I started on my new tiki a few days ago, I've been working on him for five days now and only have two hours to work on him at night before it gets dark. So far it's been better then the last one. I learned to wait and let it dry out before you start, It's not as hard when you let it dry right. I will post more pictures when I get the rest done.

Tikifreak, great work. Keep them coming out, everyone needs a tiki in there home.

MaD-TiKi

[ Edited by: mad-tiki on 2003-05-15 08:30 ]

Mad tiki-I love the work in progess shots. Keep us posted. I think the work in progress are the most informative for carvers. Keep it up.

Here is my first carving. I am calling him Mr. Kahiki, in honor of the late lamented tiki mecca. He is about three feet tall, carved from birch. I am going to mount a mailbox on top of him and put him out front of our beach house.

Tiki.Head

[ Edited by: tiki.head on 2003-05-24 08:53 ]

[ Edited by: Lake Surfer 2005-09-01 09:21 ]

Hey nice work Lake Surfer dude. I remember how you scored that wood. Maybe we should name your style Great Lakes Tiki.