Post #151592 by Aaron's Akua on Thu, Apr 7, 2005 5:18 PM

McTiki & Swanky: I’ve seen those Flap Wheels but never thought of using them on my carvings. I guess they would work pretty well to cut down on the tedious sanding of all the in-between stuff. Great suggestion!

FinkDaddy: I know how you feel. I keep negotiating with my wahine for more tool $$$’s. I still use a lot of my first tools, though. In my mind I know those expensive Flexcut chisels I bought are the best to use, but find myself picking up the flat Stanleys more often than not. BTW, I forgot one tool I need, but will have to make myself. It’s this custom ultra flat ”Duckbill” chisel that BK mentioned in the original “Tiki Carving Methodology” post. Not expensive at all.

Tiki G.: Thanks for the advice – you just saved me some money. I saw that Proxxon Mini-Angle Grinder in the Treeline catalog. It’s right next to the Arbortech Mini-Carver, and it seems to use all of the same accessories – 2”. And I agree, you have to fit the Arbortech on your angle grinder, which would be pretty heavy and probably put it off-balance. They have an order number right there for replacement belts too – an ominous sign. The Proxxon, on the other hand, has no belts and weighs less than 2 lbs., which would make it a lot easier to wield. I just thought Arbortech was a better brand – never heard of Proxxon before. Thanks for the recommendation – and all of the other advice you gave me previously. Now this Percival looks a little scary for use with a die grinder. Is that how you used it? Please tell more...

Chikitiki: Thanks, I’m working on learning chainsaw carving technique. Here's a Chainsaw Carving Froum that I've been checking in on from time to time. These folks are all about carving woodland animals, gnomes, & wood spirits (NOT tiki!), but there's some pretty good advice and experience out there as well. All I've done with my chainsaw so far really is just cut log ends with it. I agree with you that the chisel is the best way of doing the smaller wood removal. Maybe we can talk more at Oasis…

Surfintiki: There ya go, all linked up! A picture’s worth a thousand words. Really, I’ve put in all these links as much for myself as for you guys. I’m trying to get another disbursement of tool cash going. Maybe I’ll have to bribe my wife with some jewelry or something.

Swanky: I’d think hard about buying the Dremel Flex shaft. My wife bought me the whole kit with accessories, etc. for my birthday a year ago. I carved my entire first wood tiki with it. But I gotta tell you, as Benzart put it for me, it’s sort of like cleaning your garage floor with a tooth brush. If you want to work small, it will be great (1/8” shaft). But if you want to do say 12” to 36” or taller tikis, I’d get an electric die grinder and ¼” shaft tools – Burrs, drum sanders, etc.

Thanks to all of you guys for the feedback. Anyone else who feels like chiming in, please do. And I'm curious - are most of you following the same methodology as me? Or have you found some shortcuts or other ways of getting the same or better results? I'm always open to learning newer better ways of carving tikis.

Cheers!

A-A