Post #212911 by Loki on Mon, Feb 6, 2006 5:49 AM

Weekend update.
The Kotiate is finally finished. I inlaid paua shells brought back from New Zealand. They have a nice green glow to them, different from the abalone we have here in the US. It was my first time working with inlay. Not an easy task especially with the wood i used. I didn't have a nice piece of wood so i used a white pine table top bought cheap at a do it yourself store. Thanks BK for the idea. The only problem with using this wood is its pressed together with layers. When i was adding the decorative lines the wood had a tendency to grab when i came across a new layer. It also made cutting out the inlay holes a bit more difficult. The stain is Red Mahogany from Minwax. Anyway, here is the final product, minus the wrist lanyard.

Worked on the big Marq a little bit. Look at those huge pectoral muscles. What a stud. Didn't get to work on him as much as i wanted to, but at least he is drying out nicely.

StumpGrinder is really on a tear. The Moai mask is complete. He got a mix of Country Pine and Red Mahogany Minwax stain.

Next up is a ficus log. A wayward branch is turning out to be a nice tongue. She really made mad progress with this guy. This is only a few hours of work. I know she has been designing him in her head all week, so she had a good plan. Suddenly, talent rains down on the Stump Grinder. Shes putting me to shame. :lol:

Working with the Foredom #50 reciprocating hand piece makes easy work for teeth.

Working with the ficus is very different from the palms we are used to. She actually perfers the ficus.

Thanks for looking and for all the positive comments. It really helps keep us going.
Aloha for now.