Sorry everyone for getting back to you so late, I have been out of town and the waves have been pumping.
Gman,
Your piece of Burl is come your way, it is in Atlanta right now. Thanks for the bump.
Tikiwahine,
Thanks for the plugs, You have become a tikiaffiniciato, I see you all over this T.C. now. It seems like there are more and more Tiki lovers in Canada now.
Hula Cat,
Don't be afraid of the saw, it can be your friend. Just kidding when I started carving, my wife bought me a saw and I just went for it. Now, I'm not sure if I could even carve a tiki with chisels or a knife. However, I recently purchased a Foom drill which makes detail work a loot easier. Keep up carving it seems like you have plenty of great carving wood in your neck of the woods. (so to speak)
Finkdaddy,
I'm not sure how they were cut in half, I'll call the millworks and find out. When I dropped them off in Phoenix, everyone was scratching their heads about how to do it. What I think happened was that they cut around the primate with a band saw and then used a two handed saw to cut the rest in half. As for putting it back together, I believe that they wrapped it around a six inch pole and gorilla glued it back together. I'll give them a call and try to get some pictures of the finished product.
Tikigap,
The redwood burls finish up really nice. What I like the best about them is that all you have to use is Danish oil. It is a lot less gnarly than marine varnish.
Tiki Duddy,
Wow another Canadian tiki carver. I am stoked that you guys up there are carving epic tikis. There must be some huge trees up there so you can make some monsters. I have to fill in at my day job for about a month, but will shurly send some more progress pics.
Paipo,
lucky man living in New Zealand. I was looking into getting a place there, but it was quite expensive. I wonder if the totara burls are a relative to the redwood. Are they red inside and somewhat soft? It would be nice to check them out some day.
Thank you all for the plugs, I feel all warm and fuzzy inside,
Will
