Post #440126 by Bay Park Buzzy on Sun, Mar 15, 2009 11:59 AM

I missed yesterday's sunset by a couple seconds:

I was concentrating on carving when it snuck by me

I awoke yesterday fully intending on finishing the first of the two chairs by darktime. Here is my documentary of my attempt of completing my goal:

I started out picking up where I left off the evening before. I carved the two panels on the sides of the seat/drum part.

I wanted to emphasize more rounded than linear designs on this chair

The front was now finshed and it was time to move on to the back. I started this process by drawing out a rough sketch on paper and then redrawing it out correctly on the log. I messed up a lot more than I planned and it took about an hour to draw it out. That put me seriously behind and put my finishing that day goal in jeopardy.
Here he is all drawn out:

At this point I had about three hours left. that meant I had to bust some ass to get it done

Meanwhile, Pat was over working on his newest tiki:

Close up carving action:

Yesterday's tutorial included a talk about how at times the ancients are looking over the shoulders of today's tiki carvers(in select cases), making sure the carver is showing proper respect and diligence in his tributes. To help him understand this concept fully, I had the big guy looking over his shoulder to catch anything I missed:

Here is where Pat finished his day of work:

After the chair back was drawn, Pat looked at it a didn't think I could get it done by the end of the day. I set out to prove him wrong. I channeled the Stakanovist work ethic and carved on for the pride of my country! Follow me now comrades as I work with speed and pride!

To optimize my carving, I had to have the most functional and efficient workspace possible. Let's tour the work environment now

I leaned the chair against the low deck I have adjacent to my workspace. It's too big to carve comfortably on the table or sawhors, so on the ground it stays:

I have the rough sketch and my most used tools in close reach:

The rest of my tools are within arms length away at all times:

When I carve the face, I sit on the log horsey riding style, and when I carve the body, I sit on the milkcrate pictued

Close to my other hand are other often used items. Here we see my sander, sandpaper, and stencils all close by

Last, I have my straight edges, rulers, and sharpening stuff:

The key is to have everything you need right there. Helps to keep up the momentum and stay in the "carving zone" mentally.

Here's the tiki pretty much roughed out with about an hour or so left in the day:

I was confident I could get it done by my goal at this point.

A little more work and it was pretty close to being finished. Sun was down, but there was still light...

A final surge and it was done! In time!

I like how the band of the drum merges with the tiki arm:

Here's the first chair next to the table, with a couple mugs for scale

I'm liking the way they look together!

From a different view:

One more chair to go! Starting it today, in fact.

On 2009-03-13 22:51, RevBambooBen wrote:
see you weekend after next...

Yep...

Buzzy Out!