Post #454513 by TikiMango on Sun, May 17, 2009 9:28 AM

Watango- thanks, I was inspired by the Bumatay mug, I'm glad the origin was recognizable.

Quick question all, what does mold look like? Does it look like the images below? I'm seeing these areas grow in size, and it is under the polyurethane finish. Anyone care to share fixes?

Would it make sense to sand the finish off and let the log dry out more (if that is the cause)? Or is this just a lost cause?

On to a new carving! I wanted to experiment with different styles, and decided to stray a bit from the more traditional styles that I prefer. I wanted something with a gaping mouth, gnashing teeth, and tongue. I also wanted to get the feel for really removing material and practice on carving holes. So I don't have any in-process shots, but I did carve a bunch of thru-holes that I later joined to form this mouth and tongue.

As I started to work with this log, it became apparent that this log did not want to play nice, it was very stringy and springy. I really had to angle my chisels for them to bite into the wood. The tiki itself is 41" tall and 10" in diameter. After torching, I first stained it in Ebony, thinned out to create a wash (about 1:3 stain:mineral spirits). I then sanded it a bit and stained it with a wash of Red Mahogany. I was trying to go for an older look.

(edit- Oops, forgot to add a side view).

As I was working on this guy, the wood was splitting pretty bad too. The center of the tongue was the worst, but there are cracks all inside the mouth and around the tongue. Is this due to removing so much material, it is causing the wood to split to reduce stresses, or is it just drying out too fast?

I tried to incorporate the splitting wood into the design by carving my own "splits & cracks" at the top and bottom of the tiki. I believe in being proactive.

Pupule Tiki!

[ Edited by: TikiMango 2009-05-17 10:06 ]