Rootball Nirvana - Tiki Carving

TM Tiki Mon Member Satellite Beach, FL Joined: Oct 28, 2003 Posts: 71	TM Tiki Mon Posted posted on Sat, Nov 1, 2003 3:49 AM Have you ever had a rootball go bad? Sometimes the heart of the palm goes bad and infects the entire trunk with rot. This isn't a regular occurance at my shop but it is extremely frustrating - I have a waiting list for rootball tiki customers. The last time this happened to me I grabbed my chainsaw in a fit of rage and sliced the rootball right off (about six inches from the base). I discarded the rotten trunk and about three weeks later performed a Frankenstein-esque experiment. Using the trusty chainsaw, I hollowed out the heart of the rootball head. Although the interior was mushy, the outer three inches of the stock was nice and hard. Next, I found a nice piece of palm stock with a diameter slightly smaller than that of the rootball and married the two together. It is a basic plug-n-socket fit with 3" woodscrews driven from the outside at four inch intervals. After carving and burnishing the tiki, I concealed the seam with several bands of 1" thick hemp rope...sort of a headband effect. Anyway, this "monster" turned out pretty cool. Now I can use the rootball regardless of the shape of the trunk. Cool huh? Tiki Mon

Have you ever had a rootball go bad? Sometimes the heart of the palm goes bad and infects the entire trunk with rot. This isn't a regular occurance at my shop but it is extremely frustrating - I have a waiting list for rootball tiki customers. The last time this happened to me I grabbed my chainsaw in a fit of rage and sliced the rootball right off (about six inches from the base). I discarded the rotten trunk and about three weeks later performed a Frankenstein-esque experiment. Using the trusty chainsaw, I hollowed out the heart of the rootball head. Although the interior was mushy, the outer three inches of the stock was nice and hard. Next, I found a nice piece of palm stock with a diameter slightly smaller than that of the rootball and married the two together. It is a basic plug-n-socket fit with 3" woodscrews driven from the outside at four inch intervals. After carving and burnishing the tiki, I concealed the seam with several bands of 1" thick hemp rope...sort of a headband effect. Anyway, this "monster" turned out pretty cool. Now I can use the rootball regardless of the shape of the trunk. Cool huh?

Tiki Mon

Post #57931 by Tiki Mon on Sat, Nov 1, 2003 3:49 AM