Post #598316 by Polynesiac on Tue, Jul 19, 2011 11:51 AM

As a general rule of thumb, you want to seal both ends of the log to slow down the drying process (you can seal with anything, polyurethane, pesticide paint, or regular house paint works too - just as examples), lay them on their sides raised slightly off the ground (on blocks or something) out of the main elements (garage is good, or under a tarp or overhang) and any major temperature swings (if you can). It may take a while to completely dry, and I usually only deal with palm so I am unfamiliar with the drying time of oak. I do have a friend who is a master carpenter and he tends to let his freshly trimmed wood dry for a good year before he does anything with it. I'm not sure if it's because that's what he is supposed to do, or if he's just too busy to do anything with it! Hope that helps a little.

I like how you start with the legs and body first before moving onto the heads of your tikis. They remind me of the infamous ned kelly:

:)

Nice carves! I hadn't seen your posts before!