A small carving and a Memorial project

Aloha TC. As per Hanfords recommendation following the locking of the carving post, I have started this thread to show some of the work I have been doing to enhance our home and give it a more tropical appearance. In order to consolidate my projects into one thread, here are a few links to some previous works:
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=6515&forum=1&vpost=62644
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=6525&forum=1&vpost=62733
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=6984&forum=7&vpost=67685
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=15566&forum=7&30
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=15968&forum=7&78

I have done several projects this summer and will continually add them here as I get the photos in order. First up is my beginners attempt at carving a tiki from a really crappy log. I don't have a good source for logs yet so I took what I could get from a friend who had a tree downed by a storm. I believe it was a locust. The log is 42" and is riddled with woodworm holes and tunnels.
Although it was not rotting, it was challenging to deal with the wood dust and other insect damage, but I think it added character to the grain and I figured what the heck, I don't deserve a great log yet anyway since I'm a hack with a new set of Marples chisels and don't have an artists portfolio of work so....away I went.
And heres some photos of the project.

After I finished with the chisels I coated the wood with JASCO copper-brown wood preservative to kill any creepy crawlers which might still have been inside. Then I gave it a white primer coat and then a purple base coat followed by blue and black accent colors. Finally I used a pecan stain to age it and tone down the colors a bit.
Now if you are wondering why I painted it instead of just using stain, it's because as I said it was a crappy log and wasn't too pretty a grain anyway. Besides, we wanted more color in the yard and felt that so many tikis are left as natural wood tones or stained some shade of brown so we wanted something a bit different and went with a sort of Shag-ish color scheme. Until next time.....Thanks for looking. "8FT Tiki"

Save the Tikis!

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Hey 8FT, that's very cool. I like the added detail the paint gives. Looks like you better get busy you've got a lotta yard to fill.

Nice effect with the paint highlights. Lookin good. the only thing I can see thats wrong? there is only one, we need a dozen...
happyhappyhappy

Nice work, especially with locust wood. Your color choice is unexpected, and makes a bold statement, especially for #1. Can't wait to see what you do with a nice, carver-friendly log.

Great first carving... I love the design.

Have you thought of making another 8 footer?

-Z

Its kind of like Charlie Brown's Christmas tree. It was a crappy log, but in the end it is something beautiful. And maybe you need some lil' ones to complement the 8-ft one and echo its presence around the house...you don't have enough stuff, ya know. Btw, got hut?

That color really pops out! It's amazing the progression from your first pic to the last. Nice work, and really quite different.

Here is my second carving I just completed.
It is pine..67" tall My design is just an interpretation of many aspects of tiki photos I have seen. Took me about 4 weeks working just in the evenings when I had time.

A lot of pines are dieing around here from a disease of some sort. I guess that will make more logs available to the carver.

Save the Tikis!

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Really nice work 8ft. Really nice work. But I'm thinking you're a tad shy of 8ft. Still, nice work.

Great job 8ft, I am so envious of people who have the gumption to get out and carve! I am stunned that that is just your second one...very nice! More please!

8 footer, nice detail. How's the pine carve? Is it sappy?

Thanks folks! I definitely would agree with the advice of the carvers who have previously written in CREATING TIKI forum posts that you just need to give it a try.
I swear to you that I have never been one who sees themselves as an "artist" !!!!
I just was compelled to see what I could produce from free dead trees. Reading the experiences of others in the Carving Post and other individuals threads will provide you with tons of valuable advice. Now you just need some good quality chisels and learn to sharpen them. If you have been thinking about giving carving a shot, I say do it! It's fun and you don't have to start out with a large project. You can keep it on a small scale until you feel the time is right to "carve deep". I was primarily motivated by the lack of tiki in my yard and I decided to populate that small space with a variety of different tiki types. I think it is going well so far. ENJOY!

....Oh and by the way, JUNGLE TRADER, the pine log I used was from a tree which had died and was then cut down. No sap and fairly soft to work with. I expect you would have some sap problems with a fresh cut tree as anyone who has had a real Christmas tree in their home for the holidays can tell you.
Overall though since we don't have a palm tree forest here in Missouri I think pine is a good alternative and less splintery (is that a word ?) than hardwoods like oak.

Hi 8 FT,

Can you post some side shots & close ups of the detail, if it's not too much trouble? That's a very cool design.

I really dig the colors on the first one, nicely done. Your second carving is amazing man. Great work

Here are some other views for you Aaron.

I once was lost............but now I'm found

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Sweet! I like that crown thingy. And the body. I'd love to do a tiki that's not all head. Great work. Hope there's another on the way.

I just finished an overhaul of a vintage piece from the Phillipines which I aquired from Tikijackalope. You may remember he got many of the decorative pieces from the Aloha restaurant after it closed. This a 3 figure tiki totem pole type wall plaque. It was originally on the wall of the restaurant in one of the booths where you sat for dinner.
Here is a picture of it after he picked it up.

I believe he got 3 of these plaques and each of us (the 3 new owners) have each had to try to remove many years of restaurant grease and dust from the figures and framework. It took me many hours to scrub and scrape each part but I like the result of the finished restored piece. This is how it looks today:

I decided to remove the red material background and paint it orange with a walnut stain over that. I bet it looks better on my wall than in that restaurant !

When we first met.......

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That looks like it was a lot of hard work and the end result is really great. It must have been like looking for buried treasure, going thru the guunk to find the gold undernr=eath it.
cool.

Here's a new addition to the yard. I bet some of you have one of these too. I always liked those sign posts like they had on MAS*H. So I got to thinking about what to put on one and at first I was going to put Hololulu, Fiji, New Zealand etc. Then Mrs.8FT suggested we use the names of classic tiki bars. SO I was out hitting a few yard sales and found this guy selling some really long clothes hanger poles. He had used them in his childrens clothing resale shop and he had recently retired and closed the shop. Then I found another sale which had a bunch of new cedar roof shingles. I paid a total of $1.50 and got the whole family to help paint and prepare the signs. I thought it would look better if we used the actual logos or "fonts" of the bar names instead of just using block letters. We used mapquest to find the mileage from our address to each tiki location. Then as a topper, I got out an Orchids of Hawaii broken mug I received in the mail awhile back.
Then I assembled it and got this:

(Mr. 8FT tiki shown actual size)

Thats a great idea.
must have been fun to get the whole family in on a tiki project.

Mahalo for sharing.

Very nice work, 8ft. Thanks for posting.

Nice direction signs, 8Ft, are the mileages correct? neat addition to a cool tiki.

Benzart, just to clarify,the sign post is not coming out of the tikis head, although that is a cool idea! It is actually set into the ground a couple of feet behind him. The mileages are correct. But remember, I'm a typical guy who has a problem with measuring things!
After all, I call myself 8FT !

When we first met.......

[ Edited by: 8FT Tiki on 2005-06-07 15:24 ]

The signpost is a neat idea. If you want to add "Raffertiki's Place" I'm about 1256 miled due east.

I love the sign post! I'm going to have to steal that idea for my bar. I wonder if it would have the same effect indoors?

Finkdaddy, a buddie of mine did a sign post inside and it looked great. Only his pointers directed you to the bathroom, kitchen, bedrooms, pool and toilet. Oh yeah, there was one more - "if lost, stop drinking!"

Every time my family takes a vacation... we collect a piect of wood or something to attache to the post. Memory are sparked everytime i look at it.

Got about 5 of these 2-3 foot pine logs awhile back. I decided to try a moai on the first log and I just finished it up. Here's a few photos.

Finished with carving and ready for sanding.

Sanding completed.

Decided to have a custom stain color mixed and go with a bit less traditional hue.

Last step was to apply a polyurethane to protect it from the elements.

I would have liked it if the crack was on the backside but it could have been worse I guess.

Nice work 8foot, I really like the blue and how the grain shows thru. They sell colored stain at a "u finish it" wooden furniture store here. I have been a little hesitant to try it , but after seeing your blue moai I am gonna get me some.

Hey 8ft- very cool Blue Moai! ...and I wouldn't worry about that crack - it works well for the mystique in my opinion!

Great work Mr. 8 foot! It looks at home all varnished up in the flowerbed. Blue is awesome!

Aaron

Looks Great, 8Ft. I Really love the Blue dye or stain. Itmakes it unique and different. Way to go.

I don't think the cracks could be more perfectly placed- the one on his forehead adds more to his facial expression even..

Great job- cool color.

8 Ft.,

I hate it when my tikis crack. Over the years, I have found that if you water your tikis periodically, it seems to eliminate much of the cracking. At the first notice of checking I will whip out the garden hose and give the tiki a good soaking. It is pretty cool, when they are soaking, the wood will snap back into place and fizz. It is almost like the tiki is talking to you, especially after a few beers.

The day before sealing I like to give the tiki one last soak. The next day the surface is usually dry and ready to go. It is my belief that if you let the tiki dry slowly over time, it will eliminate much of the cracking.

But then again what do I know, I am just a crazy chainsaw artist.

Will

Merry Christmas to all!!
Just thought I would share a few pics of my tiki Christmas gifts.

First is a keychain, eraser heads and a set of koolie cups. My little girl said I needed those to keep my (beverage)
cool while I am outside carving. Ain't that sweet!

Next is an awesome new shirt. It reads: Skipper Kent's Zombie Village. Love it! Also 2 very old large Buck Bros. gouges. Man did I need those!

Finally an old bent gouge and...my first angle grinder and a new Arbortech wheel kit. If I don't kill myself with these I will be saving some real time in the prep stages of each new carving. Can't wait to try them out.

Hope you all had a great Christmas. Hopefully someone who loves you got you a cool tiki gift too.

Those gouges are AWSOME! And you've gotta show me how that Arbortech wheel works! (Probably oughta do that before we open the rum!)

Awesome gifts. I got the arbortech wheel too...had to try it out right away. Its fun, but evil. It really takes the wood away, fast. maybe its because i had too much rum? :wink:

8Ft, Santa Was Very nice to you with all those toolz, SCORE!! Those 2 Buck Brothers are Excellent gouges called Incannel gouges. Notice the bevel is on the Inside made that way for creating Outside bevels such as the rounded edge of a tabletop and such.
http://www.inthewoodshop.org/2005/chisels.shtml You will find some uses for carving with them but Might want to switch the bevel to the other side. If so just do it carefully so you don't lose the temper of the metal.
Nice.

[ Edited by: Benzart 2005-12-27 13:12 ]

I Agree with Aaron, I Love the vibrant blue stain. Is it waterbased, Alcohol, or oil based???. I guess I have to be brave and try some too. The look is awesome.

Hey Loki, I see what you mean. I used the new angle grinder with the arbortech wheel for the first time today. What a time saver. I am sure that I will be much more confident in my ability to control it as opposed to a chain saw or Lancelot. For anyone who has not seen this tool work in person, I give you my word that you WILL be glad you have this in your tool box. I will still be a chisel man but this is a very helpful assistant for lining out things and saving time in removing wood where you are sure you just need to get some depth fast. I am very pleased with it and if you have about $50 you can get the grinder and wheel kit.
Mine came from Harbor Freight. Good luck, be safe and have fun!

I think I mentioned earlier that I had gotten some logs from a Black Walnut tree this summer. I have some photos to share and although I am not finished with the first carving, I decided to go ahead and post what I have done so far.

This tree was about 30 feet tall and was on the bank of a creek. It was healthy but fell during a storm.
Here my brother in law and I decide where to make the cuts.

There is a lot of curve to the branches so I had to be realistic about how long a length I could get without too many twists and turns. We had a lot of 1-2 foot pieces to stack and I got 3 good sized logs in the 4-7 foot range.
I applied the Woodcraft Green wood end sealer (liquid wax) on the cut ends and this seems to be a very good product.

As many of you know, the heartwood of Black Walnut is a beautiful dark brown color. But you may not know that just under the bark is a layer of the newest wood which is a layer of white. What I have tried to do with this log is to utilize some of that outer 1/2 inch of lighter wood in the various high points and to provide some contrast.

I expected to remove the lower 12 inches or so during the carving process due to the curve. The top of the head was a feature I took my time deciding how to finish. I knew I wanted a headdress of sorts and this is meant to represent a feather or leaf type headdress.

I had not worked on this for over a month due to snow and or cold temps until yesterday when I was able to spend several hours outside. When you get a New Years day in the 50's here in this part of the country, you had better take advantage of it! This log is still very wet inside so I am going to let it dry naturally outside until I feel it is ready to be treated. It sure is a very solid, heavy wood and has been great to work with. I am very happy that it has not cracked and doesn't splinter much either.

Very Cool Start!!! I gotta tell you I Really Like the Curve!!! Thanks for posting pic's!!! I hope the weather stays nice cause I can't wait to see your progress!!!
Later,
Spermy

Oh man, i really dig the curves. It really gives it Moxie! Lookin' good my friend. Stay warm.

I really like the two tone on this one. Nice carving too, very clean, Well done

Way to go 8FT, that is wicked. I know all too well how difficult working with wood like that can be. It looks magnificent though! Any ideas on a stain treatment?

-Gman

8 FT., you really worked the layers well on this tiki. I have the same issues with a redwood log I've just started. It's tough because the sapwood isn't always the same depth throughout the length of the log. Well, you know what I'm talking about. I really like that headpiece.

NICE Tiki there 8Ft. You handled the outer layer beautifully to get the 2 tone effect throughout the whole piece, not an easy tas.
I'm very envious of yout Walnut tree score. SCORE! Been working on it for a Month you say?? You have been holding out on us, haven't you now..I'll expect to see a Whole slew of Black Walnut carvings in the near future from you. Way to GO.