Palm wood questions

i have a whole bunch of palm wood i was given on Sunday, but i'm not really all the familar with palm. I started to carve it monday and had a few interesting things happen, stuff i have never expereince with the limited palm i have carved.

has any one had palm wood seep out some sticky goo after you cut it off with a chainsaw?

is that goo a bad sign?

how can you tell if the piece is good to carve or is rotten?

does it stink when rotten?

for storing, should you remove the bark or leave the bark on.

i here everyone likes to have the wood dry out for a while, why?

thanks for any help

has any one had palm wood seep out some sticky goo after you cut it off with a chainsaw?

I'm guessing this goo you're talking about is water. That's the only goo I've experienced from mexican fan palm that was freshly (within a month or so) cut. I haven't carved any other type of palm yet

is that goo a bad sign?

ONce again I'm assuming it's water, so no. When the water gets really heavy, I usually let that paticular tiki sit overnight, then start carving again (I'm not quite sure what happens with the water - either it evaporates or seeps out - but it's gone the next morning. I then start hacking away again until I get so deep that the water comes back. I usually have a couple things going at the same time...)

how can you tell if the piece is good to carve or is rotten?
Good question, I have no idea. As far as I've discovered...I haven't gotten a rotten piece yet. Terimites, yes, rotten, no. TT? Chiki? Gecko? Ben?

does it stink when rotten?
I would assume, yes. Mexican Fan tends to stink more while it's still drying and confined in a place with mediocre ventilation. Once it's dry, it still stinks but it's not as odiferous. (I love that word...and I'm drunk)

for storing, should you remove the bark or leave the bark on.
I usually remove the bark (or husk the dead ends of the palm leaves) when I'm ready to carve the piece.

i here everyone likes to have the wood dry out for a while, why?
Not sure with the palm. I usually like to carve it wet - it seems to hold detail better. (once again, I'm talking about mexican fan here) When it's dryer it tends to flake more inbetween the fibers and you really need to burn them well to keep them in place.

thanks for any help

Sure octane, I hope my ramblings helped. Though, if I were you, I'd wait for Ben or Chiki or TT to post and go straight to theirs. I know I am. :) and then read your replies. :) and get all kinds of good hints!]
keep on carving...I can't wait to see what you can do with palm wood. I may just hang up my chisels and buy your stuff instead!

thanks for your help Polynesiac.

i think these are mexican fan palms, not sure though, they have red bark in small overlapping layors if that helps.

as far as the goo it isn't water, at least no water i have ever seen, actually its like neosporum or hair gel.

i agree with you on carving while wet, you might get a squirt here or there but from my limited expereince the wet has carved great while the dry does exactly as you said fall apart from the strands.

"I may just hang up my chisels and buy your stuff instead!"

no, no, no, that would be no good, and i couldn't have that on my hands taking a good carver like your self out of banging chisels.

[ Edited by: octane on 2004-08-18 21:55 ]

THanks octane, but I should add more about those termites...If you don't seal the palm tiki after you're done carving it...and you're near an infected house...or put a few unsealed tikis at a store that's crawing with 6 legged critters...once the palm dries, the termites will come.
Not a happy camper with those tikis...

Palm jelly, I've seen it, and C'Al said it was the sap. No it is not a bad thing from my experience. If you want ito dry faster , then de-bark it and lay it on it's side. It if had that pink fungus, then it tends to smell like shit and when it dries, it smell like piss. Sounds funny, but then this is just my experience as well. No, I'm not joking. If you carve it too wet, then you have a chance of you work splitting on you. That's al for now from me Octane. Wassup Jimbo?

Well, Big questions. I have carved Sabal, Washingtonion, Canary Isle date, Foxtail. and Coconut palms. They All carve differently and are all different hardnesses both wet and dry. Coconut palms I think are the Hardest when dried. Royal and Queen palms turn to a rotten mush and did I say Stinking??? palms generally contain Lots of silica and will Eat up your chisels.
You just have to experiment and take notes. You will find many different types of palm in your area to carve so let me know how you make out. we'll be asking you the questions before long

thanks for the help thechikitiki, Polynesiac, and Benzart.

Polynesiac: thanks for the warning on Termites, i will definatly seal the guy, would hate to have a tiki eaten alive.

Thechikitiki: i pretty sure these guy have some of that pink fungus, at least they have pink spots everyonce and a while, i'm assuming that would be pink fungus. great look forward to even more stink, the current smell is driving me crazy.

Benzart: for the help, i will have to keep an eye on my chisels, and make sure they stay sharp, and i will just expereiment, and take notes.

thanks again every one

Octane don't forget the Biggest thing of all...Take PICTURES!!!!!

Of course Ben, that is the number 1 rule of being a carver on TC :wink:

here is another quick question, about palm wood.

Polynesaic, made me think of this, because of the palms hairs or what ever you call them could you use like a sanding sealer on the tiki right after you remove the bark to freeze those hairs in place so they don't get out of control while carving?

of course you couldn't stain it after wards, but if you want that Palm and clear coat look, it might work, has anyone tried this

Palm scavenging is on the cards for me this weekend.

I was going to get some Cocos palm (queen), but not if it will turn to mush & smell like polly poo.

Has anyone tried these:
king palm (alexander), golden cane or bangalow?

Coconut palm would be my choice but they are unpopular to grow in suburbia.

I will be carving in wet palm.
Is there a thread that can help with carving, painting & sealing (product advice) for palm tikis?

In So Cal most of the local carvers are using Mexican Fan Palm, which is very solid and carves up nice.

For some great examples of carving work, as well as some good progress shots & tips, check Octane's post:

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?mode=viewtopic&topic=5669&forum=7&start=0

My own progress post is on a fan palm carving, with any and every question a beginner would ask (and then some), with all kind of advice from some of the more experienced TC carvers.

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=10587&forum=7&51

This post has great tips on tools, with some specific questions and answers on tools for carving palm.

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=6426&forum=7&54

Good luck, & hope these help.

Aaron

"Ah, good taste! What a dreadful thing! Taste is the enemy of creativeness."
-Pablo Picasso

[ Edited by: Aaron's Akua on 2004-10-28 13:21 ]