Aaron’s New Akua (Done!)

I’m mid-way on my 4th Tiki, which is my first one made of wood. This one is fan palm - my first 3 were AAC block. Below is the rough-out. I’m going to take everything about an inch deeper, and add more curvature to the nose. The lips will also move deeper, then the teeth deeper still. I’m saving the detailing of the teeth for last. I wanted to start with a real simple style for now just to get the feel of carving wood.

The ears will be sort of Easter Island style. They are very rough now. I’m saving the detailing for later.

The eyes are only outlined right now. I’m going to take the level a lot deeper between eyes and eyebrow/nose (see below). This will give me some height to sculpt out some rounded eyeballs for more 3D effect. I really like the eyes on Cheeky Tiki’s sculptures. Mine will be different, but I want the same general effect.

This tiki is NOWHERE near done. I was going to wait till it was completely finished before posting, but I know you all will have some great tips for me, and I have a few questions:

I’d really like to get a 2-tone stain/finish effect once all of my carving is finished. (I really like Tikifreak Gary’s “Badass Tikis”). I’d also like to get a real glossy sheen with Marine Varnish like some of Benzart’s work (Giant Maori Warrior). Any tips on finishing would be much appreciated.

I’m thinking that I’ll do a lighter shade for the whites of the eyes and the teeth. The rest will be a darker slightly reddish brown. Does it help to carve a tiny “gutter” (for lack of a better word) between the different colored areas to keep the stain from spreading? Will the Marine varnish create any overrun between the colors?

Would it help to bleach out the lighter portions before staining? I may need to bleach other areas to get rid of a little bit of mildew or whatever that’s on the top end. Hopefully this will come off when I use a grinder to flatten/level the top. Will bleaching create any problems when I stain it later?

I’ve noticed that some of the carvers here have used JASCO on their tikis. Will JASCO have create any problems when I stain it later? I just used some JASCO on my porch & noticed that it’s pretty oily.

I’m planning on doing some shell inlay for the pupils of the eyes and the round cut-outs for the Easter island style ears. The eye pupils will be slivers – cat eye type. The outer part of the eyes will be light stained, the inner part dark brown, and the pupils will be shell inlay. I did a search & found a great post by Basement Kahuna on this. The shell may be plain white, or mother of pearl – I’m not sure which yet. Any words of wisdom on shell inlay?

Thanks for putting up with all of my questions. :)

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

[ Edited by: Aaron's Akua on 2004-11-11 18:09 ]

thats awesome,I tried to find aac and no luck, hope my second turns out as good as your first wood tiki is looking.

Lookin' good Aaron, Keep posting pics of the development, I'm lookin forward to sseeing more. Unfortunately its hard to keep my eye on TC at the mo' as my studio was hit by lightning a coupla' days ago and its screwed up my PC

looks good so far. keep posting the progress and when it's finished. can't wait to see how it comes out!

looking good can't wait to see how it turns out. looking forward to see how your multiple color scheeme looks.

Thanks for the rah-rah's, guys.

Rodeotiki: Your first looks great & I know you're hooked now like all the rest of us. Keep up with the good posts & we'll all see where it takes you. (Check your PM's, too).

Cheeky: I really didn't want to post early, but my questions overtook my ego & here we are. Have you ever done shell inlay or 2-tone finishes on your tikis? If I can come close to the look of your tikis I'll be thrilled. They just have a real authentic solid look & the cracks & splits in the wood just make 'em more so. I was thinking about where to find some wood other than palm & was worried about where to find the perfect log. Seeing that cool weathered look look on your tikis just showed me that I really don't need to worry so much.

Tiki5-0: You're a natural & your first 3 tikis show it. They've got a real nice "free hand" feel to the design. I've got an Engineering/Drafting background & it's hard to let go of the ruler/t-square/computer when I'm designing. This is my next one:

I massaged this one down to the gnat's ass & was going to use it for an AAC block carving. Orthographic views work great with a perfectly formed 24"x8"x10" block. But ever since I started working with Fan Palm I found that it's really hard to apply this type of stuff to a round stump. It's probably much better to go freehand & work it as you go. Oh well, it's already designed so I'm just going to run with it & see how it works with a round piece of wood. I'm thinking of breaking down & taking a sketch/freehand drawing class at the local Comm. College.

Octane,
I'll keep posting on this as I go. I was hoping to get some feedback on 2-tone color schemes & such from other TC'ers. Maybe some of them will weigh in on this stuff on down the line. I keep going back to your post - the work is great. It's encouraging to see your early stuff (As well as all the other prominent guys - Benzart, BK, Gecko, TheChikiTiki, etc., etc...) Then I see the really top notch stuff you're all putting out today & realize that at some point you all started out just about where I am today.

Pratice, practice, practice.....

Mahalo,

Aaron

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

[ Edited by: Aaron's Akua on 2004-08-29 21:49 ]

Well, hurry up Aaron, can't wait now that you've shown thre drawing. HE looks like a pretty cool lookin tiki.Is it done yet?

A little clarification, Benzart. The drawing is of my NEXT tiki. The Photos are of my CURRENT one, which will be a lot simpler but hopefuly TC worthy.

I work at a snail's pace, so be patient! Hope to have some more progress to post over the next couple weeks.

BTW, I have a friend with an extra compressor & some air tools including a die grinder & accessories. He wants to buy a tiki & I need tools but have no bucks to afford them right now. So hopefully we can work out an equitable barter deal, & I'll be able to speed up production! Do you have any knowledge of air tools in that head of yours? NO, SCRATCH THAT. If you have some ideas, go ahead & add them to that great "Tools Carvers Use" post of yours. (Or ditto to anyone else reading this for that matter).

Thanks as always.

I realize the drawing is a Future carving, but I want it to be a NOW carving. Air tools ? I know they don't suck, they Blow

Aaron, your stuff is stylish and precise. And, I like it alot. I'm with the rest of the poster's... more, more, more!

alright arron here is my miny book on your questions.

Shell inlays:

i have done a few of them. First the Warning i was give by BK, who helped me with these. Shell dust is very very bad for you. BK had the specifics but lets just leave it at very very bad.

For shell in lays, what i do is first get you shell (assume abalone) draw out what ever shape you want on the shell. make sure you use a marker that is not permenant, unless you plan to cut the shape out perfect. a pencil works for me.

I use a dremel with a tile cutting bit and cut away. to take care of the dust, i wear a resperator, one of the thick/oder remover kind. Alnog with that i take my shop vac and place the hose directly under were i work. i turn the vac on place screen material (mine is for Bonsia), but anything with smaller holes then what your cutting out will work. the suction of the vac holds the plastic screen on and sucks up the dust.

then just place the shell cut out on the tiki were you want it, trace around it, then remove the material inside of your traced out area deep enough so the shell is flush. I just glue them in (not traditional, but the real method is to cut a hole in the middle of the shell and hold it in with a dowl like peice of wood, but i have never done that before.

Finishing:

I'm no expert here, i have been experimenting with different finishes. If you want shinny just get gloss, all the products come in gloss. Another thing the more coats ussually the glossier and deeper the finish looks with just about any type of product.

Shalack: i don't recomend Shalack for palm wood, as it has not real weight to it and will not matt down any of the palm hairs no matter how many coats you put on. the biggest advatage to shalack is its drying time, which is 15 mins to touch and 2 hours for recoat. Shalack might have durability issues.

Varnish: i have just started using varnish on the last 2-3 tikis. personally i didn't even really know what varnish was before Ben mentioned it. the varnish seems to work good for palm as it does have a good weight and will hold down the palms hairs pretty good. Varnish is also very shiny (if you get Gloss). The biggest disadvatage to varnish is its long drying time, 24 between coats, and i would wait 48 hours if you are sanding between coats just to make sure. I have heard that Varnish never really gets supper hard, and when it is out in the sun or gets hot will soften a bit, but i don't know if this is true or not.

Polyurathain: is suppose to be the best of the clear coats today, as far as durability, drying time, ect. I use this on all of my small tikis and all my tikis before varnish. it has a good drying time 4 hrs between coats and has been very durable. the glossy works well. the first coat of the glossy wont be all that glossy as it is basically just sealing the peice but coats 2 and 3 will be more and more glossy. Polyurathane is like varnish as it has a good weight to it to matt down the palm hairs.

conclusion: I don't know, i like both Polyurathane, and varnish, not sure which is better. Shalack works good as a penatrating sealer, but can be uncompatable with varnish, this you would have to check on though, as i'm not sure.

2 tone finishes:

Not sure i have really done this before. in the what your thinking. i do use a tone tone techinque on my tikis like the cannibal. what i do is put on the first stain, a medium brown then after i wipe that stain off like your suppose to, i get a darker stain almost black and then rub that around lightly over most of the tiki. other then this technique i don't use a 2 tone effect like Tikifreak.

I would guess tikifreak uses a torch and burns the areas where it is balck on his tikis but i haven't really done this, i would send tikifreak a PM and ask him how he does it.

as far as your question about the gutter to seperate the stain colors, you might have to, as stain soaks into the wood, so it is almost impossible to control were it seeps. If you let the stain dry its 8 hrs or what ever it calls for there should be no mixing at the two stain lines when clear coat is applied.

sorry don't know anything about bleeching, or what Jasco is.

well that its for me, hope that was some what helpful

On 2004-08-29 00:28, Aaron's Akua wrote:
This is my next one:

Wow. That's a cool design. Kind of like a cross between a moai and a Ku. Very cool and can't wait to see the finished product.

Benzart: I agree - I want it to be a NOW carving too. I did this design a long time ago to use with the AAC block & it sat for a long time... But I'm gonna finish this one first. It's a real slippery slope once you start having a bunch of half finished work lying around. I got half the face carved deeper, but I have an old back injury & it's flaring up right now. I've got to find a better way to carve than sitting cross-legged on the concrete hunched over my log. Will post more progress soon - hopefully after this weekend.
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Foamy: Thanks, man! Getting a compliment on design means all the more coming from an artist with your talent. I wish I could paint!
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Octane, I don't know what to say...thanks so much for sharing all this great info with me. I've never carved wood before let alone attempt to stain it. This is really going to be helpful, & I can't thank you enough.

I have also heard that mother of pearl (abalone?) dust is extremely toxic if breathed & has actually killed people. Also, that some people actually sand it underwater to avoid dust. I don't know if this is part myth, but I sure as hell don't want to find out! I'll try your method with the shop vac & do the work outside, then hose down. I think I'll also go with a glue gun & not traditional dowel method to attach the shell like you mentioned.

You mentioned that poyurethane is the best finish but that you've used varnish for the last 3 or 4 tikis. Also that you always use a coat of polyurethane before varnishing. Why the varnish? Is it less expensive than polyurethane? Do you use a brush for your finish or spray it on? What grit sandpaper do you use when sanding between coats of varnish? Can you sand between coats of polyurethane?

I found your comments on palm hairs interesting as well. Polynesiac has also mentioned this to me & says he likes to use a cone type sanding grinder with the Dremel to "burn" the hairs off. This fan palm that I got is pretty seasoned, and I haven't seen too much loose fiber when carving, especially when I use the real sharp flex cuts or a dremel wood carving bit. I haven't used the cone grinder yet - I don't have one. I think the palm hairs come with the fresher palms that haven't been fully dried. I think I'll try one of the fresh palm logs that Polynesiac gave me next, cause this old seasoned palm is really hard & takes some real effort to carve. Plus I think it's harder on the tools.

On staining - you rub off the first coat, then lightly rub a second really dark coat over it? I take it you don't remove any of the second coat before applying the polyurethane?

On the 2-tone I think I'll take your advice & PM Tikifreak - he seems to have a knack for this. My thought is to try the "gutter" approach & go super thin, but pretty deep, then apply the stain with a Q-tip or real thin brush next to it where the 2 stain lines meet. This is going to be touchy, cause I'm not sure if you can correct mistakes when applying stain. Or, maybe I'll chicken out & just go with one color....

Your advice has been super helpful. See what happens - now I've got all of these new questions for you. Elaborate only if you have time. Otherwise I'll be totally happy with what you gave me so far. Thanks, Owen!
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Kono,
You hit it right on the nose. I was calling this one "Angry Easter", and it's a cross between an Easter Island Moai and an "Angry Tiki". Now, I'm not sure what a Ku is, but I'm sure you're right about that 'cause you seem to know your tiki. I still have some studying to do on the origins & different types of tikis - I just know what I see & what I like. Thanks for the compliments.

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Thanks to all you guys for replying to my post. It keeps me revved up for more carving (as soon as my back feels better).

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

[ Edited by: Aaron's Akua on 2004-09-02 23:33 ]

[ Edited by: Aaron's Akua on 2004-09-03 06:59 ]

i have been told that Polyurathane is the best of the finishes today. It is the newest latest technology.

I have been experimenting with varnish on the last few tikis because Ben and others have said that is what they use or used.

I don't put Polyurathane down before Varnish, i either do one or the other. I have used Polyurathane on all my tikis before i started expermenting with varnish. sorry for the confusion.

I brush on all my finishes including stain. i haven't tried the spray yet.

Sanding between coats: it all depends on how well you sand before you get to the finish. the smoother the prep sanding is the smoother the grit you will need between coats. you will always have to sand between coats, as the clear finishes, actually make the hairs and grain of the wood stand up, and then freezes them so you can sand them off and it will stay smooth for the next coats.

Polyurathane: if it is a smaller project i like to use steel wool (OO). the back of the Ployurathane says to use 220 grit but i found that i will tend to sand through with this grit.

Varnish: I don't sand it until i have 2 coats on, then i use 220 grit, and sand lightly, after 48 hours worth of drying. the can says 24 hrs, but i have found twice now that there can be little spots, and are a little gooey so i just wait an extra day to be cautious.

palm hairs: there are so many different palms and they all have their own charateristics. even different fan palms. the palm i have does the oppisate of yours, the older it gets the hairier it seems to get. no matter what the palm i would still recoment a finish with a heavery weight like poyurathane or varnish, so if there are hairs (which might not be prelevent until after clear) it can matt them down, and after a few coats it will give a good amount of material to sand for a smoother finish.

staining: i put the first coat on, and as the back of the can says wipe/rub off the extra, then right after that i get the darker stain out. this time i apply with a rag. rub on the dark stain, then imediatly rum it off. you can always go darker with stain, but you can't go lighter, so you just want to get a little darkness on there so you have to wipe it off fast, otherwise the longer the stain has to penatrate the darker and darker it will get.

Octane, you're awesome. I think you've covered just about every facet of staining/finishing that I can think of, & I probably could come up with a few more questions if I tried real hard, but I better let you get back to carving. There's nothing like the trial & error method, & maybe I'll even go so far as to read the back of the can before I pick up the brush. I gotta get this thing carved first... I just like to plan ahead. Thanks a bunch, man.

Hey aaron How's everything?
Octane - thanks for sharing your techniques. It's interesting to see how everyone does it. For what it's worth, aaron, this is what I do:
I put on at least 2 coats of stain with a foam brush. I've found that applying stain with a regular brush misses many of the spots between the palm fibers and applying stain with a rag raises more fibers. which is annoying. I apply a "liberal" amount (enough to cover and seep - but not enough to drip) then immediately wip off what I just applied with a clean white rag (I use old t-shirts). Check out wood working websites for other techniques.
For my palm tikis, I've found that applying polyurethane or varnish with brushes takes FOREVER. especially when you have to apply several coats. I started using the spray version of these sealers. you have to put a ton of coats (I put anywhere between 5-10 coats depending on where the tiki is going to live) on for the same effect, but it does save time applying the coats. It also seeps into the crevices that are hard to get to with a brush. for all other wood, I still apply with a brush, because the end result on redwood (for example) looks better when applied by brush, but I don't see any difference with palm.

I love that design of the Moai-Kuish one. Can't wait to see it in full 3d aac form.

On 2004-09-03 19:48, Polynesiac wrote:

For what it's worth, aaron, this is what I do... ...I love that design of the Moai-Kuish one. Can't wait to see it in full 3d aac form.

Hey Jim, thanks for weighing in. And "for what it's worth"....
I love hearing from anybody & everybody. Different experience, viewpoints, opinions...it's all good! I'm still kicking a few ideas around for how I'm going to finish this.

I looked at some abalone over the weekend, but it may be tough to get a large enough piece to do the inlay that I want. I'm a little concerned about the toxic shell dust with the little one running around. Also, the shell is curved but the large piece for the ear inlays want to be flat. I will either put together several pieces like a mosaic or maybe look into cutting some slate tile or other natural flat material with some nice natural color & texture.

I got lots of carving done over the weekend, so I'll try to post some new progress pics later in the week (don't have the camera card reader here at home).

I can't wait to start on the Moai-Ku guy. How is your tiki work going? Are you making good use of those AAC blocks that we traded?

Thanks for posting. I'll definitely review all of the stain & finish tips from you and Octane when I get to that stage. Great information!

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

[ Edited by: Aaron's Akua on 2004-09-07 16:12 ]

I cant wait to see the next one, I love reading your post and comments. So much info from such cool people. Watching the progress of you and others makes me want to progress more.

Have you looked at Luthier supply stores Abalone inlays? Stewart MacDonald & Internation Luthiers Supply are 2 good companies to check out for Guitar making supplys.

Rev. Dr. Frederick J. Freelance, Ph.D., D.F.S

[ Edited by: freddiefreelance on 2004-09-07 18:28 ]

ABALONE DUST IS VERY, VERY, BAD!
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I did a little checking on the web for info on this. I put together a few quotes on abalone dust fom various sources on-line, just in case anyone "scanned over" the info from Octane on this. I don't want any TC members to develop impaired breathing because of something I suggested.

"at least one pearl supplier that I know of has been so overexposed to the fine dust that results from grinding the shell that he has been seriously ill with silicosis, a potentially fatal lung disease--if you grind shell or cut lots of inlay, wear an OSHA-approved respirator. Even if you cut only a little inlay, wear at least a dust mask such as the fiber units sold in hardware stores, and it's a good idea to wear goggles too"

"I used to market abalone mabe pearls and would sometimes trim them to size. I was cautioned by my pearl grower/cutter to not only work them wet, but wear a respirator and not have my skin exposed to the dust during this process. He had developed an irregular heart beat from exposure to the dust and was educated by an expert on how to protect himself. The noxious substance can apparently be inhaled as well as absorbed through the skin. The dust contains a glucamite, a chemical which the body mistakes for sugar and thus transports readily within ones tissues"

"The shell is really easy to work with as long as you remember these simple rules;
(1) Don't breathe in the dust, In Simple Terms -The dust has barbs like a fishhook and will cause serious damage to your lungs. Always wear a mask! and have suction. The same applies to Abalone Shells also.
(2) Do not work the shell wet to avoid Chlorine Poisoning through the Skin and Lungs and think about others if they are in a room with you- It is possible to poison them and not you.The same applies to Abalone Shells also."

"What's so about abalone shell and being worked is this: If it is worked dry, it makes a nauseating smell which is bad enough by itself, but the real danger comes from the dust which is not poisonous per se, but it is like inhaling window pane shards and it lacerates the lungs. The answer to both problems is to make sure that you work it wet, either by a drip system, common in all lapidary setups, or by constant dunking if using regular power tools such as a Dremel or a belt sander. KEEP IT WET!"

"Having worked with abalone before, first I will warn of the dangers! The dust from the shell is toxic and will make you ill, It also causes a lung disease. Anyway cut under water, use a strong suction device, ar wear an Osha approved mask. I cannot say enough about the saftey factor!"

Now, these are a little contradictory, because several of them say to work the shell wet, while another says specifically not to use water because of possible "chorine poisoning". Bottom line is - research this subject well before working with abalone inlay!
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Rodeotiki,
I'm glad you are enjoying this. For myself, I'm just having fun with it. And I'm not really sure at this point how it will wind up. I really enjoyed your progress post, so I thought I'd start my own. The suspense is great!
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Freddie,
Thanks for the research. I checked both links out, & I'm still looking around. The trouble with most of these guitar builder type sources is the odd and/or small sizes of the abalone. And it may be a bit pricey. There's a place in Seal Beach called the California Seashell Co. I'm gonna go down there & take a look. As with any natural irregular material, It's kind of hard to buy on-line. You're never quite sure what you're gonna get. Thanks for the good info, Freddie!

Thats right Aaron, Abalone shell is as bad if not worse than Asbestos, glad yor'e still enjoying the carving so much, lookin forward to seeing more!

Here's more progress over LABOR DAY weekend (thanks for the correction, TNTiki!) :)

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It probably doesn't look a whole lot different than the first pics, but believe me there's a whole lot less wood there now. The rough-in is pretty much done, so it should be all chisels, rifflers & sandpaper from here on out.

I'm still kicking the shell inlay idea around. I went to a shell shop & looked at some abalone & other stuff today, and I'm still not really sure how to get started cutting the shells. This thing might take a slightly different direction....

More pics to follow as I'm able.

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

[ Edited by: Aaron's Akua on 2004-09-09 22:05 ]

[ Edited by: Aaron's Akua on 2004-09-09 22:50 ]

what did you use tool wise to get to that point. looks good ,please keep us other newbies posted. the info sure helps

Aaron the tiki's lookin good. You can cut and carve Abalone shell very easily with a Dremel.

[ Edited by: TNTiki on 2004-11-06 16:18 ]

Alright AA, Lookin good! Personally I dont think it needs the shells. Jes my two coconuts. Thanks for the pics and getting a very informative thread running
.
Here is a staining/ finishing thread that was started. that I cross referenced to this post:

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=9111&forum=7

You guys may want to add the info you shared to it.

Keep them chisels hummin'

Chongolio

-- I believe that our Heavenly Father invented the monkey because he was disappointed in man."
... Mark Twain

Come explore http://www.lost-isle.com

[ Edited by: Chongolio on 2004-09-11 19:41 ]

ON JASCO:
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Hi all,
I lifted this quote from 8FT Tiki's post, because it is really informative & also answers one of my questions from the first page of this string. Hope you don't mind, 8FT!

On 2004-09-11 00:40, 8FT Tiki wrote:
Thanks Aaron. The Jasco product that I am using is not oily but rather is a liquid as thin as water. It absorbs quickly into dry wood. I hope that it will protect my carvings which are outside in the elements. It does darken the tone of the wood quite a bit though and gives it a sort of dark rusty look. Not a problem if you are going to follow it with a dark stain but I wouldn't recommend it if you want the finished project to be a lighter color. The wood just needs to dry for a day after applying JASCO. Then you can apply a stain or sealer. JASCO is available at Lowes and I think it is about $7.00 for a quart. Comes in a plastic container that looks like a bottle of auto antifreeze in shape but quite a bit smaller. One container lasted me for 2 carvings. Hope this helps.

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Rodeotiki: I used chisels only to start with. I soon grew frustrated, and my supportive wife was kind enough to purchase for me a Dremel Flexshaft kit which was a vast improvement. I had to buy a Dremel wood carving bit because although the kit comes with about 70 accessories, none of them are the slightest bit useful for wood carving. I ran these bits at way too high RPM's & burnt through 2 of them before Benzart set me on the right path. I now know that the ONLY kind of bits worth buying are the Tungsten Carbide bits, which pretty much last forever. Or at least I've had no problems so far. The package for the bit will list the max RPM's for the bit.

Now, as soon as you get comfortable with the carving and pretty much know how much and where the wood needs to come off, the Dremel starts feeling a little too small. As Benzart put it "It's like cleaning your garage floor with a toothbrush." The rough out is pretty much complete for this tiki, but the next one I do will be with a new set of pneumatic tools that I just acquired (too late for this tiki). The rest of the work on this one will be with small Flexcut palm tools, files, rifflers, and sandpaper. I may pick up a conical sanding bit for the Dremel or the Pneumatics.
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Cheeky: I think I'm giving up on the shells, at least for this project. I picked up some really nice bright blue porcelain tile with varying tones that I'm planning to inlay into the ears and eyes. I'll cut the tile with a dremel diamond bit. I'll post some pics on this process as I go. hopefully I'll get some tiki carving time tomorrow afternoon.

I'm still going to attempt the 2-tone stain by doing the dark areas first & leaving the light areas natural, then apply the polyurethane when everything looks nice. If I screw up & some of the stain bleeds over, I'll just stain the whole thing dark & call it a 1-tone. Tikifreak Gary PM'd me with some tips on the 2-tone. I'll post his comments here if he lets me know that it's O.K. w/ him (it was a PM after all).
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TNTiki: Thanks for the correction. Long weekends really mess me up!
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Chongolio: The shells are out but the inlay is still in. Hopefully it won't be too much, but I wanted to take my time with this one & maybe do something that's unique and different from all the other great tiki styles here on TC. We'll see when it's done!

I figured a play-by-play thread from a new carver like me would be helpful for the other new guys or maybe even a few lurkers that are thinking about starting, but don't know how. I'm sure there's a few out there. This way everone will learn from my mistakes as I go! Thanks for the PM. Hope to see you at TC SoCal events in the future.

That other thread is great. Thanks for the cross-referencing.
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Mahalo All,

A-A

NEED HELP!
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Okay, I had this great idea to idea to pick up some nice tile to use for inlay on the ears & eyes for my tiki. I looked around at a few places. Since I wanted a really bright blue color, one of the tile places suggested
That I go to a pool tile supply house. Since I only wanted one square foot of tile, the place just gave them to me as a sample.

Nice color, huh?

I really like this tile, because of the different shades of blue running through it. I think it will make the eyes really pop next to a nice dark brown stain.

I bought a rotozip tile cutter bit, used a template to do the outline for the ears with grease pencil, & clamped it down to some plywood.

Not easy. Less than a minute in I slipped & got a nice scratch across the surface. I quickly found the tile bit to be worthless. Plan B: I switched to a carbide bit, which worked only slightly better, then started to get hot really quick.

Plan C: Switched to some diamond bits. The packaged said they would work at 30,000 RPM & cut everything, including Tungsten Carbide steel! These lasted about one minute, then all of the “diamonds” ground off the end and they became worthless.

This is as far as I got with my brilliant idea. This is the smaller circular piece for the top part of the easter island ears. I packed up the tools for the day & decided to lean on you guys for suggestions.
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I really love this tile, & I haven’t given up on it yet. There must be a better easier way to cut it than with the Dremel or at least with the bits that I tried so far.

ANY IDEAS? I NEED SOME HELP HERE!

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

[ Edited by: Aaron's Akua on 2004-09-12 13:40 ]

I tried using diamond bits to drill through glass and I ate through several bits in just a few minutes. Of course, they were "flea market" dremel bits so I'm sure they were of inferior quality. Anyway...this is the best dremel bit I've ever used. You could burrow to the center of the Earth with this sucker. You said you used a carbide bit but not sure if it's the same one. It's a little more expensive (like $12-$15) but you can usually find it at your local Home Depot. They make other shapes of the structured tooth tungsten carbide cutters but I had to order them online.

it looks like you are trying to use the bits and drill down then trace out the pattern, instead use the tile cutter and start from the edge of the tile and cut into the tile then just cut over to your shape and cut it out. thats all the help i can add. This should stop it from slipping. I'm not sure the tile cutter is ment to drill through the tile and then cut, but i have never used the tile cutter on tile either.

[ Edited by: Octane on 2004-09-12 21:03 ]

I talked to a buddy who does tile work, they use a wet saw and just nibble away at the tile till they get the desired shape, or you can score the tile and use a set of nibbler pliers to get the shape
Hope this helps ya out.

PROBLEM SOLVED.
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Thanks Kono, Octane, & Rodeotiki.
The diamond dremel bits were indeed cheapies. I've been learning over & over - Don't buy cheap tools. I thought about getting yet another dremel bit, but did a little research on the internet & went to Lowe's to look at tile nibblers, tile files, and the manual tile cutters. Then I noticed a sign on the wall - "Tile Cutting 25 cents per cut". This immediately caught my attention, and I started talking with the Tile Dept. clerk, Eric. This guy was super cool & told me just to bring in the tile & he'd figure it out. So I went home, grabbed the tile, traced the pattern with a grease pencil real quick & brought them back to Lowe's. Eric ran these on the saw & shaved the edges just about the same way that Rodeotiki described it above. These saws are pretty cool. You can actually run your hand along the blade while it's running at full RPM without losing digits. It kind of freaked me out when Eric started cutting the tile "freestyle" while holding the piece in his two bare hands. About an hour later this is what I had:

Help often comes where you expect it least. Thanks a lot Eric! And thanks to you guys for all of the suggestions. Now on to the next hurdle....

MORE GOOD INFO…

ON 2-TONE STAINING
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Here’s some info that Tikifreak Gary was kind enough send me in a PM.

On 2004-09-09 12:02, tikifreak wrote:
I usually airbrush a black line between the two colors to separate the two. Not sure if your using paint on yours or not, but that's what I do sometimes. I do not put two stains beside each other because of the bleeding....I separate them totally apart from different areas such as stain the nose and the lips or the lips and the eyes....
There is really no way to keep it from bleeding that I have found. the wood is too pourous and will always bleed some, even under tape edges. Good luck.....

Tiki "G."

THANKS TIKI-G!
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ON EYES & INLAY

Here's a great post where "Professor" Benzart gave me some tips on eye's, inlay, and varnishing:

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=10907&forum=7&6

THANKS BENZ!

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

[ Edited by: Aaron's Akua on 2004-10-30 17:13 ]

Just an update here. Work on this tiki is going excruciatingly slow for me, but I have made some progress. I’m tackling the tile inlay for the eyes and ears. I’ve been getting some carving done in ½ hour increments on my lunch break at the park near my work. It’s a nice way to take a break. I also get a couple of hours carving in at home each weekend. Once I finish the inlay for the ears, I just need to sand & smooth the whole thing up, do the staining, glue the tile in, and varnish. I’m in the home stretch now, which for me means about another month & I’ll be done. Here’s some pics from this weekend’s work:

I lay out the tile to position it.

Then pencil in the outline for the carving.

Same thing for the eyes, then cut in a shallow inlay section and set them in to see how it looks.

Deepened the outline with the Dremel tungsten carbide bit.

Cleaned it up with the pneumatic die grinder & a cone grinder bit.

And, whallah… we have eyeballs! I will clean & round these up a bit, but you get the basic idea. All of the other surfaces need some similar treatment to clean them up also.

TO BE CONTINUED…

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

[ Edited by: Aaron's Akua on 2004-09-27 13:22 ]

That looks great, Glad to hear you are able to find some time to carve.
Thanks for the progress shots. How big is that guy? What type of finish do you plan to apply?
Keep us posted

Looking very fine, AA. Cool tiki!

http://www.samgambino.com

That tiki is coming along nicely and sure to be a nice piece of eye candy when finished. You definately get an A+ for stick-to-it-ness.
Chongolio

-- I believe that our Heavenly Father invented the monkey because he was disappointed in man."
... Mark Twain

Come explore http://www.lost-isle.com

[ Edited by: Chongolio on 2004-09-29 20:56 ]

Aaron, glad to see the progress on this guy. Seems like I have been away forever, but I haven't. I'm back so you can finish him up.

Rodeotiki aka Collin,

It's not that bad, I just love to whine about my busy schedule. Actually this habit of carving at the park on my lunch break is pretty enjoyable. Everybody must wonder when I get back to the office with wood chips & sawdust all over my slacks! But I can't think of a better way to get your mind off work and focus on something totally different (True confessions of a tiki addict.. I could quit anytime... No, really!!!).

The tiki is just under two feet tall and maybe 10" diameter. I gave myself a few challenges when I planned this thing. I've gotten through the tile inlay, but the next hurdle will be the two-tone staining. I'm thinking the whole thing will be a nice deep cocoa brown, but the whites of the eyes and the teeth will be "au natural" with just a varnish finish, no stain. The trick will be in keeping the stain from bleeding across. Check a few posts back for Tikifreak's suggestions on this. I think I'll take his advice and see how it goes. IF the stain bleeds, I guess the whole thing will have to go dark brown. Octane, Polynesiac, & Benart gave me lots of great suggestions on finishing, all of which I'm going to use. Octane likes polyurethane, but is currently using varnish. I think I will follow his lead and use the marine varnish that Benzart is so fond of (Check the finish on Benzart's amazing giant Maori warrior a few posts back!).
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Sam,

Thanks, my friend. And also thanks for the help with the new "signature pic". I couldn't get it exactly the way that I originally wanted it, but given the limitations of using shutterfly, I'm pretty happy with the way it came out.
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Chong-O,

Stick-to-it is my middle name! I may be slow as molasses, but I'm gonna be sportin' some tiki soon! Keep posted...
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Prof. Benz,

Welcome back! TC just ain't the same without you. I can just see you chiselin' away, cause the tools got no power! Glad your house didn't get sucked up into the eye of Jeanne, but you may want to wait a while before you replace that fence (again). Knock on wood....
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THANKS, ALL!

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

[ Edited by: Aaron's Akua on 2004-09-29 23:25 ]

Everybody’s posting new work this week, so I thought I’d join in. These pics are from last weekend.
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Surefire way to remove tiki mold. Courtesy of Black & Decker!

The ultimate flat top.

Endless sanding at this stage. Currently at 60 grit. Many grits to go.

My wife sewed this handy Tiki pillow from a Levi’s pants leg filled with sand. It’s an old trick that I learned back when I was working with stone, and it keeps the surface from getting dinged while the final touches are added.
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A-A

Looking good man! That sand bag trick is great. Now I have a use for the one that was in the back of my old truck. Keep us updated.

Aaron's Akua that sand& pants leg is great idea, when I start on my next big carving ( just got two 20"d by 28"h date plam logs)I'll get a big piece of foam pad, to work on the patio. I use a knee pad under my small pieces now.

Kool Idea Aaron. the big sandbag looks great. I use a small beanbag to sit my camera on when taking close-ups. same principal, just never thought of using it for carving. OK, Now lets see that Tiki FINISHED, you been goofing off too long!

Thanks RT, Doctiki & Benz.

A couple of questions (I always have more):

What progressive grits do you usually use for sanding? I figured 60, then 100, and 150 for the wood (Is this overkill?). Then 220 between coats of varnish (lightly I assume).

Do you wet sand the varnish, or dry?

After the wood is sanded, before the varnish, should I hit it with the high pressure water hose to get all of the tiki dust out? Or will the water swell the wood or create some other problem?

How about after sanding varnish? Is water okay? Or is it even important to get the dust off?

And finally, some parts of the tiki will be natural (no stain) with varnish only. These are the whites of the eyes and the teeth. Will this look okay, or should I use a really light stain? Will the varnish darken the natural non-stained wood?

I'm with Octane - I hate sanding. Especially the little nooks & crannies of the face. Well, I'm off to sand some more on my lunch break. Benz, is that dedication, or what? Look for a "Finished" post in the near future (I hope)! :)

Mahalo,

Aaron

YES, Thats dedication, I Love it.
You are OK with the grits. Your progression is the proper way but you can get away with 60, 100, then 220 if you are using a power sander. What you are doing is Scratching the surface with a series of particular sized scratches, or Grooves. The idea is to keep goung smaller and smaller in the grit or Scratch size until you can no longer notice the scratches or grooves. If you get into the 2000 range you have scratches that are so small they cannot be seen without magnification.. IF you skip grits then you are polishing only the Tops of the grooves and thay still show.. Like I can sharpen a chisel starting with 100 grit and then polish it with 1000. I will end up with a mirror finish 6100 grit set of grooves and the chisel tho looking sharp, will be very dull. So, Everyone Hates sanding, yours truly included, but you gotta do it if you want the piece to look good. All the nooks and cranneys are important too. try sanding with a magnifier over your eyes and sand until it looks good, then you will be done. NOW having said all that, for an outside tiki made from Palm, it doesn't have to be as smoothe as a table top tiki that will be touched and looked at closley all the time. It's a judgement call depending on the piece and its intended use.
Sanding between coats gets rid of surface imperfections and again it depends on the piece. The FINER the piece, the more you sand between coats. Sanding removes the Orange peel look and thins the applied finish so that it does not look 10 inches thick. For that Fine piece you don't want it to look like you poured the varnish on. I wouldn't hose off the inbetween dust. You can make a tack cloth from diluted varnish or shellack and coating a lint free rag with it and wringing it out till its damp. Use that after you blow or brush off the main dust to get it all. Usually in the finishing THERE ARE NO SHORTCUTS.

One more thing, Grits are better with eggs and bacon!!

[ Edited by: Benzart on 2004-10-10 19:49 ]

A2-Getting down to the nitty gritty eh.
That is going to be one smooth tiki when you get it finished. Thanks for asking all the questions I never get around too.
Cheers,
Chongolio

Thanks Chongo - this is quite a resource we have here at TC. All the help is priceless.

Benz - that was a really excellent explanation, and I never really quite thought of it that way. The really fine sanding may not be necessary for this palm tiki. Maybe I'll save it for the mahogany or other fine wood that I'm planning on working with some day. With this first wood tiki I've just been plugging away, taking my time, trying to make it the best tiki that I can, and figuring out the carving method as I go. I think I'll finish the rest of it with 60 grit & cleanup chiseling, then go to 100 grit & call it a day.

I'm hoping that the next set of 100 grit sanding will go a lot faster. I'm really hopefully thinking that the first series of rough sanding is the toughest and longest, because once the chisel marks and rough spots are removed, you'd think that the finer grit sanding would be a piece of cake??? If that's the case maybe I'll do the 220 grit after all. We'll see....

I'm just back on Sunday afternoon from a weekend camping with the Ohana at Leo Carillo Beach, just above Malibu. And yes, I brought the tiki along & got some sanding in at the beach. Kinda pooped ...talk atcha all later.

A-A

After sanding ad nauseum, this tiki's ready for staining. Picked up the materials at Lowe's tonight, and staining will commence tomorrow (finally!)

A-A