Conga....Wisconsin stuff!

He's looking greta. I think a dark stain will be best.

I agree with Ben, dark would be my choice. Although, it would probably look great in any finish. I really like what you did with the neck and head gear. Sweet piece. What type of wood is it made from? What does it weight? How tall is it? We want specs!!!

-Gman

Hey Conga... that's a beaut!

I agree with Ben and Gman... go dark... try a little fun with the torch if you have one... hit the recessed areas with it and it increases the depth of them... its fun!

[ Edited by: Lake Surfer 2005-09-15 22:12 ]

tiki appreciates the comments GMan, Ben and Lakesurfer,
I was also thinking of a dark stain. Lake...I was checking
your thread (great tikis and love the fountain) and it looks like you use the torch prior to any finishing...is
that correct?
Specs for GMan...5'11 tall....18 inches wide at the
top....15 inches at the base...and 11 inches deep...he is
made from Wisconsin basswood that one of my bosses was
using to build a garage...great for carving.

Does anyone else think he looks like he's being strangled? With the rope around his tiny neck and that look on his face it doesn't look like he's enjoying himself much...

CONGATIKI-
I love the whole Tiki & the rope looks great. Awesome job!

Where in the world can you get basswood that size?
Someone on ebay is sell a piece 4X16x42 for a starting bid of $75.
Wes

A little more global warming, and we can welcome Wisconson to the Tropics. And you'll be ready!
Thanks for preparing the North for it's upcoming "tropical future",......... where everyone will "have an ocean across the U.S.A."
Dude.....nice work. Dude!!!!

I agree with every one else , go dark. Are you gonna stain the rope too or leave it light to contrast the tiki?

Cant wait to see it done. Awesome carving!

Conga,

Dang, that's a big boy! That will look awesome in your house. I can't wait to see it with the finish on. It just keeps getting better!!! You da man! MORE PICS!!!

Any problems with big logs cracking in the dry air up there?

-Gman

This is your best yet, Conga. I really like it. Yes, go dark for more depth. It will look great in the Conga Room.

thanks for all the positive vibes everyone...dark it will
be! But the big bugger won't let me quit...he kept calling
me back for carving...so I whittled out a few more pieces
that didn't look like tiki...he now has real arms...the
better to drink mai tais with....also going to use a bigger
rope on the neck

[ Edited by: congatiki 2005-09-21 21:04 ]

Looking great Conga. The bigger rope is a great idea. Doing that will let you round off the square neck then the rope will look more natural. Take your time and do it like you think it should be,,,BUT Hurry up, can't wait to see him finished.

Looking fine! Not many people know this, but my pecks look just like that. Really. :wink:

Do you use only hand tools?

thanks ben and finkdaddy....yea I think the thick rope
will be better...and I plan on equalizing the distance
between the neck and the headdress...and finkdaddy...
we midwest tikiphiles know that you are a real buff-daddy...
picked up the sealer...stain and poly today...so here we
go!

well...here's my six foot buddy with stain...poly...and
a brand new rope around the neck. I am pretty happy with
the way things turned out...but I think I will do a little
detail carving in the base in the near future....


mahalo to all who encouraged me along the way...this one
took a long time!

Looks great conga! Nice work.

Looks like one of those African tribal people with the slinky necks!

Nice work man.

Conga, I really Like this guy. It shows thet you took your time and carved way beyond your normal tiki. Very Very Well done. He looks much better with the larger rope and the softened corners around the neck. Excellent job with the stain and finish also. Man, You gotta be Plenny Proud.
Whatz next?

Conga,
I really dig this Tiki, especially the bigger rope. Fine job. What stain did you use? This is basswood, yes?
Wes

Congrats on finishing a fine project and achieving a great result!! We really like the addition of rope to the figure.

Yes!! Way to go, my up-north brother! Looks really nice, Conga.

I think the color of the stain is perfect. Very nice work.

He looks all pumped up with lots of muscle tension. Yeah, I'd be a little tense too with all that rope around my neck. It really looks great next to the drums, Conga. I think you've got us all wondering what's next??

Beautiful addition to the house Conga... you should be proud of that one!

I've found that tikis like these are "ground breaking" tikis that get you over the hump... from this point on things get easier... or you find harder types of tiki to carve :wink:

lookin good dude...

thanks a lot Tikiwahine, hewey,Ben,Moondance,8ft,finkdaddy,
rodeotiki,A-A,LakeSurfer and Kirby, wow, that's a mouthful!

Moondance--the stain is valspar "special walnut"--was really worried when I applied it because it was like
paint...but I rubbed it with a towel to make it a bit
lighter...while leaving it real dark in the creases.

You're right LakeSurfer...it seems like one reaches a higher level with a certain tiki...and you strive to
impress the upper classmen (all of you guys) and of
course the teacher (we all know who that is...most of us
just call him "the master"...Ben) Accordingly...it's
hard to decide what to do with that next chunk of wood.

I still have two really nice pieces of basswood that
are untouched....and an in-progress Moai that needs
my attention. The weather should still be good for
outdoors carving for another couple months...so we
will see what comes out of the wood. Thanks again.

Finkdaddy---get your butt up here sometime!

On 2005-09-29 05:23, congatiki wrote:
Finkdaddy---get your butt up here sometime!

I know, I know. :blush: I really want to, so I will make it happen soon. Very soon we will be able to swap stories about our home bars!

Your stuff is lookin great, Conga. Tiki in Antigo; who'd have thunk it!

brilliant work congatiki.Be proud you carved it.

thanksalot everyone....since i couldn't make it to the
big fla bash...finished off a moai over the weekend

[ Edited by: congatiki 2005-10-12 05:44 ]

I love this style of Tiki

Nice one Conga. You did the Next best thing to going o Hukilau, you carved a tiki and an Excellent one at that.

Very nice . I like the finish on it.

Very cool, conga! Great finish too. He looks great up against that knotty pine wall in the pic!

Beautiful job! How long did it take? Do you have any progress shots?

-Gman

Heya conga! that Moai turned out great, and it's a decieving style to do. It looks easy, but is rather difficult once you get carving (at least...that was my experience) - you NAILED IT! That's a nice addition to your tiki bar!

Sweet mother of Moai Conga !!! Nice carve. We felt your vibes in FL brother.

Excellent Moai! Thats a keeper. I like everything about it. I think ya need to stick him in the yard with a garden light on 'em for everyone to see!!!

That looks terrific! I got a plan: you make a bunch more tikis, then you and I will rent a van to take our wares to Hukilau '06! Just think what kind of road trip that will be! :wink:

wow...thanks everyone...i feel like i got an "A" on my
report to the class...I really appreciate the comps from
you guys...Polynesiac...I agree....the moai is tougher
than I thought...and it seems you are always tweeking it
to get things right....Surfintiki...I like the idea about
making him an outdoor tiki with a light....good project
for spring...and Finkdaddy....how about a road trip AT LEAST
to Swanky's Ben/Kahuna/Diablo carving school in Tennessee.
Thanks everyone!
Still two more chunks of basswood...and two months till
winter...what to do...what to do?

On 2005-10-12 15:39, congatiki wrote:
Still two more chunks of basswood...and two months till
winter...what to do...what to do?

How about Kanaloa? This is one unique Hawaiian tiki that I've not seen anyone carve here on TC. Check him out...

Name: Kanaloa
Origin: Hawaiian Islands
Artist: Unknown
Description: In ancient Hawaiian religion, KANALOA was a god of the ocean, and certain types of healing, crafts and other cultural practices. In legend he was a companion to KANE, the creator god. As such he also had the ability to cause freshwater springs to gush forth from solid rock when he struck it with his staff.

I want to try my hand at Kanaloa some day. It would be sweet to see the Conga version, though...

BTW, your Moai looks ultra-clean.

A-A

sweet job on the moai, and very nice finish.

thanks AA and Palama Tiki...I like the suggestion about
the next one AA....seems we don't see a lot of that guy.
I have been thinking about a more traditional tiki...but
I seem to be leaning toward another idea that I have
been sketching....that sorta combines tiki/egyptian/hindu....if that makes any sense....might
get started tonight.

Conga,

I believe that style is called tigyptdu.....

Conga, the hybrid style tiki sounds extremely cool. It's impossible to see into the mind of an artist so you'll just have to show us the tiki that you're dreaming up. We've all seen enough of your work to know how cool it can and will be. Yeah, Kanaloa is like the red headed step-child. Lono and Ku get all the press while he just hangs out & watches. I'm dreaming of all the wild designs that could be done with that headpiece.

Looking forward to your next piece - each one seems to be better than the last!

Cheers,

A-A

Conga-
Love the Moai, sweet job and my favorite.
Wes

thanks AA and Moondance.....the moai was a lot of fun to
do.....AA...if anyone can do justice to Kanaloa it's
you...your tikis are so precise one would think they came
out of a mold.
had a rough night drumming and sucking mai tais last
night...but now it's outside to continue carving the
tigypdu!

strange things are happening in northern wisconsin...full
moon and all...snuck a pic tonight of this character
lurking in my backyard...i'll try to catch another picture
soon....

:( I'm scared...