Davez-tikiz - finally finished Lono 6-11 p.10

[ Edited by: Davez_tikiz 2007-06-11 15:10 ]

Question... I've been hitting the draw knife pretty heavy trying to get most of my smaller logs skinned and in the garage to make room for the larger ones... and it seems to be getting duller.

Is there an easy way to sharpen it? I was thinking maybe gluing some sandpaper on a wood block to use? Will that work? What grit is best? And the biggest question... do you sharpen the flat(bottom) side, or the side with the angle (tip side)?

Tiki #3 progress.....

He started as a log, and then midway I split him to make a mask... he's about 22" tall.

it was interesting... the middle was a wet bunch of goo... I could almost scoop it out with my hands!

Still working on the headress... and shaping the head to look more round..

I'm really trying to sand this one down.. since it'll be up on a wall. My first try at headress stuff... suggestions/ comments?

Hey DB, this mask is looking good. Some palms are all mushy inside, like the queen and king palms but the outer wall is thick and hard enough to carve. Watch those pionty thingys like on the left edge, they will break foo easily in palm.
Sharpen a drawknife like a chisel. Keep the bottom flat and sharpen on the bevel. A Fine file may work. Sand paper should work, starting with maybe 100 then going to 150, then to 220 and finish with 350. All a draw knife is, is a very wide chisel and it needs to be sharpened the same way.
Keep at it, you're doing great.

DB,

NICE! I can't wait to see more of it.

Ok... he's all ready for stain... made some improvements in symmetry this time. First try at the headress.. shaping the top of the head was tough.

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I sanded him to 220... a big improvement for me. Any ideas as to how to stain him? Burn the mouth and eyesocket.. bleach or pickling stain the eyeballs and teeth? just a clear coat? I don't want to mess him up witha bad stain job!!!! Help!!

Ok.... I'm biting the bullet and trying a full body tiki. This log is palm, about 40" tall. I drew out the body to get the proportions...

This looks tough... I'll post pics along the way. I'd love any feedback or input in the process....

I tried to draw out a pretty simple body design.

Design looks really good . Just start chipping away and keep us posted . AA has some great photos of side profiles for a full body tiki that i found usefull.

DB,

Don't get roped in and confined by your drawing/sketch on the wood. It looks like some of your lines are close together and you might wind up running into problems. Carve the tiki one step at a time and the other parts will fall into place. Make sure you have room to leave high spots where you need them. You sound apprehensive about the project? Just jump in and make it happen. Be aggressive and cut deep. If it's any help, I draw sketches on paper, think about how to make the particular cuts, and then cut on a clean log. I get the picture in my head and then start cutting and try to remove all the wood around the hidden tiki.

Good luck, and show us lots of pics along the way.

-Gman

rodeo... thanks.. I have been looking at AA's progress pics for info.. its been a great help.

gman.. I am a little nervous about this one. I was having a tough time picturing the cuts in my head until I started carving. Its getting better. Thanks for the info... I like the idea of drawing on paper and leaving the log blank. For now I need to see it to make sure I get the size/proportions right.

here's today's update:

I just kind of started removing wood all over the place. I need to go deeper in several spots, but I can see how to get there now (I think)

I can see I didn't leave enough room for the middle of the legs.. I may try to lower the base a little and redo that part. Might be too late for that. Suggestions?

The full body will mess with your mind the first go-round (I say that with authority, don't I? Still working on my first...). Take out all the big "air" pieces first. Some of the other cuts just can't be made till later. You may need to resketch some lines as you go deeper, but that's no big deal. I would try to focus on the side profile - that's where the biggest pieces come off first. Take your time, you're doing fine!

A-A

AA -thanks... it actually has been easier than I thought it would be... here's today's progress shot:

Got the arms, legs, mouth roughed out. Something not quite right about the nose/eyes... I think the groove between needs to be bigger... tomorrow's project!

Looking good so far. just keep going deeper .

Hi doubrausky your carvings ar great keep up the good work.

Now Heres what I'm talkin' about.. You Can DO IT. Looking really excellent.

let go of the fear and relax.... you'll do great!

So here's the next one... it's a 4 1/2' KU... definitely a big stretch! I used a little modelI got in Hawaii and lots of progress picsfrom Aaron's Lono... they really help!

I've used a lot more chainsaw to get down to the rough shape. Not sure how to start the legs, though.

Also, I was gonna leave wood to run the headress down past the shoulders, but oops cut too much, so he will just have it down to theneck

suggestions and comments would really help!!!!

Yes sir! Now you're cooking with Crisco oil!!!!!!! Those are some deep cuts.

-Gman

Thanks G! The piles of sawdust agree with you!

Here's today's update:

The legs have been the hardest thing I've done to date... tryingto wrap my head around how to liberate them from the wood was tough! They are going to end up too skinny, but that's ok.

Nesxt tough challenge... shaping the arms!

latest update.... about 4 more hours of work:

got the legs mostly done.. the back of his head, some of the eyes, deepened the mouth. Still need to do the arms before starting more detailing. Man, this is a lot of hours!!

nice work so far doubrouvsky.....he's really coming
around...he's gonna be your best one!

I agree. It looks like a winner. Definitely your best one yet. Keep going! More pics....

-Gman

doubrouvsky.....he's really looking good.. Sometimes I have a hard time seeing the legs and have to just work them out a little at a time. Looks like they are gonna be super. The Perportions are excellent. I think this is going to be one of your biggest challenges and it looks like you will breeze right thru it. Can't wait to see more pix.

Conga... thanks! I think he will definitely be the best one yet. He is certainly the most challenging! I'm learning a lot about the body proportions.

Gman.. thanks for the props.. I was feeling today like I wasn't getting anywhere... helps to hear such great praise. This one has been tough!

Ben... nice to hear that even the master struggles sometimes! The legs were the hardest, and ended up being skinnier than I wanted. He has been by FAR the biggest challenge yet... trying to figure out proportions and angles and where cuts should be has been a mindbender! Still... its been a lot of fun. Long ways to go though....

Dave, it looks great - just like it should right now. You're just about to that "clean slate" stage where you're ready to regroup and start detailing in earnest. You've got the full body thing goin' on and not screwed up anything in the process or taken too much off anywhere. Get the eyes roughed out & you're ready to go. This is where that fancy-schmancy recip carver or yours will come in handy. The proportions are great, and it's looking pretty smooth. Bases are loaded...

Thanks Aaron.. the recip carver has come in real handy throughout.. and I used the chainsaw a LOT more than I ever have before. One nice byproduct has been the sawdust hasn't been flying everywhere from the grinder as much as before.

Hey DB,

What kind of wood is that you're choppin' on? It looks a bit stringy, like palm? Anyhow, I'm floored by the steps you've taken in the last few weeks. I think everyone here agrees you've hit lightspeed....

-Gman

G... wow... you put a big smile on my face! Thanks for the encouragement. You're right it is palm.. a Washingtonia. It's really stringy on the outside. Fortunately with this one, not much of the outer wood is left!

That's looking like one nice tiki! But hey, where are the finished pics of the last ones? Don't hide 'em, bring 'em out!

Well, my wife wanted a tiki with his tongue out, so here goes... he's about 4-5 hours in and about 5 1/2 ft tall.

Here's the next one... I'll try and post some step-by step pics... It's a 6' palm log split in half.. planning on twin marq's. I made an eye/nose template for this one so all four sets would look the same. So far I've split thelog, debarked, sanded, drawn a center line and drawn out the rough outline. About 2 hours in.. the real work still to come... feeling a cold settling in so this one may take a while.

You are a machine...they look great and your progress is inspiring...keep at it and keep the pics coming

Man you are advancing rapidly now. Twins. Great. Hope the carving is easy and the wood is a friend...good mana.

Carve on

WHOA! Looks like you'll be busy for a while there DB. If you cut those deep, I think they'll look great. Hope you feel better soon. I hear sawdust cures the common cold..... :wink:

-Gman

Yeah, I can't wait to see a pile of sawdust standing next to those twins (or is it quadruplets?). They just look like a couple logs right now, but I'm sure that will chage soon.

You can't miss with a layout that looks that good.

Those look like they'd go great flanking a doorway, maybe with the top of the Tikis set flush with the top of the door with a lintel piece across the top? I don't know of any Marquesan lintel carvings, but maybe a Tapa cloth covered lintel or a wood one with Tapa designs carved into or painted on it?

On 2005-11-30 22:25, Aaron's Akua wrote:
You can't miss with a layout that looks that good.

Couldnt agree more. Cant wait to see them in progress.

Loki... thanks! I'm workin on it! Stayed home sick from work today... tried to rest but the marq kept calling to me...

Gman... trying to stay true and "GO DEEP!" We'll see about the sawdust... I was out there today, "takin the medicine".

AA,Ben...thanks for the encouragement!

Freddie... I like that idea! I have been planning to put them on the wall on either side of the rack for the pool cues and balls, but hmmmm....

Rodeo... here's today's progress... should've been resting but couldn't keep away. I used the Arbortech min-grinder blade to make outline cuts, and then the Arbortech power chisel to move the wood. This log is really stringy!

Nice pieces in the works there, Dou...Cool design, too...there are a lot of those sorts of poles in the London Trader Vic's. And true dat-go deep. The deeper you can get those guide cuts the better. When you cut the features you'll find that the whole thing will take on a natural contour. I love things in pairs! Looks really regal to have a pair of tikis flanking a door!

DB,

Way to go! Now go get some rest so you can get back to carving tomorrow!

-Gman

Lookin good doubravsky, and those palm logs really do look stringy. What kind of palm is it? Make sure those arbortech chisels are sharp!. The ones I got had to be sharpened. They were polished and Looked sharp, but had a flat edge all the way across. That stringy log needs ultra sharp tools.
Did I hear you say you took the day off "Sick"?? Right, sick because you had no time to work on these 2 logs,, We Know (wink wink) Hopefully your boss doesn't frequent TC or you are in Trouble!!

Nice work in a short time Doubravsky...I just love that
Marq style....I did one as my first BIG tiki and wish I had
done a little better job...I'm sure I'll tackle another
one of these days. Yours is going to turn out great.

Bk, Gman... thanks! I thought about taking today off too, but it would be solely to get a day of carving in... so back to work I go. I'll try and get some in tonight.

Ben... you're right... the chisels are not very sharp. I sharpened the flat ones pretty well, but I use the rounded gouge a lot, and I'm afraid I'm not very good at sharpening yet. I spent some time last night working on them.... we'll see if I can tell a difference.

Conga thanks... I say go for another!

Maybe we could get a "hands on" sharpening lesson at Coontiki. Ben?...

I second that request, Ben!!!!

Here's today's update. Got much of the chiseling done on #1. My daughter says "it's me! that tiki looks like me!"

I think I need to do something between the bottom of the nose and the mouth..I spaced it out a little far between nose and mouth. I'm gonna try going deeper in in a "V" shape, and I'll probably add tattoing on the nose/ nostril area. Oh, and the desing on the top of the head, too.

Any other suggestions beforeI start cleaning it up?

Here's the weekend update... twin #1 is finished. I burned the dark spots, stained the rest with Minwax Golden Pecan, and one coat of lacquer.

Time to start twin #2!

Nice work. Great color.