Lake Tiki - 8/23/2013 - Red Cedar

'nother haul this morning and an afternoon of debarking and prepping.

Some big things coming soon

awesome work lakesurfer all those logs should keep you out of trouble. keep up the good work

Thanks Marcus!

Took some hacks at the personal project today...

This goes on the back burner for a while because the downpayment on a massive order just arrived today...

Going to be very busy for the next two weeks :)

"personal" meaning your keeping one?

Cool start! Biggun too.

Lake...congrats on the big order that you will be working on...hope you're gonna show us some
pics of what you're up to.....looks like an interesting start on the "personal tiki" too....
we'll be watching!

Well, its snowing today.

Yep. May 12th and its snowing. 40 degrees.

Look at the nationwide radar. See that green blob over the Great Lakes?
Its not going anywhere soon.
Rain forecast all weekend and all next week. :x

Carving continues indoors in a less than tropical setting, but with the help of TC bands The Haole Cats and The Intoxicators I'm in a tropical mood as work continues on a huge order. And since you asked Conga, here's a peek...

McTiki... plans are to keep the big one, though I know the wife will ask what we need another tiki for as I've kept some of my best already.
I plan on taking it to a few places that I am vending at this summer and fall as a "show off piece." If someone makes an offer, it may go to a new home.

Back to work...

[ Edited by: Lake Surfer 2006-05-12 09:41 ]

Man, you always seem to win the log lottery up there..Nice work, Lake, as usual.

Thanx BK... if you were only a state away I'd give you half of what I hauled just to see what you'd do with it :)

Rough carve is done on the 5 footer... hope to sand sometime next week... if it ever stops raining...
Knocked him out in 6 hours over 2 days. Whew.

I am glad you are posting more often lately. I hope to see a lot of progress pictures on your new order. They are fun to watch.

6 hours of work on the big tiki, and all by hand, no power. Wow. I was wondering how long that would take.

That Weather Channel big green blob over you is also over us and is putting quite the damper on carving time here this weekend. Spring in the mid-west.

JP

I love the biggies..woooo yeah.
Do you get a sap problem when you dig into your pine? Our pines out here on Cape Cod are WAY sappy. They sat all winter indoors, I cut into 'em 2 weeks ago, and they're still bleeding sap non-stop. The wood still wet too.

Lake,

Sweet tiki!
It is always so satisfying making the big boys.
By the looks of the log when it had the bark on it, it must have been quite a bugger stripping it.
Using only hand tools probably keeps your neighbors from getting their panties in a bunch.
I had to move my operation to keep mine from acting all passive aggressively towards me.
Hopefully you got some waves over the weekend and it wasn't too stormy.

Keep up the good work,
Will

Thanks Will! I only have disagreements with the one neighbor... mainly when I'm sanding logs with the angle grinder.

I'm running ahead of schedule on the big order... 7 straight days of rain here have kept me focused.

I rewarded myself today by hacking away at this big 'ol fellow... couldn't stop thinking of it.
The kunckles are are little tore up from carving out the mouth, but it's pretty cool doing it all by hand.

I'm really enjoying this guy... but Tuesday it is back to paying the bills!

[ Edited by: Lake Surfer 2006-05-15 23:42 ]

On 2006-05-13 14:30, surfintiki wrote:
I love the biggies..woooo yeah.
Do you get a sap problem when you dig into your pine? Our pines out here on Cape Cod are WAY sappy. They sat all winter indoors, I cut into 'em 2 weeks ago, and they're still bleeding sap non-stop. The wood still wet too.

Thanks surfin! Sap problems for me depend on the pine I get. The white and yellow has been pretty sap free lately. I've gotten spruce in the past that was pretty sticky.

The logs I'm carving now... especially the big one are a little wet. I like 'em that way though 'cause they are a bit easier to carve through and don't chip as much as dry wood. Problem is they are going to crack and check as they dry out... some not so much some a lot. I deal with it.

Lake,

The big guy is looking great. I love the chin! I bet that mouth was a knuckle-buster. Ouch! I can also see where fresh pine could give you a sap problem. This piece is gonna loose a lot of weight quick now that the bark is off. At least it's rainy up there so the humidity should be high? I've been wrapping my carvings in layers of blankets/towels and storing them face down when I'm not working on them. It's very dry down here right now. I keep them in the AC-house now as the garage gets to like 100+ and cracks 'em up bad. Wrapping them up and keeping them cool has really lessened the cracking. The humidity is less in the AC, but I think the heat kills them faster. Maybe give it a try on this guy since you are gonna keep him and make him extra special. If it works for you, it's worth the effort. Good luck with this guy and have fun!

-Gman

Wow, Lake, This guy is starting out Great. I Love the mouth full of Teeth. Those teeth are Very Respectable and Well done!.
GMAN has a point about covering your carving when not working on it. The old man that helped me learn about chisels started me doing it too. Covering the piece with towels to slow the drying process, Excellent words GMAN!!
LAke, we need Lots of progress shots of this guy if you can.

Thanks Ben and Gman!

Ben, I'm going to give the wrap a try... hopefully keep the cracking down on this bugger.

Man Gman... 100+? I wish! Todays struggle to get out of the mid 50's here in the frozen Midwest has me indoors again. No warmth in sight.
We need summer.

Back to work...

Just can't seem to get away from this guy... that'll make you happy Ben... more updates and pics...

Friggin sun came out this afternoon!! No rain! Had to get outside for some pictures instead of that cave-like studio.

Hard part is over... I've got one half of the face carved out... the other half should be a breeze.

Keep arms and legs away from this guy!

Time for a beer... :)

it's looking GREAT!! keep us updated with pics as you keep working on him. i'm sure he's gonna turn out great. keep it up!!

Best one yet, lake! this guy is awesome and has a nice little 'tude going too. He'll definatley bring people over to your table at the shows. Expect a lot of people to take their pictures next to this one - I know I would. Carvin out the mouth by hand like that is my favorite part of carvin. A great way to take out the stress and aggressions of the day. wack ! wack! wack!

Have fun in the sun

YES, Ben Does Love the extra pic's and work. He is really coming on strong. I can see you are fired up with this guy and it shows. EXCELLENT Work Lake!

He is coming along great. Thanks for sharing more progress pics. Nice to see some sunshine coming this way. We are still in rain.
JP

Very nice. It's going to be a great one.

tiki 5-0, thanks! I'll do my best with progress pics.

Polynesiac, taking out agressions is right. What I love most about the big logs... you can slam away on them removing a ton of material and not have to worrry about breaking stuff off.
Slowing down a bit on the face detail but still nice to work with a big log.

Thanks Ben... I'm super stoked on this guy and can really feel it coming together... channeling the ancients again...

Johnny... thanks... you should get that good 'ol sunshine on Wednesday... man it felt good Tuesday!

Tahitiki... thanks for the support... I'm enjoying the process on this one and may be just a little sad when it is all finished... but there will be a really nice piece to admire long after.

Hey Lake,
Excellent work I must say. Just checked out all the pages of this topic and I'm blown away. Your carvings are deep and detailed...inspiring!

You sure hit the jackpot on the logs. I need to scour the streets and alleys of Venice to score some palm wood. I will keep my ears honed for chainsaw noise. Wish me luck!

Beachnik

Great work so far - nice size log too - it is going into winter over here so the days are shorter which means I have less time in the day to carve - bummer cause I have a few I need to get out. This time of year I turn to the canvas and brushes when I am forced indoors. Lucky for me I live on a big block of land and only have one crappy neighbour - I make it a habit to clean up my logs with the chainsaw when she is home! It drowns out her yellin hehehe....

nice work on this one LakeS.....and did you have rain for the last frikkin week too?
Really like where you are going with this carving...fun to watch the progress. Keep posting
so I can pick up some "body" tips!

haha, your pics are so funny. he looks great so far.

Man thats sweet. You need a sign saying " please dont feed the tiki" hanging around his neck. Hope the weather stays good for you so you can get outside and finish him soon.

bump.....last update was a you with your arm in his mouth, did he finish you off?

Hey rodeo... thanks for asking. I haven't been around here much as things are hopping... just finished a huge order over the last 2 weeks and now I'm onto a 5 foot pole for a local tiki bar. I did have a chance to do some more work on the big guy... full face and some sanding... he's was out in the sun drying a little the other day.

I don't mind not being able to work on this one constantly... I like savoring it in little bits... something to look forward to after the carving that pays the bills.

Thanks again... you're doing some great work yourself... keep it up... good to see your work in a retail environment... congrats!

Beachnik, Marcus, Conga and pdrake... thanks for the compliments! I'm gonna keep on keepin on...

[ Edited by: Lake Surfer 2006-06-01 01:12 ]

Lake,

Very nice! Whttacha got going on with the body on this guy? It looks like you are setting up to do some work there...do tell....

Congrats on the big order. Money is great, isn't it?

-Gman

I'm gonna have to say that's hot...Looks like a period Milan Guanko..

Definitely lookin Sweet!

Great job on the eyes, and all the ridges above the eyes. Lookin good.

Big Mahalos guys... Damn BK, those is big shoes to fill...

I'm fighting back the urge to crank this one out... love watching it progress and I do a little carving then a little sanding... take a step back and it comes alive more and more.

Fun stuff.

On 2006-06-01 04:42, GMAN wrote:
Lake,

Very nice! Whttacha got going on with the body on this guy? It looks like you are setting up to do some work there...do tell....

Congrats on the big order. Money is great, isn't it?

-Gman

Still looking at it. Have a little something sketched on but it always looks different when you cut into it. We'll see.

Since this one will travel with me to some shows I am building a base for it to stand steady wherever I go... that'll be the last thing done to it.

I started on a new order Friday night for the local tiki bar, Foundation. The bar manager and I were were having a Mai Tai last Tuesday night and he was trying to figure out where he could put another tiki. He decided they needed one on the corner of the dj booth and I decided that a Trader Vic's OA inspired pole would go great there. 7 hours of carving later, we have this nice 4 foot pole just about complete. Monday it gets a stain and poly. Wednesday it gets delivered and hopefully soon after I will have pictures of it installed.

Time now to put the chisel to wood and get my work finished up for the DvA Gallery Tiki Gala!

Cool picture posts Lake Surfer!

I always liked these poles, and you do them very good justice. Congrats on the sale!
JP

Lake your stuff just Keeps on getting Better and this is no exception. Excellent work.

hey man its looking real good. keep it comming im looking forward to seeing it in the end.
some pro work there.

I'd be Jonezin to get back to carving on that big one! Nice Nice work Lake!

Bete, Johnny, Ben and Tiki Duddy... thanks much for your compliments!

McTiki... jonezin is right, but it is on hold for some other projects that have come in... but I'll return to him soon enough.

Delivery day for the Marq Pole... here's a shot of it basking in today's sun... he's got his new coat of poly on and some rope...

Excellent looking Pole Lake. Glad to see you keeping everyone up north on their toes. Did I hear you say you are going to Hukilau again this year??

Looks so cool Lake Surfer!

that turned out great!! keep 'em coming!

Lake, those last two pieces look great! I've always liked Marqs to begin with, and the ropes help make the features stand out. Can't wait to see how the other one turns out, the detail is looking fine. Hasn't it been nice to carve outside the last couple of weeks? :wink:

Ben... thanks so much... and hell ya... we're coming to Hukilau! I've got some great stuff cooking up here and have big plans for the new stuff I'm packing the van with.
It is a long drive but it ends at the beach... what could be better!

Bete... thanks again! You'll be seeing more of my work at Tiki Terrace in the near future as Scott has me on alert. :)

tiki 5-0 thanks... no plans on stopping soon... there'll be more.

Finkdaddy... much thanks. I'm partial to the Marqs too... simple yet complex and they look great stacked. The rope was in the back of my mind... if it worked into the piece I was going to do it... towards the end it looked like it would work so I decided to go ahead with it. I like the result.

I installed it Wednesday at Foundation, which becomes more and more tiki every day. Already got another order for two masks that will go on walls in the back of the bar. Foundation has become a great tiki bar and is the home to Milwaukee's Best Mai Tai!

Pictures Friday!