Benzart 's, Last, most recent thread

That Jade piece is real gem. You took to rock in a hurry, as if we had any doubt.
JP

Wow! Nice! a jade carving by Benz! You have such an impressive body of work in wood and now you are taking on stone and tiki knows what else.

SWEET!

ST

Thanks Hewey, I am Really happy with how it is working.
TJ, Thanks, yeah this last one Is a bit green And a bit Harder too. I have pix of all the "25 cents" guyz too.
The Curly guy is lookin at me from across the garage
Bete, thanks, yes it is Jade and I don't think this one will have the wood, Not sure yet
Thanks teaKEY, First on the Boner list? OK.you got it.
JP, Thanks, but nothing is finished yet. Who knows, this may be the second in my box of 80 needing to be finished like some other Jade carver We know.
Sneaky, thanks for the kind words..
Here are the last 3 lessons I have done alongside a coupla bookends given to me by someone at this carving club I belong to

And here are all the Lesson pieces

pumpin em out man! Sure you haven't got some Asian sweat-factory setup behind the woodshed? :)

it's great to see all those lessons together. i'm sure the seminar will be a huge hit. i'm really happy you're feeling good enough to be doing all this carving. can't wait to see curly. i guess you can add me to the boner list. :D

Hewey, Yeah, Now That Would be nice to have a shed full of those guys doing all my carving for me for almost Free. Meanwhile I'll have to keep pumpin'em out myself. Thanks
Thanks to Kingsey here too, yeah, they look nice all lined up in rows and ready to go. The Boner List? What izzat, Tha Prezuming I am going to be carving bone List???
After doing the last lesson, I worked on the Lono all day long, and I Forgot to Post his Pictures. Any thoughts on the Book-ends I got for free??
Here is the green Lono:

You thought I forgot didn't you

[ Edited by: Benzart 2006-10-20 18:57 ]

I bet they would make a beautiful chess set..they are adorable, lucky westerners !!

On 2006-10-20 18:46, Benzart wrote:
The Boner List? What izzat, Tha Prezuming I am going to be carving bone List???

yep, now that you're branching out to jade, bone must be next! i dig your bookends. the tounges look really cool with the fold in the middle. the headress on the jade lono came out great, and the wood lono's headress is gonna be awesome. it sure looks like you haven't forgotten how to carve wood. :) great work ben!

which one is mine?

The green fella's looking great Ben! Sing out if you need any advice, though it doesnt look as though you need it yet!!

Looks as though we've swapped 'codes' Benz; come over to my place & Ill teach you a bit about woodcarving, you can show me how to do jade... hahaha :) TTT

Mate the bookends came in at a great price!

The jade looks good, but that last pic, looks a little brown or something, I dunno...

:)

Oh, Man, those carving lesson pieces look so great! That jade piece looks so cool, just awesome! Oh, I think I detect seeing a mohogany Lono that has been been hiding. I am thinking that one is going to be a masterpiece when it's done, he's been peeking in and out of the forums for quite awhile now, hmmm wonder what he's thinking?

[ Edited by: Bete 2006-10-21 12:16 ]

Is that jade piece going to be a pendant? Or stand on it's own?

Damn Benz! I wanted you to feel better, but not this good! Jeeze! Wow, the jade Lono is killer! I can't wait to see him all sanded and oiled. How are you gonna suspend him?

-Gman

Yeahhhh, Benzart is back to the big stuff. Although you did a kick ass job on the jade lono piece.

JP

Oh boy oh boy oh boy! Ben's doing another big one. Another carving lesson coming to life right
before our eyes. Hmmmmm, I wonder where I am on that list.

Thanks IsleConch, its those SoCali's, they get everything. If you want to see a CHESS Set, look up the one done by Crazy Al, then know why I don't need to do one.

Kingsey, Thanks. The bookends look to be from NZ and look fairly old, don't know anything about them. Benzart carving Bone? Don't think it is gonna happen! Wood is enough and adding Stone is a stretch. Thanks on the lono, I knock a few chips off him every week so he won't feel forgotten.

I don't know Pdrake, they won't be given/selected/assigned/claimed or anything until everyone sees them all then I'm not sure How we proceed from there. Thanks.

Tama, I don't think I can show you Anything about carving Jade except for Not how to do a few things.(see ya in the Stoners Q&A forum) Yet from the looks of your Giant Hei-Tiki, I think you WILL be showing me a few things. Thanks for the kind words.

Thanks Hewey, Yeah, free is a great price for those.I tried to pay the doner the $1.00 he bought them for but he would not take it! Yeah, that last pic is too brown to be jade and Way much too big. I think 4 ft. I guess he must be mahogany jade.

Bete thanks on the Green piece and the Lono too. Yes he thinks he is going to be a masterpiece too and is taking his time.
Here are a few pix of the green Lono after working a bit today.






Tama, you can see all the corners I've backed myself into, HELP? I poked a hole thru his headdress so he can be worn as a pendant.

Pretty cool Ben - I really like the green lono. What corners have you backed into - I certainly don't see 'em. I'm happy to hear that you're feelin' better, too. Very nice work as usual.

Thanks TGap, Al the little corners in the headdress and everywhere else. It was all roughed out with 100 mesh diamond which is similar to a chainsaw on a log. Now I have to smoothe it down and refine it so you don't see any scratches.

Hey Benz. The only way you would find yourself 'backed into a corner' is if you were going to try and sand it by mechanical means; (most jade carvers wrap sandpaper around drums that are spun, a 'production' method...). Anything of any complexity is better dealt to by hand. Fold small squares of wet n dry/carborundum paper in half, & half again, and this gives enough stiffness to work into corners...

Cleanup is best started with 'diamond cloth' but isnt a necessity. Once you are happy with shape & smoothness, I would go with wet/dry, 240, 400, 6/800 & then see how it looks.

This particular stonetype can end up with an unsightly 'micro-ripple' (my term, usually referred to as 'orange peel') IF OVERWORKED with sandpaper. Less is more, just a few scrubs (with water), but trying to reach all areas.

Im right beside you Ben, you doing great!!! Tama

Man, Ben, I know how much you like to hand-sand. This should be fun! You should be able to get through it in no time. If you sand on it a little today, show us how it looks. I'm interested to see how the headdress sands up.

-Gman

Thanks Gman but I doubt I'll be able to do anything today, maybe tomorrow.

That Lono is looking Sweet! (Also looks like a pain in the behind to finish/detail..) That's a great carve.

I dig the Ku lesson piece too, BTW. The attendees to the West coast session will be happy x3!!

Thanks for the backing Tama, I appreciate that. and you're right ofcourse, the hand sanding is the way to go, I have Wet/dry up to 2000 grit. Unless I find a power way to do it first. Thanks for the warning on the orange peel, I'll be careful.

Thanks Skully, the detail in Jade is a Lot different than doing it in wood. Much repetetive going over and over the same area with each grit until it ais smoothe. Tomorrow...

Ben, that jade lono is so sweet looking, I like how the light hits all of the little cut-out parts in the headress, very, very cool. I see the hole at the top to thread string through too, so now I see that it is going to be a pendant, awesome.

Jade Lono = Teh Bomb! Beautiful!

Mahalo

McTiki

Thanks Bete and McTiki, Much appreciated.
Heres a lesson I did today, the one on the right. The left one was from yesterday.

I did a little cleanup on the Jade Lono too.



As you can see he still needs a lot of sanding and a few Notches in his headdress support.

Ben, those two lessons look really nice, and that jade Lono just rocks, it's very cool!

Awesome, just freaking awesome. The lessons and the jade are out of this world. Crazy stuff from BeZart! Woods and rocks, rocks and woods!

I'm green with envy now. Looks fantastic.

JP

BenZ.. that green piece needs to be at the smithsonian...EXCELLENT !!

man, you must be feeling great, cuz those lessons are fantastic! also, green lono is looking so good. i dig the light colored jade at the top of the headress. adds a nice touch of a different color to a great piece.

Didja get the new burrs yet?......

Thanks Bete, I think you are Predigest for some reason but Thanks

GMAN, What Am I gonna do with you. Always lookin out for me, tryin to ke me from goin Crazy, like a big Brother, Thanx man, I appreciate that.

JP,, go ahead and be greeen with envy, soon you'll be green with Jade Dust. PM me your address and I will get you a piece to play with.Thanks..

IsleConch. Smithsonian? yeah, they need a good laff. Thanks anyway.

Bullet, Thanks, Yes I'm feeling great :the Lessons ARE DONE! Whew, that was a long hard road. Now I get to do some stuff I really want. Though I have enjoyed every lesson in a different way, I'm Glad they are done. I do have to do a few more but for other reasons. Thanks.

Gman, no burs yet, they will arrive day after tomorrow when I am on the left coast semanaring with thos wild and wikkid tiki guyz out there. When I get back home they will be here ready and Waiting for me, Unless you wanna come on over and finish the Lono for me?? ??

We are all packed and ready to Go. We leave home tomorrow at 7AM and spend about 5 dayz on an airplane it will seem. I'll be back Monday nite but will be checking up on you guys while I'm there and posting some pix. Have fuun ..

Well, the headresses on your Lono pieces are always just so totally cool, so yes, I guess I am biased into liking those A LOT!

Benzo...your jade fellow is looking tight...be proud and have fun on the left coast. Dont give em all your secrets though, save a few for the next South Fl Tiki Jam....

hey benz,
haven't dropped in for a while and boy it took me a while to catch up on all your work!!! astounding as usual! the greenstone is amazing, and it must be nice for you to try someting different.
i'll try and keep up more regularly from now on!
harro

Thanks Bete, You are allowed to be as biased as you want, Thanks.
Loki Thanks, I'm having tons of fun out here and no, I won't give up all my secrets, Got some saved for us right coast guyz!
Harro, Thanks ans Welcome Back, see what happenz, you get too far behind! Glad you like the new green stuff, I'm really loving working it. Thanks again.

Mr. Benzo.........

How was OA ???

How was the coastal drive???

How was the traffic????

How was the sunset???

Hey "Other" Ben,
OA was Fantastic, sat down with Bob and Leroy for along time and went thru the work-shop and whole wherehouse. Got Totally worn out, so the coastal drive didn't happed, left OA too late as usual. All their workers were gone when we finally left. Fantastic trip.
How can you beat seeing Holden at Tiki Farm in the morning, Bamboo Ben("Other Ben")at noon and OA all afternoon topped off with SO Cal traffic for 90 miles.
FANTASTIC
Thanks Holden
Thanks Ben
Thanks Bob and Leroy

Well I'm back at home now and Almost rested up. Maybe tomorrow I can start to work on some stuff. Not sure what it will be but I Still have to do a few lessons only I have to carve both sides but I may break down and work on some jade(hehee). More to come and What will tomorrow bring??

Here is what I did today:

That jade piece really is just so awesome.

Gee, thanks for ruining it for us stone guys by making it look so easy! Why am I not surprised these turned out so well?
Is the Lono totally finished - looks like it but I can't tell for sure. How about some nice macro shots of the details?

Thanks Bete, I'm very Happy with it.
Paipo, Thanks, that means a lot coming from you. I would LIKE to think it is finished, but if I take Macro's of it, I'm afraid of what I will see. I will shoot some tonight. Thanks again

Wow Ben, these are beautiful! I love the details in the first one, especially the swirls, always my favorite! The lono is absolutely amazing. I felt so lucky to actually hold this piece, and see how beautiful it is in real life. I can't believe how much more you've done on it just since last weekend! You must be having insomnia like Buzzy. :)

all bow to the master benzart! :tiki:

You just tossed that out in a hurry, and perfect. The lono just gets better and better. Which is easier the jade or the beach stone?