swap piece update!!

what's next? well, i'm finishing up a suprise for a customer, so i don't want to post it. let me just say, bamboo is very hard to carve.

after that, i'm going to finish the jade hook.

hooks almost done. final sanding stages. mostly by hand on a sanding block. probably a couple more hours of drinking beer . . . er, rubbing my . . . er, sanding.

Hey pdrake!

Nice hook! How big is it, anyway?

Thanks

greg

thanks gap, it's 2 5/8" high. about a 1/4" thick.

Look at you bruddah... Good work! I wont even go near da kine stone! I patient, but not that patient!

A hui ho brah!

OK Pdrake!

C'mon mate. You can do it... Keep goin'... Nearly there.. Lookin good. (motivational coach)

Yep, grab a beer. This is the slow & tedious bit :lol:

Do we have you hooked on stone yet?

Tama :)

On 2006-12-19 21:52, pdrake wrote:
thanks gap, it's 2 5/8" high. about a 1/4" thick.

Very nice! Like TTT said - grab a beer! The sanding part sucks.

sand . . . sand . . . sand . . . sand . . . shit!

what now?

OOPS, SHit, Damn. Thats what I say too, That's Really a bitch. The pic is a bit fuzzy, but that Little fuzzy thing on the bottom looks like it goes somewhere else. Drop back, rearrange and re-design. But wait for the master ponamu teacher to arrive on the scene and evaluate the situation.
OOuchhh!

OOPS, SHit, Damn. Thats what I say too, That's Really a bitch. The pic is a bit fuzzy, but that Little fuzzy thing on the bottom looks like it goes somewhere else. Drop back, rearrange and re-design. But wait for the master ponamu teacher to arrive on the scene and evaluate the situation.
OOuchhh!

x-marq and broken hook. sniff.

this marq will be done by tonight.

i will accept all constructive critisizm. especially, what i should do with the broken hook? tama?

[ Edited by: pdrake 2006-12-24 13:44 ]

well, it's going to take more sanding than i thought. it will be done in the next day or so, though.

Perry, the Marq is looking great. Have a merry Christmas, hope you got lotsa toys..

here's some piece of koa i'm trying to hack a moai out of. meh . . .

PDrake, that is some Beautiful wood and the Moai looks Awesome, Nice job

Darn breaking tiki carvings. Can you make a shorter hook out of it? That Koa is beautiful wood, and you are doing a great job with it.

John

thanks johnny and ben. i have some more of the koa and also this piece . . . , from a burl. it's quite beautiful.

here's some new hooks i've started.

don't know what to do with the broken one.

Lots of breaks lately.. So sad.

I think the broken one could be fine with a little shaping.. I'd say clean up the broken end, notch it and wrap it.

thanks! i think i can still save the broken one. i found this piece on the interweb and think i can adapt the style to mr. no end (can't remember the name of the end of the hook.)

Hey pdrake. Happy new Year!

Sorry to see/hear of the breakages; damn! Id take the advice above & simply salvage what you can of the first one (if it werent shown here, no one would ever know...), matau/hooks come in all shapes & sizes.

I hope the same doesnt happen again; I can see a couple areas that are probably bordering on being a bit thin also, doh! My fingers are crossed for you. Be sure to learn from the experience(s?)

Love the 'flame'? in the koa Moai, Im assuming it has a shimmer/chatoyant effect?

Re: the 'end' of hook. Do you mean 'koru'/spiral? A very nice example.

Tama

thanks! yes! it is chatoyant! i couldn't remember the word. it has a tiger eye effect. it's hard to capture with my camera.

Yes, it hides but is BEautiful when you Do See it.
Looks like you found a great way to fix/save your broken hook. Perhaps the fellow who did that piece did it for the Same Reason. Thanks for the link to the Sinew I have some on the way.
Ditto what Tama said about the thin shanks of your new hooks. Looks like hey are begging for a fall to that one spot on your floor..Cover it quick!
The Koa is Beautiful!.

heh, yeah, i'm getting that a lot about that small one. it's for a female so i made it small. it's almost done and the thin part will be lashed.

the end part of the hook is called "the snood". no wonder i couldn't remember. i'm not going to drill a hole through the snood to lash it, just put in a groove on the back side.

here it is at the final polishing stages.

this one will be off the hook! har! it will have a jade inlay so i'm hoping for some advice on how to do that. thanks, i really, really appreciate it.

see . . . it's a marlin!!

almost done. gotta quit for the night. those tiny pieces make my eyes hurt.

A jade fin! Cool idea, very creative. This would be a great one to wear on a fishing expedition!

Tama :)

PD, is that a Dime off to the left? even if it's a quarter, the piece is mighty small and looks nice. I would work on getting the lines more "Fair" or straight and continuous. The green of the Jade works Well with the bone color too. Is the jade piece a leftover you didn't want to throw away? Nice use for it if it was.

thanks ben, it's a quarter.

yeah, i'm trying to keep the lines straighter. it seems tough with the smaller pieces in the tight spots. that hook is a piece of padouk. it has a tight a grain, but can get soft in places. it's also pretty dry and brittle. it might not be the best choice for this piece. i might start over with something else. i have other ideas for the jade chips i have sitting around.

Wow, I thought that was a piece of bone. One trick on those long straight/curved lines is to use the Biggest diameter bur you have The smaller the bur, the more dips and lumps. Still, Looking really great!

yeah, i hate to use this term, but i need new tools. it's been tough lately. i hope i sell some stuff to buy tools to make better stuff.

here's one i'm working on tonight. i like it better that the padouk. it's a little beefier and will have 2 jade inlays.

man, i forgot what a joy walnut is to carve. like butter.

little more sanding . . .

On 2007-01-04 22:04, pdrake wrote:
see . . . it's a marlin!!

This is a really neat piece!

thanks, jp. i'm not too happy with it. i might rework it.

here's the walnut hook polished with 2000 grit. now on to the inlays.

this piece is already taken, but i have more in the works. i'm really excited about my new stuff.

It looks so pretty now all polished up, can't wait to see the inlays... The wood is really beautiful.

Tikisgrl

Nice one PDRAKE, You have those lines about as perfect as can be, Well done. I received some of that sinew fron Paipos source today and did a half a cord and it is really Nice. Looks like the real deal Thanks big time, I Mean BIG TIME!
:)

first inlay .. . almost done.

well, the first inlay is set. i'm working on the second attempt at the other one. trying to get it snug up against the wood. will post pics when i'm succesful.

here's a new hei matau with a whale tail on the end.

mahalo!!

Nice, Perry! The inlays are going to bring that piece up to a very classy level.

Make some hooks using ZBrush! :)

hahahaha. i haven't had time to touch it in a few weeks. i got it and had some fun for awhile and downloaded some tutorials. then work got in the way. i think i could make some cool stuff with zballs.

here's the latest on the whale tail hook. i hope this still qualifies as tiki.

man all your work looks great. love it.
that tail on there is awsome. so uniquie!
great stuff

thanks, duddy. that's very nice of you. i'm glad you're sticking around. sometimes it gets hard for younger people. you're doing great.

Definitely getting those curves down nice and tight. I Like this direction perry!

how can i make these better? when viewed under the magnifier i carve with there are bumps and pits. do i need better tools? what am i doing wrong? help me ben kanobi, you're my only hope.

this isn't wet, by the way. it's just that shiny. i wish it looked that good up close.

mahalo

oh, that's a dime behind it.

[ Edited by: pdrake 2007-01-12 00:24 ]

These guys are looking great Pdrake. The only way I see to make them better is #1, Make More of them, #2, Accentuate that center raised line and make sure your lines are continuous without being "Lumpy" looking, and #3, Make More of them!

picked up some new jade. this is wyoming almost 1/2" thick.

it's pretty sweet looking. i hope it carves nice.

On 2007-01-12 00:20, pdrake wrote:
how can i make these better? when viewed under the magnifier i carve with there are bumps and pits. do i need better tools? what am i doing wrong? help me ben kanobi, you're my only hope.

Young Jade-Jedi: Be mindful of your tools...

Im guessing that you are still doing most/all of your shaping with your handpiece?.. If so this will probably be where/why you are having trouble getting an even surface. Using small burrs to achieve 'large' surfaces/shaping is a tall order for anyone. You really need to set yourself up a diamond grinding wheel ('periperal' or flat). The much larger surface area & the action of holding the stone against the wheel (as opposed to scrubbing the burrs against the stone) gives far greater cutting power & a broader cutting-'stroke', making smoother surfaces. Does this make sence?

Despite the ripple, your polish looks great. A fairly high polish? Did you buff with tin-oxide?

The new slab looks nice too. I think working on something thicker might just be what the doctor ordered for you... My advice; plan something 'Epic' for it. I believe a big/impressive carving (that wont break on you) is a good learning project for a beginner & is a cool/substantial/satisfying thing to keep for the future.

"May the Quartz be with You..." T3-PO :lol: