Benzart 's, Last, most recent thread

Thanks Digger, I Promise I will be good!

Thanks too, 8Ft, Get your sandpaper out. we're gonna sharpen some chisels.

PDrake, Thanks, Nice to hear how you feel now and then. Come on Out!
The camera is a Nikon D-50 with the cheap kit zoom lens. Good old Nikon Optics, among the best in the world. Thanks Perry.

Hopefully I will be posting updates more regularly.

Glad to have you back Ben - and not just for this FANTASTIC update!!! Mate, you're spoiling me...

The lips! The nose! The EARS!! Arrrgh... He's going to be so cool I just know it. What else?; That profile!
I only just put my finger on another glaring-yet-deceptively subtle Benz-bit; the smooth round head! How do you get away with adding so much Benzness & yet retain such Moainess - I just dont get it?! but love it. Just keep doing whatever it is you do...

Thank you, thank you, thank you. Bless you.

TamaTheThrilled! :) :) :)

Raise the bar why don't you
Regards
Flynny

Benz is back (happy happy happy) :) :) :)

Did you get my PM?

Benjamin.

Hey Benzart, I must say it again you are my carving master. Your work is so clean and accurately.
Hats off! I´m always happy and powered when I´m watching your thread. The moai is beautiful!
Have you ever carved a marquesan Tiki? I have seen your Hawaiian, Easter Island and Maori once,
but it would be interesting for me to see how you work out for example a marquesan style.

Greetings and Mahalo, Haikai

"How do you get away with adding so much Benzness & yet retain such Moainess" - says Tama...

There is so much Benziness in each piece he makes. It's like crack for tiki carvers. He dishes it out free and in bulk at first, and then when you are really hooked he draws you in and has you searching for more Benziness in the sawdust on his floor.

Hello, my name is Greg, and I'm a Benz-head.

Looking nice!

DIG!

Ben,
At least the lungs tend to clean themselves over time.
There is no good way to fight the dust. It means discomfort, or expense and noise. There are dust collectors, but they are meant for connecting to planers and other large tools. Depending on your sander, it would be a good thing. If you use a table top sander belt station or disk, a dust collector attached you turn on and off woudl really help.
Delta also makes an ambient dust collector. You mount it to the ceiling in your work room and it just cleans the air. But, that is an expense and they are rather loud. Not horrible though. Won't kill your ears like a regualr dust collector. More like a loud window AC unit.
Anything kiln dried is a huge danger in the lungs. But all the dry dust is not good period. Ventilation will help, but that's common sense. Common sense yes, but we all are slackers about these things.
If you were driving to Coon Tiki next time, I could send you home with a good deal on that Delta dust collector.
I just spent the weekend sanding floors. I wore a mask the whole time. WHen it started to feel stuffy and hard to breate, I knew it was time to change masks or filters on the respirator. You just have to get over how bad your own breath stinks!

Hey Ben (ans Swanky):

I'm just now getting over pneumonia (a whole story in itself - but after a spell in the hospital, I'm getting better - man does this crap hurt).

The docs asked if anything changed in my environment to cause this, and I realized YES, I'm sanding a lot more. Even with my cheezy dust collection system in place, I was still breathing very minute particles of dust thru a cheap mask, that were being passed thru my shop vac's filter. Shop vacs are not sufficient. I'm also researching DCS (Dust collection systems) and I'm gonna spend some bucks on one - maybe lots of bucks, but not until after I redesign my shop (The pig slot gong is on the back burner for a while - as is any wood work). I'll let you know what I find out. This should go in the safety thread I guess.

Dust=bad bad bad

gap

[ Edited by: tikigap 2007-02-23 09:40 ]

Thanks for being safe. Nice to see your carvings again.

JP

On 2006-08-03 06:14, Benzart wrote:
Tiki5-0, thanks, You Better get busy, we're waiting for you to post your next masterpiece!!
Thanks Paipo, it was a bit difficult getting the eyes to match up, but one of the hard things was to find 2 pieces of shell that had similar patterns. There are very few matches like this. Thanks.
Kahaka, Long time no see! Thanks for the comps. I think it was as much Luck as anything matching the eyes.
JP, Thanks, It is Nice to do a little tiki, I have So Many to do...
AS, Thanks from the Pen Master, thats a great comp. Yes I miss carving small too, there is something more intimate about it, looking under magnifiers and all. Plus, I get to Sit down while I work and that means a lot to these old bones.

Here is an update on the new digs for # 11 sitting on Hiltiki's bar.Thanks to Zaya and Buzzy for visiting him in Hiltiki's bar.



(Hanford This is SOO Much easier,,Thanks again)

..and it's right next to my luau lantern!! thanks!!

WOW, I am Really Pissed. I spent at leastthe last 45 minutes posting a reply to everyone in my thread and was down to the last line and getting ready to upload a few pic's and the Firefox disappeared and a Firefox update page came up announcing they were performing an update. The update finished in about 5 seconds and all I had left was the Windows desktop.. Very Very Unhappy. I thought only Microsoft did stuff like that.)&&%$##!+%#^(@&*+_((+&*SW5r 54wu9 )Thanks I Needed that.

Tama "the Thrilled" Thanks for all the kind words. Benzness ? Thats a new one, Thanks again. I Think it is the Moai itself that is SO Recoganizable no matter How you butcher it up. Gather all the pictures of All the Moai you can find by different artists and even amoung the good bad and the ugly, they willAll be recognized as a Moai, so NO Magic here, just blind luck. Of course the Ancients always have their way with me and my tools so no telling How any given piece is going to turn out until the very end.However, Thanks. :) :):)

Flynny, Raise the bar, Not me, again it must be those ghostly guys, the Ancients. And I'm not makin' it up either. I'm sure ALL of you have been visited by them weather you knew it or not. Ask "LittleLost Tiki" He has seen them and even has pictures:

Thats Probably MY Blood from yesterday, I KNEW it was them.
Thanx Flynny

Hey Benny(hahaha)Very Glad to be back. Nope, didn't get no PM or mail yesterday from you. Check the "View sent messages to see who you sent MY PM to;)

Haikai, Thanks for your Super kind words. No I haven't tried to carve a full Marq, I guess It's about time. Do you have any pix with good traditional detail???? Thanks again:):)

GMANTheres another new word, that "benziness", where do you guyz find these things. Again I will blame the Ancients, they Love having a fun time at mine and other artists expense. I guess they are teaching in their own way but it shre is strange, Ask the LittleLost Tiki, He knows. Thanks GMAN, There IS Help available for the asking you know. I'm a Benz head too I guess.

Thanks Bete, Sometimes all it takes is 2 words to make someone really happy, Thanks!

Jungle Trader, Digger, And then Sometimes all one needs is ONE word to make another being happy. Thanks.
HappyHappyhappy

Swank.
Yes, we are fortunate that our body repairs itself so much. ofcourse it all builds up and later in life(around the 60's) it comes back to haunt you. I DO have a delta Portable dust collector that I MUST start using

It really works well, almost Too well. When I first got it, it ate, chewed up a pendant Almost complete. No salvagable. After that I fitted a heavy screen across his mouth to prevent that form happening again. I will check yours out for sure because a more permanennt one would get used More often, Thanks.

TGap, SO SAD to hear yopu had pneumonia. Thats Not good at all, How did you get it? Tell me your story later when you feel up to it. I am So happy to hear you are getting better, that must have been pretty scary eh?? Well we Don't want ANY More of that so it's Mask and DC for you too and actually for ALL of us.. Se it's Not just the fne dust. Whe you use sandpaper, all the grit(SILICA) comes off with the dust and THAT stuff is worse than Anything. You get silicatosis or something like that. I mean dust is deadly, don't get me wrong.
Greg, you take your time and get back when you can, just know we care and are glad you are here to tell the story.

JP, Thanks, Glad to be back, but Mr Moai says he don't Need no Stinkin mask, He IS Dust, he Does want Me to wear one though. Thanks again JP.

Tipsy, Thanks for that update and thanks for the pic of your Luau Lantern he is one tough lookin Moai, I Like him. Where is he available. cool.

Thanks again for all the well wishes and kind words. I couldn't carve today because u=it was the House's turn. For those of you who have visited my home, you Had to notice the "retro" looking Cement floor in my Office. Previously I had installed Laminate floors through the house but got to My room and had to quit. Well that was a couple years ago and a few weeks age we decided it was time to fix it. I managed to stretch a 2 day job into 3 weeks and today I finished the floor and trim. Now just a couple more little additions and I can move my desk back into my office where it belongs.
Here is the floor:

benz it is so great to have you back and alright. im really looking forward to some new progress shots. man that really sucks about that firefox thing there. computers these days!
see you around

Thanks for the concern Ben...I'm much better now, thanks. Almost 100% today.

The office floor is a great improvement! I almost asked about that last time I saw it, but didn't say anything :wink:

Well the Office is done but sone decorations. Have grass coming for the box over the windo, a few pix to hang and shelves to install but the computer is up and running.
There is a shelf over the window that will hold mugs. I have too many on iy=t right now since it is the only shelf in the room. Here are a few pix.





Tomorrow , the Shop.

Nice office space Ben, but it throws into doubt my own vision of Benzart...hunched over
an old computer in a corner of your garage...wearing your Nawger Nob hillbilly hat...
partially carved tikis leaning everywhere...pecking out words of encouragement to all of
us chizzers.
No....I don't believe it...is that the computer desk in Finkdaddy's new house?

No Conga, I'm Afraid it's Mine, though Finky's will be very near me very soon. His new house is about10 blocks from my house. Guess who will be hangin 'round Benzarts shop soon?

Very nice office Benzo.
I sent you a PM on the 16th of february (i verified) :lol:

Benny

What???? Finished, but NO Octopus? I won't believe such talk.

Thanks Benny, It IS nice to have a floor again.
I stand corrected, I Did receive your PM, sorry!! Just replied.

GMAN, Octopii?? Where? Oh That guy, he's included in that "Well the Office is done but some decorations. Have grass coming for the box over the window, a few pix to hang and shelves to install but the computer is up and running. " so he will be hung sometime this week when I decide Where to put him. Thanks GMANG

Nice office, I wish I had room like that, nice.

I'm glad you put a desk in there, it looks nicer than our lounge, and bigger too.
Must be a UK thing what with us bieng on a tiny island, in tiny houses with tiny gardens etc, etc,
I'ts probably why I'm only 5' 5" with my high heels on.
Glad your getting everything sorted.
Regards
Flynny

Nice job on the office - now get back tou your woodshed man!

Looking good Benz. Be careful woodchips may blend in with that floor.

Trade ya Ben!

Nice mugs yer sportin!

Take care!

Mahalo

McTiki

Bete, Thanks, It't only a small office, 10' by 11', but it really looks bigger now.

Thanks Flynny, yes, it's nice to have this project off my back. Back when your country was as young as ours, you had Gigantic Castles with rooms as big as my house. You guys just wenr=t and got modern thats all. You don't really need more space anymore, you're proof of it!.

Hewey, thanks to you too,so it's back to the grind for me..

AlohaS, yes the chips Will blend in, that way I don't have to sweep them up.

Thanks McT. Sure, fair swap, my office for your back yard. I'll bring it rite up.

Here's todays progress on the Moai, he's getting an Arm!

Ben,

He is looking fine! Very graceful swoopy lines. I love it. Thanks for the pics! How are you feeling? Better I hope....

-Gman

looks GREAT benz! the arm and body are comming out soo good. cant wait to see the next update.

Respirator good...dust bad....hope you're back on "11". Aloha, Ben.

Beautiful.

Benny

Very nice office, I like the floor, and the mug collection. Is great to see some progress pics again (is he wanted? as an in the far west) Best wishes!

Ben,

The carving looks terrific as usual...I really enjoy watching as you breathe life into the wood.

Great job on the floor! I have to do this to my downstairs area sometime in the next few weeks as well...the kids are moving back in for awhile. The bird will be born here.

Thanks GMAN, Yes this guy has some nice lines on him, a different feeling with this guy seems to be emerging. I wanted him to be a toughie but he seems to be a young innocent kid about to cry or something. I'll se if I can change that, but I dunno.
Yes I'm feeling better one day than not the next. That "Next" seems to follow a carving day which means I must need a better respirator.

Thanks tDuddy

BK, Yes, Respirator good Any dust Not Good.Yeah, #11 is staring at me every day. I take a few chips here and there every day I work. He will get a full day soon. Chisels NEED NO Respirators to use...:)

benny, Thanks!

Clarita, Thanks for the floor props, I'm proud of that floor.
Yes the Moai is wanted. He has a price on his head. He's a Bad dude..

Babalu, Thank you for the comps on the floor and the Moai, he seems ready to breathe pretty soon.
good luck with your floor, it really is easy once you do a few rows you get the hang of it.
The Bird,,Can't wait!

Not sure if I can carve today you may see some updates.

[ Edited by: Benzart 2007-02-27 06:56 ]

Aloha Benzart!!!
Sweet carvings my friend!!!!!
It is always nice to see your magic flow in all you touch, keep slaying the carvings and thanks for sharing! Aloha your friend , Mooney

[ Edited by: MooneyTiki 2007-02-27 11:47 ]

On 2007-02-27 06:17, Clarita wrote:
Is great to see some progress pics again (is he wanted? as an in the far west) Best wishes!

Oh yeah; he's wanted..! (the town where I live IS big enough for the both of us) :lol:

Great looking office Ben, very cosy; romantic almost..? Heehee
Do I spot an enormous pounamu Hei-tiki on your computer screen?? Seems familiar.. :D (coincidentally enough, I have a certain occy-wearing Moai on my desktop at the moment)

And speaking of Moais; how happee am I??? :D :D :D
Here come the willy-gripping thumbs!?

Happyyyy hoooowlllllll...!!

Tama :)

Thanks Jimmy, Long time no see, Welcome back. Got that house done yet??

I think that TAMA is one HAPPEEE Camper don't you? Thanks Tama for starting my day off so well. After a night away at the Sleep testing torture chambers I needed that!
Don't think I will get much done but catching up on the sleep I missed.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ zZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzz

Hey Benz!
Hope you're feeling well and well-rested my friend! The office is lookin snazzy and the Moai is coming along great! Here's to you feeling chipper so you can get to some chippin'!!! :)

On 2007-02-26 19:05, Benzart wrote:

Here's todays progress on the Moai, he's getting an Arm!

And that's not all I see developing! The Moai on Easter Island would be jealous.

JP

Thanks Little Lost Tiki, I appreciate the comps on the office and the Moai. I will do more on them today.
JP, Thanks, Jealous of What?? What do you see?

Here is todays report, worked on a few pieces today:
you can see I didn't work on my shop like I wanted!









Enjoy

Holy bejeezus Ben, looky all that fun equiptment in your gearage! I especially want...er...ah, LIKE those chunks of wood. What are they?

WOW.....good to see Goldie enjoying his new home! I love creative clutter. What's that crazy looking wood in the last pic - and is that another moai I see lurking in the background (with hat)?
Great to see you back in the groove Benz, but for all our sakes please look after yourself ! I think a special trip to Tama's will be in order to check out the new arrival/s soon....

Holy smokers! Look at all that work peeking out in those shots. Is that bigger Moai walnut? Very nice stuff. Tama's Moai is looking sweeeeet!!! Glad to see you wearing the respirator. Boy do those exotic planks look real inviting. Make sure you're good and protected when you slice into them. Is that the wood you sent me the link to? I likee!

-G

Ben. Awesome ! Food for thought. As you well know, summer is right around the corner and that gear won't be appealing at all without some cool air flowing on you!

Is there a way you could rig a window unit (99.00) and have it piped to blow right over yer Keppie? That way the dust mask won't seem so cumbersome when it's 90+ F out there is the great garage?

I think it would raise the comfort bar 100% Mask or not (depending on what you are doing)

So glad you are feeling better!

Mahalo

(Still in Sacramento Cali)

McTiki

On 2007-03-01 18:01, Paipo wrote:
I think a special trip to Tama's will be in order to check out the new arrival/s soon....

You dont know how many times Ive tried to get this guy out to my place recently Ben; but one sniff of a BenZart & he's already planning the trip! Thanks mate, maybe a few more people will come for a visit now :)

A fine looking mask & serious extraction unit! Good to see.

And what great shots of the Man and the Moai! Im there... :)

Nothing wrong with creative clutter. It just happens eh? You look up & a tidy workshop has mysteriously scrambled itself again. Do you have a regular cleaning routine? I try to tidy each evening & lay out work for the following day & give everything a good tidy/wipedown/vacuum once a week. All part of that war on dust!!

:D :D :D

Tama ( :D )

Thanks Surfer, Most of the big stuff(toolz) you see were garage sale finds and really cheep. 12" bandsaw for $35
Big floor drill press for $18
The Spectacular wood is ziricote (the black and white) and the other plank is Palo Escrito (Mexican Rosewood) and it is a timber with very nice , Loud Timbre.
Google says that the Ziricote is an evergreen native to Florida, but I don't think I have ever seen it growing.

Thanks Paips, Se above for wood. Yes that is a hatted Moai I roughed out Eons ago and pushed aside at the time and I have just pulled it out. I also roughtd out another Black Walnut Moai seen somewhere in these pix. Thanks and yes I'll be lookin out for me.

GMAN, Thanks, Yes, Thanks, Thanks,Thanks and thanks, Yes, and Yes and Thanks
You keep me goin' GMAN, Thanx

Hey McT, Yes I have been thinking about rigging up the window unit I have just Sitting there Waiting for me to Plug it in. The Garage Does get pretty hot, I'm afraid to put a thermometer there to see what the temp really is! Come on Home,Thanks for the props.

Tama, Well. Whatever it takes, we'll get the Paipo out to your digs soon I think.
The mask seems to work Really well and it's Very comfortable as these things go.It for sure dosen't let much of Anything through, even the air comes in reluctantly, but those are good things.
I did these shots just for you so you could prove to following generations that that Benzart guy did this piece..
Creative clutter, now Theres a subject to scrutinize. I don't have much of a routine for cleaning, just when I can't find stuff I put away what I have room for and I clean a bit here and there. I didn't used to be this way. I Used to keep everything neat and orderly but then I could Never find anything so who nose. Once I get my garage back I'll be better.
Thanks for all the kind words.
Well I'm off to the garage for a few hours depending on how long I last today, I'll update later!

Aloha Ben!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sweet Moai and Lono !!!!!!!!!!! Someone is gonna be very lucky to have those pieces of art in their home!
I'm glad to see you wearing the mask my friend. I hope its somewhat confortable .
Thanks for sharing your aweasome carvings with us , Aloha your friend, Mooney

Cool new pictures!