San Diego/Temecula Chop - May 19, 2007

The next in a series of chops!

When: Saturday, April 7.

Where: 4WDtiki's house in Oceanside, CA. Email for address if you don't already know. :wink:

One day only this time, sorry kids. Although we can hang out on the patio all night...

I have NO MORE wood to offer up, so you're on your own.

More details as they develop!

[ Edited by: 4WDtiki 2007-05-09 06:56 ]

no more wood.....boooooooooooooooooo :wink:

you stingy bastid! woohoo, now that I have a date to plan for life is good!! so far Tikidav has offered a slip cast demo...what else should we do? Maybe a time laps video of carving? hmmmmmm....

On 2007-03-20 15:07, Clysdalle wrote:
...what else should we do? Maybe a time laps video of carving? hmmmmmm....

A live webcast would be cool...

like those other um, sites.......tikiteens.com :wink: or maybe biglogs.com

ok....stopping now.

I'll be out back stealing a log from you house tonight....

On 2007-03-20 14:56, 4WDtiki wrote:

I have NO MORE wood to offer up, so you're on your own.

Can someone give a lesson on wood sourcing? I'll be out of logs in a few months.

I can share my sourcing skillz at the chop. Maybe we all can...

buzzy has a stack close by if we need to make a run on friday night Bill.....let me know..

I , myself would like to learn more about the care and feeding of palm wood.

Seriously! How do you tell whether you've got a good log or not? How can you tell whether it's rotting inside or if there's some bad crackage going on? How long does a log need to dry out before carving? We need a tree guy to give a talk.

Buzzmeister, are you out there?

On 2007-03-20 20:15, Tikidav wrote:
I , myself would like to learn more about the care and feeding of palm wood.
Buzzmeister, are you out there?

You having log problems Dave? I do not even know where to begin...
The farther down the tree you go, the better the log usually is. Older and taller trees work the best, but you usually have to take what you can get because the problems often will not appear for a few weeks. I can kind of tell just by looking at a log how well it will carve. That just comes from seeing a lot of logs and learning from the way the log is composed. (Unfortunately, learned the hard way in most cases)Look at the ends: No cracks at all are best. Cracked ends usually mean they will crack all the way through. I usually strip my logs and wait a couple months to see if they crack, then decide how to carve around the logs problem areas.
We'll talk more when i see you guys...
Buzzy

Got a really nice big dry log, few cracks, left over from the Oki Oki. I've stripped the husk off right to the good wood. But I wanna chainsaw it twice down its length to make two masks and one standing, flat-backed tiki.

Is the very center wood carveable?

Waste not, want not.

Hey, a simple idea for a demo would be trying different stains and stain techniques (thin them down, apply with rag or brush, etc) milk-paint washes, and poly & spar varnish to palm wood. A short chunk of wood with stain stripes would be cool to have, or a little box of chips stained different colors as reference. I could bring all the stains I got, anyway, which ain't much. Hey Kate I have some nice natural green stain, you were talking about making a Tiki green a while ago.

By the way, I've been using Ace Hardware brand stains and spar varnish, which work great and seem way cheaper than Minwax. We could all bring some cans of stain and compare colors.

Been keeping Buzzy hours. Time for bed.

[ Edited by: Cammo 2007-03-21 03:55 ]

Yeah, I have been having log problems! Mostly with rot. Thanks for the info, Buzzy.

I like Cammo's idea concerning staining techniques. Does this mean you've volunteered yourself to do a demo, Cam? :)

I'll just bring what I have;

Poly Gloss
Spar Gloss
and
"Salem Green" water based stain
"Dark Walnut" oil based
"Red Mahogany" oil based
and I'm thinking of getting some
"Cherry" and
"Jacobean" - which looks real antique-ish.

Plus I have the stain handout sheet that Ace gives you, with examples. And I'll bring some oil based Frazee Arro-Plate white, which can be thinned down to give a transparent white look. That stuff is used to coat battleships.

And I just gave my Uncle Hairy guy three coats of Spar, and nailed a sand dollar to his forehead for good luck. He's looking OK now, he'll come for the party.

If people could bring a small can or two of different stains, we could do some tests.

Lastly, if Aaron shows up he is the master of this stain stuff. That guy is a main stain artiste. He could do a great demo.

I've been spending a LOT of time on finishing lately, so I'd love to talk stains and topcoats. I checked out a class at rockler a few weeks ago and got some tricks, so I can share those with the group. I'll bring what I've got. If it'll all fit in the car....

I'll be interested in seeing Cam's photos as well, I can bring my laptop so we can scroll through them, or I can bring a projector and a screen if we want to wait till dark and do a big slide show, if people are interested/can stay late.

Slipcasting sounds great too. :)

And problem palm wood would be great too.

Damn, I love this group!!! Creative synergy! :D
So, we have as possible demos/discussions: slipcasting, wood sourcing, good/bad carving wood, stains and sealers, Cam's vacation slideshow...
We may not have time to chop! :o

Cammo,

A stain demo sounds like a great idea. I'll bring the few that I own. I've been shopping for blue stain for my Shag tikis. The Behr stain that I had bought definitely will not work on those two, but it was absolutely perfect for my Island Systems & Design tiki who I named Big Blue.

Have a safe journey. Can't wait to see your pictures.

If everybody promises to bring a small can of stain to experiment with, I promise to bring a bag of magic beans.

From Porto Rico (that's the way they spell it) the original Beatnik coffee roasters in Greenwich Village. These were the folks who supplied the thick black late-night gold to the whole poetry & abstract art scene in the Village in the 50's and 60's.

Hey Kate - check out rockler for TransTint dye, it might work better for you than stain. They come in some pretty crazy colors. http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?Offerings_ID=11448&TabSelect=Details
My rockler said if you bring in sample wood, they can try out some stuff for you, don't know if it applies to the dyes, but it's worth a try.

On 2007-03-26 07:24, mieko wrote:
Hey Kate - check out rockler for TransTint dye, it might work better for you than stain. They come in some pretty crazy colors. http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?Offerings_ID=11448&TabSelect=Details
My rockler said if you bring in sample wood, they can try out some stuff for you, don't know if it applies to the dyes, but it's worth a try.

Thanks Mieko. I really like their green. I think that's the color I'll be going with in April if Dave or Bill is willing to give me some major chainsaw help. I've got a big log that I want to split in half and make a couple of flat backed pieces from.

Did someone say they needed a log?

I should be able to make this.

Just got back. Brought Beatnik Beans, (holy Italian Roast, that place smelled good!!!) lots of photos and stories from the Isle of Mana'hat.

Here's one to get ya in the mood -

On 2007-03-26 15:11, LoungeLizard wrote:
Did someone say they needed a log?

Ahh this pic is just wrong.

Danny?? Ahh I get in now! Duh!

I'm in for this Sat. I'm still working on the same tiki--being a beginner. I think I'm going to call it the "Ground Hog" tiki -- it doesn't seem to be changing much. I'm still trying to hone my skills.

[ Edited by: CheekyGirl 2007-04-02 11:43 ]

Yay Cheekygirl! Will ya be bringing the uke?

Hey parkers5150, check yer Personal Messages!!

Does anyone have a log to spare? HaHa. Yes, I know. But seriously, Tigerlily's boyfriend George wants to learn to chop. He needs a log to get started. Does anyone have a spare they could bring?

On 2007-04-02 21:10, Tiki-Kate wrote:
Does anyone have a log to spare? HaHa. Yes, I know. But seriously, Tigerlily's boyfriend George wants to learn to chop. He needs a log to get started. Does anyone have a spare they could bring?

I got ya covered, Kate. I'll bring 2 and we can cut them in half to make 4 if need be.

On 2007-04-02 19:49, Tikidav wrote:
Yay Cheekygirl! Will ya be bringing the uke?

Maybe we can have a uke jam... That would be cool.

Tikimecula, could you bring that newest club, so we can check it out? Pics are awesome, but in person is better. :wink:

I got some wood scraps from our custom door and window guy. Maybe some of you mini-carvers would want it? Some of it is exotic, and it's all harder than pine, (except the one piece of clear doug fir) but I was thinkin of you guys.

On 2007-04-03 15:15, tikimecula wrote:

On 2007-04-02 21:10, Tiki-Kate wrote:
Does anyone have a log to spare? HaHa. Yes, I know. But seriously, Tigerlily's boyfriend George wants to learn to chop. He needs a log to get started. Does anyone have a spare they could bring?

I got ya covered, Kate. I'll bring 2 and we can cut them in half to make 4 if need be.

Cool! Thank you so much. I'll let George know.

I'll bring my uke!

Hey gang. I still have a couple of the Oki Oki logs left. If you want 'em just let me know. You, of course, remember the stairs right? Just joking, I can help haul them up if need be.
Cheers.

I WANT AN OKI OKI LOG! PLEASE! I'll climb the damn stairs! I mean, I'll climb those nice stairs of yours!

I can't make it. I get to go to Lancaster now...

Score! Two beauty logs from Mattman Reese. These are unstripped, in their original rhinohide, but they're real dry, big, thick and ready to go!

Having these in the trunk feels like being in a Quentin Tarantino movie.

These would be real nice split in two for big masks or flat backed tikis.

Will bring'em Saturday.

Thanks Matt!

[ Edited by: Cammo 2007-04-05 22:19 ]

Looking forward to this! I've got musubi's and yakisoba noodles arranged, I'll bring some of my stain and topcoat stuff, and my laptop for viewing Cammo's pictures. I've also got additional shade if it'll fit with all my other stuff. Sounds like we've got some different people than the last few times, I can't wait!

I'll bring a couple of cans of stain. I printed out Cammo's list, so I'll pick up a few different colors.

On 2007-04-06 13:37, CheekyGirl wrote:
I'll bring a couple of cans of stain. I printed out Cammo's list, so I'll pick up a few different colors.

If you don't have some already, I wouldn't go out and buy some, I'll bring mine so people can see samples, then you can go out and buy your own once you decide on your colors. I think I've got (all minwax brand) cherry, mahogany, Early American, Driftwood, natural (for mixing) Dark Walnut, and maybe one or two more. I know I've spent what seems like a fortune on finishing supplies, and I still don't have everything I need/want. :)

Oh, but bringing empty glass jars if we want to do some mixing/trading would be good if you have some. :)

[ Edited by: mieko 2007-04-06 16:28 ]

Empty glass jars for trading stain!

That's real genius!

I told you she's the PERFECT WOMAN!

Thanks everybody for another great Chop experience at 4WD's. I learned about draw knives, wood stain, Oceanic Art at the Met in NYC, and that the Easter Bunny really does exist.

Maybe the Easter Bunny kidnapped Babalu?

Thanks for hosting the chop again 4WD!!
And thanks to Dave for showing us how to slip cast. You really are the master of molding!!

Mucho mahalos to Mieko and Mieko's parents for the great food. We're really getting spoiled.

Now how come Clydesdale didn't bring the sunshine like he promised. Looking forward to next month already. Who's hosting???

Sorry that I missed this one guys....the Easter Bunny made me stay home and lay new floor downstairs.

I learned that 4WD has the sharpest draw knife on Earth, and he can make two perfect matching Tiki's (Godzilla's cuff links?) in one day!

The suprising thing is, 4WD wants to make the draw knife SHARPER! Cripes!

And - that was the busiest day of my life. I think we should play with stain and finishes every time, and keep the samples on hand. We barely had time to experiment with the stuff.

Mucho mucho thanks for the hard work; 4WD, Mieko & her cool parents who need TC nic-names, Slippery Dav, the ultra enthusiastic Kate and Buzzzz for showing up to get a suntan.

Is Kate the only person you know who isn't a politican with her name on a bumper sticker?...

We missed ya Babalu, I was afraid those killer rabbits got you, at least they only made you slave away. :)

Here's the book Dave recommended as part of the slipcasting:
http://www.amazon.com/Clay-Lovers-Guide-Making-Molds/dp/1579901867/ref=ed_oe_p/102-1174556-4000967

Here's a good picture of unveiling the slipcast:

We didn't get a group shot, but I got a couple of end of the day progress shots:

We will do a group shot next time. I just couldn't believe that the day went by so quick!
Speaking of which.... May 12 or 19th maybe?

I vote for the 19th.

Great time as always guys!!! sorry I f'ed up and brought clouds instead of sun...but I think we did ok! TikiDav thanks for the demo that really helped, I can't wait to get our kiln up and runnin.

Finally got my guy finished and painted up last night. I'll post pics tonight of the little bastid...

Can't wait to see you all this weekend at the tikifarm event!....now back to work trying to get stuff done in time!

Had a great time as always, thanks 4WDtiki for opening up your home again. The location makes for a really easy clean up.

Meiko you have the coolest parents by far!

Thank you Spam Sandwich for the slip casting demo and helping me out with the almost disasterous "nose" problem on my tiki.

Cammo, thanks for the slide show demo and my dogs were barking -- so I missed the stain demo.

Thank you Moki for the Easter Egg Hunt! I think I made out, I forgot to trade in my chocolate for the skiddles and starburst treats--so I made out with both! Sorry Ric!

And, of course, thanks to the rest of the Chop Chop gang for the camaraderie, conversations & sharing of tools, fun & knowledge, good times!

[ Edited by: CheekyGirl 2007-04-09 15:52 ]

It was a great Chop. I think the weather really dragged me down. Then again, the design I was using may have been a little overly ambitious.

After Cammo so kindly got my log down the stairs and Clysdalle so kindly cut it in half for me, here's what I started with. Yes, it's another Shag tiki. It's just a phase. I swear. One day I will have an original thought.

I worked until I couldn't hold my mallet anymore, and I still didn't get very far. Any sane person would have taken down the sides with a power tool, but no, I have to be all stubborn and just use my chisels. Oh, and Buzzy's chisel. Thanks, Buzzy .)

He's not really turning out like the picture, but in this instance I'm kind of glad.

Thanks again to Bill and Lennie for hosting. The won tons were fabulous.

Dave -- The slip casting demo was awesome. You do fantastic work. Any chance of a mold making demo in the future?

Mieko -- Thanks for having such wonderful parents. (And for just being you.:))

Cammo -- Man. Can't thank you enough for all the entertainment you provided me. (What's the guy getting arrested for on the Drink Tour?)

Moki -- I love my purple puffer pendant! Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

tikimecula -- Your war clubs are amazing. I hope you come hang out again so we can check out more of your technique.

Ona -- Thanks for eating all of the chocolate that was in my eggs. Spared me some calories there. :wink:

CheekyGirl -- You always manage to cheer me up. Thanks.

Mr. NoNaMe -- Best jumpsuit ever.

Can't wait for this Saturday.

Did anybody take a picture of Tikimecula's clubs??? They were awesome, and I was too busy to even see what kind of tools/approach he was taking on them. Those things SMOKED.

Cool guy, too, he's the low-key Dean Martin of carvers.

And Kate, those pictures are of the first thing we saw on the Isle of Mana'hat, a native getting arrested. Tell you the story Saturday, we were talking to the kid one minute and taking his big smiling happy picture, and next he was cuffed and being read his rights! He told us that was his (six-wheeled) car, which I don't believe nohow.