Destroying Witco; Is It A Sacrelidge...?

Aloha!

I got these Witco trim boards years ago with a bunch of other Witco stuff that came out of a New York establishment that no one seems to be able to identify, including the folks I bought them from.

I always wanted to use them to frame doorways and windows, but they are cut so short (2' to 5') that they can't be mounted without having big ol' gaps that don't match well. So they've been sitting in the garage for ever.

Now recently, since I've learned to carve, I've been itching to hack into these nice thick boards of Cedar, since you can't get wood like that in Vegas. What better way to make Witco-esque carvings than with Witco Cedar?

But, even though I really can't use these any other way, I'm having a hard time with the idea of "destroying" of them, since they are, after all, original Witco from some long lost vintage bar. Is it sacreligious to destroy Witco and carve something new out of them?

Aaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrgh! The dilemma! What do you all think?

I think they were already "destroyed" when they were cut up into useless lengths from the original demolition. It's not like they're tiki poles or similar...the artistic merit of them is minimal (at least to my sensibilities) regardless of the provenance. Besides, what could be a more noble way of recycling them than to create new tiki art? Go for it! Those two at bottom left already suggest abstract tikis...

[ Edited by: Paipo 2007-08-06 22:25 ]

If I were you I wouldn't start hacking away at them with a chisel.
From the images they look very dusty and dirty. Maybe you might like to clean them up and give them a few good coats of scandinavian oil. That swirling figure of witco cedar is just beautiful and you might change your mind seeing what they look like after a little work.

If you have the space to spare, I think they would look amazing if you put hooks and wire in the back of them and arrange them as some kind of wall feature. That's just my suggestion.
And concidering they do have history in an old tiki establishment it would be a shame to use it as your woodpile.

There must be a timber yard somewhere near you that you could purchase cedar or a suitable wood you could use for your carvings. Maybe you might want to do a little research.

Anyway I hope this helps in making your decision.

-Fletcher

Leave the top or bottom alone and carve in the middle! That 'wood' look cool! You could use the existing lines to define a new tiki face, don't worry, get real, those aren't Ming vases you're looking at!

I'll trade ya blank ceder for the mouldings. Don't destroy them! (cut them to fit, yes, but don't destroy them!)

just my $.02

What about using them for your original idea, and using rope or something similar to mask the joins, like bamboo might be lashed together? and if there's any left over, carve into them?

Why don't you carve a tiki.
Then put it in the middle of two
or three pieces of the molding.
Kind of make a collage out of them,
To make one panel. Witco did that too.

I agree with every single one of you! That's why I can't decide what to do. It'd be fitting to make new Witco carvings out of old Witco carvings, but then you ruin the original carvings in doing so. But then, they were allready ruined when they were sawn into pieces by the demolition crew, so what would it hurt to give them new life. But if they could be patched together with rope covering the seams... but... but... but...

See what I'm talkin' about? That's why they've been "in limbo" for all these years! At least all the other stuff I got from this place is intact and useable. In fact, the two tiki poles that I'm using as electric cord covers in my Tiki Room project ( http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=24360&forum=1&start=30&47 ) are from the same batch of stuff that came outta that NY establishment.

Thanks For Your Input, Ohana! I've got a lot of thinkin' to do!

Destroying Witco - Embellished Tikis (see new thread by Timidtiki...)

I personally dont see anything wrong with recycling these, seeing as they have been knocked about a bit already. For the sake of 'provenance' it would be good to retain something of the original makers hand though..? Your 'limited series' of 'altered Witcos' may turn out to be highly collectable themselves.. :)

T :)

Ditto what Tama said.

I think I have a solution!

I could carve the BACKSIDE of the boards, leaving the original side intact. Of course, if I decide that I need a shape that isn't the original "board" shape, I may have to cut into it on the sides. But, at least some of the original side would still be left.

How 'bout dat?

Opinions my friends; please!

Mahaloz!

I'd cut them into short "tiles" and then use them in a way that everyone knows it's witco but purposely avoid trying to resurrect and match the patterns. There are people such as myself that will never lay hands on vintage stuff like this--never in the right place at the right time--but if I were to have something like this, I would not lose a nanosecond of sleep over the boards having to match lest they not be used.

Lee, you have between 15 AND 17 equal pieces of Witco that I can count. Don't Carve them up.

You could make one long piece or a few shorter ones.

Frame posters, prints, the fire place, the TV. One window. One of your own carvings with a velvety leopard.

Why do you need a fire place in Vegas?

Why do you need a fire place in Vegas?

What happens in Vegas, or Tennessee or wherever.......

DAMMIT 8FT -

IT'S BLACKMAIL, I TELL YA!!!!

:wink:

Good one 8 FOOT!! :D

Use a biscuit joiner and turn them into something usable .

Lee, it is clear which piece was cut from the other? If so, perhaps you could piece them back together and resurrect them into a new piece while keeping the Witco origin alive. The first thing that comes to mind is a large picture frame. I think that was mentioned few posts back. Wood for carving is cheap and easy to find. There's only so much original Witco left in the world. The sum of all those pieces could add up to something really special.

A-A

Actually,
NONE of the pieces seem to fit each other, and the cuts are not nice and clean. They are fat and sloppy, so nothing goes together well.

So, since I STILL can't decide what to do, I'm going to bring the three largest boards with me to Tiki Oasis and auction them off to the highest bidder. This way, whoever wants them the most can either save them or re-incarnate them or whatever. I just can't keep them stored away any longer. They need to get out into the world to live again! :)

Very stoked to have gotten one of the pieces! I'll post a photo of it once it's been re-incarnated as the mug shelf at Hinky Drinks.