LATSA Picturez! Tiki Table!

OMG! Wow, incredible work! Awesome striping on the surf board! Even the signature is fantastic! :) I luv the little dimples on the base and the way the feet curve around over the edge. This one is truly over the top - great job!!

He would look right at home in the line-up at hookipa or honolua. I like the stripes on the board. Great job, tight work.

[ Edited by: AlienTiki 2007-10-07 12:56 ]

Thanks GROG dude.
BigT, yeah thanks..it was just the right piece for doing all that stuff with the base.
Thanks Alien...If he's going to Honolua, I'm going with!
Here's some more shots...

Surfin - That is HOT HOT HOT!!!!

Surfintiki. your namesake is definitely one of the best tikis around. Well Done!

Surfintiki, surfintiki looks incredible nice job.
Did the stringer stain bleed much? or was it easy app?
How tall? board and head?

Thanks G & Benz! :D
S-surf: The stringer mask job worked easily, just used good masking tape, and blotted the stain from a rag lightly. I had it sanded pretty good too, so it was very smooth...not grainy. I'm sure the type of wood makes a difference. Mine was Birch. This tiki stands 3' 3" (39"), the surfboard extends 1 foot above his head. Can't wait to see yours done.

That is one BadAss piece, my brotha!!

Right On, I will have to give the stringer a try.
I have only carved in alder.

Surfintiki, this piece is a beauty! I like everything about it.

Aloha, Surfintiki! This piece is pretty much flawless, and I say that after much scrutiny. I love it. The lettering on the back looks really tight too, and I know from experience that painting parts of a tiki is not as easy as you'd think, especially once the rest is all done and you're scared of screwing it up with the "final touches"! Congrats - one of your finest pieces for sure.

A-A

That's a great looking piece, Surfintiki. He'd be a real rager out on the waves! Beautiful color too.

On 2007-10-09 15:07, surfintiki wrote:

Is that GROG's Tang sitting on the desk that you forgot to send to GROG?

So sorry Mr Grog sir. I've done 2 of those. The one you see is basswood, and it's my keeper! (greedy bastard aren't I?)You also lost out to a mr. Ballsomic on the 2nd one I did, out of I believe, cherry. But thanks Dude!
Thanks Bowana, I like ragers!
Thanks Hiltiki, there's gotta be SOMETHING wrong, like maybe he should of been 20 feet tall!
Thanks Seek-Swell, We did get a little overhead, off shore action last weekend.
Thanks Freddy B!!
AA, great to hear from ya! Thanks I do like this guy, and will attempt more ku's, lono's etc. I hope you don't get sooo busy, you can't carve some up!
Aloha!!

Hand over the Tang or the Surfer Tiki gets it!

You're funny!!

Hay dude what you been up to?
Any carving ideas going threw you head?
Taking alittle breather? Working on other things?

Not sure how I missed out on this after you stained it. The stringer came out great. I made a longboard skateboard this summer and did some stain striping on it and had a little trouble with the edges bleeding. He looks great with your collection of Merricks.

You rabid tiki carvers!
Taking a breather. I got too many hobbies, I have to switch focus every now and then and do my other things. It's also good I get to let my right arm heal...I get wicked tendonitis, arthritis, anything ending in itis. Also I need more good wood...I got one good piece, but it needs many months of drying.
Also prepping for a new job/and/or possibly a big move. So not stocking up on any big wood.
I tell ya what though, I love the headdress you just did, and I'd love to try something like it soon. Hope to do another Lono or Ku next.
I guess I hibernate in the winter! Good time to go in the basement and record (musician).
Surf Tiki: I bet your board looks bad to the bone. I bet the type of wood had a lot to do with the stain bleeding. I dabbed mine on lightly with a cloth, and wiped with a clean rag immediately. Mine was Birch, which is a pretty hard wood, sanded real fine too. Now go out and cruise on your board!
Thanks for the bump-up!
Aloha mates!

But DANG it's still cold.

Still in need of good wood. If I start with a lame piece, I just don't put 100% into it. I'm inspired by good, quality wood.

Surfintiki, come on down to Florida and get some sand in your shoes and some Logs in yer trunk, we got it all just waiting for you. Just bring plenty carvings. Methinks you should have made at least a Dozen of those tangs! Of Course you Gotta bring the Surfer tikis too.

Thanks for the invite! I'll be knocking on your door tomorrow 8am!
Well, once gas goes under $1 a gallon! I'd have to hit Gmans place too, for a couple of cedars. THAT would be nice!
Actually I know of a new place that MIGHT have some wood for me, I'm going to look into soon. Thanks man!

HAH! Look at that G! Stumbled on some Cedar, from my boss no less! What'ya think, how long does Cedar usually take to dry enough for carvage?

Howdy Howdy. I'm on my fist piece of cedar as of yesterday.
It is really wet! Totally different fill all i have
done is cleaned off the bark thus far.

So I'm waiting for a response also on this Question?

Also I hear i should always where a mask when sanding the cedar?

I carved a piece of red cedar 2 years ago... real nice wood and I think it dried pretty quick and didn't crack much. A week or two in moderate temps and that should be dry. Smells wonderful, as most cedars do. I loved the contrast between the heartwood and the outside growth. It is fairly soft, you can just about whittle it with a sharp chisel, I didn't even need to sand it after carving.

Surfin',

Get that bark off quickly as boring beetles attack the wood very fast (at least here). I lost a dozen nice cedar logs because I was lazy and let them sit in the garage with the bark on for a few weeks while I was away hunting. The beetle eggs are deposited on the bark and the larvae live in and on the bark until they are old enough to bore into the wood. Once you get the bark off, look for small entrance holes in the log. The holes can be from pin head sized and round, up to 1/4" or better and oval. If you see holes, wrap the logs in plastic and freeze them for 2 or 3 weeks to kill off the beetles. Some of these beetles have long life cycles with some living in the wood for many, many years before emerging. When they are mature, they cut exit holes and emerge to mate and lay eggs. Many of these bugger's larvae will then reinfest the log or attack other wood in your house. I have a few good links discuss boring beetles if you wanna lookee.

Here, my cedar logs have stayed fairly wet for a log time. Keep in mind I drop the trees myself (they are real fresh) and we are very humid for much of the year. I generally wait until I see where the log is checking and design my carving around the cracks so that they do not cause real problems (~ 6 months). Paint the ends to slow the water loss and sit and wait a while. My last Teko was carved from a log that had been down and curing since like 2004. Since you have two logs, dig into one in a few weeks and then let the other sit and cure. That way you can compare and see how YOU prefer to carve it. You may like it better wet as it gets chippy and scary when it is dry. I also keep my "wet" carvings wrapped up in blankets or towels to keep them away from the air flow and slow water loss/cracking. If you do that, just watch out for mold.

I'm glad you found some! I was gonna ask if you wanted one of these new chunks to make something out of. Now I don't need to mail you any :D

Email me if you wanna talk cedar some more.

-G$

Surfintiki, I was gonna suggest you contact GMAN since he has carved more Cedar recently than Anyone I Think.
I've caeved some and it Is beautiful wood and fairly easy to carve. It is Very Chippy so pay attention to the grain and keep your tools Sharp. The only other requisite is that you MUST post Lots of progress shots lest the Ancients get angry and cause the wood to split badly! :lol: :lol:

Did some carving on the ceder today mostly chainsaw.
It was Allot smother and easier than the alder.
I really like it.

I betcha if Gman, seek and I all compare the red cedar we have it would be totally different due to our climates. I think the Midwestern variety would be quite dry and waxy where Gman's would be very wet and take a long time to dry out due to the Florida moisture. Seek's would probably be a happy medium, seeing as how he is a cooler climate than Florida, with a decent amount of moisture though.

Same with the bug concentration. We have a yearly frost which would keep infestations down. I've never encountered the bark beetles. I have, on many occassions, found wasp larve in my pine logs. Usually hatching indoors on me in the Spring.

It would be interesting to get a gathering of carvers together from all over the country and have them bring some of their favorite woods for others to try. I'll bet like the cedar, there are many other common woods that are very different depending on what part of the country they came from no matter what the species.

Wow, great advice. I'm glad you're working on a cedar right now seeks, I'll watch ya closely. Thanks G & Benz for all the expert knowledge. G, I'll keep ya in mind if I got any questions. Lake, I think you're right with different region thing. I definitely have that frozen tundra thing going on too, so mine I think would be somewhat similar to your deal. By the way, your waves the other day looked bigger on the drops!
Anyways, the cedar is resting for a while, and I'm back at the junky pitch pine log. Already I can feel my elbow pains coming back!

He's coming along nicely, Surfin'. Always great to check your pix, Bro.

Yes sir, Lookin good!!! Glad you're back at it!

FB, thanks a lot for checkin man, you've been a great supporter. TF1 thanks, ya know ya get me all choked up you guys, I don't post a whole lot, but you guys are SO supportive. Great to just be here, and be part of this forum!
(yeah, I had a couple beers tonight!)

Looking great, nice work :D

Thanx Hewey. This wood is still developing new cracks, as I'm working on it! I'm not gonna work on it too much more. By-passing a lot of sanding I'd normally do. Gonna try some painting on it though. Here's today's shot...

[ Edited by: surfintiki 2008-03-30 17:23 ]

On 2008-03-30 17:21, surfintiki wrote:
By-passing a lot of sanding I'd normally do.

Huh?!?! He already looks smooth as a babys bottom!!!

Awesome work!

Nice surfin he has allot of cool classic designs going on.
The skull the mouth NICE.

Yeah Surfs, Super Traditional look and I Love the skull. The finish will slow down the cracking. Also hit the Bottom with some finish too so as top slow down the moisture escaping from the wood which causes the cracks.

Nice work Surfin! Hearing all this talk of removing the bark on the cedar before the wood borers get in is scaring me. I left a bunch of Sweetgum logs seasoning with the bark on bc I noticed the ones I debarked were already cracking.

We do have a bark beetle and wood borer problem down here, so that was probaby a dumb move. :( I wonder if spraying the bark with an insecticide would work??

Thanks seeks, I wish I had a full-on 5 foot log, to do this guy up completely traditional!

Hey Benz, yeah I definitely want to seal it, but what do you suggest? The typical poly I use looks so glossy/tacky! I'd like to get a more dry, looks like it's weathered look, ya know? Not so shiny.

BigT, interesting idea with the incesticide...not sure what to tell ya on that one, ya might ask Gman. I think I'm good here with the temps we've been having. It's been in the 20's at night! That keeps the bugs at bay. One small, GOOD point about living up here! :roll:

Seeks, I Really love that "Hand Rubbed Poly" from Minwax. It goes on Real thin and dries fast and you don't get that look like the piece has been dipped into a thick pot of varnish. It goes on Nice and thin and you sand between coats for a built-up look that feels like Velvet to touch.
Hope this helps!

Just the perfect advice I wanted, thanks Ben.
well here's the latest on my sad tiki. I know, I know, I always rag on my own art. But this one is a definite step backward for me. I'll do better next time!

I just stained it...still didn't help much. I'll post more pics later...or not.

He sits fine with me. I like his slightly twisted demeanor.
Again i like the skull, mouth and the white touch you
have going on.

That is great work,If you are completly happy with your work than it would never excel.And every piece would look the same(How boring is that).Enjoy that piece and the next one and so on..... Good job!
Tiki Stan,

Seeks-Thanks, yeah, he's twisted alright.
Canyon Stan-That is good wisdom...well put. I'll make the best of it, and MOVE on!
Here's after a little stain...

Don't be too tough on yourself, nice carve and he looks cool. He's
also a big bigger than I thought he was based on earlier pics.

Looks great surfin'! I like what you did with the nose and the nostrils design, it looks like you stained over the white paint job to give it a lighter tan color (is that right?)