Questions for Basement Kahuna...

Aloha Sir...

I've got this three foot basswood tiki that someone would like for his backyard... its not dry yet and a little heavy but I would like to weatherproof him and score the check...

Can I seal him up and not have to worry about cracks or rotting? Or, can I seal most of him up and leave a spot open? Plus what would you recommend for sealing... I'd like something with a nice sheen...

I just started carving these three and four footers for outdoors so weatherproofing is a new step for me... any help would be greatly appreciated!

Plus... I scored some "Linden" from a fellow surfer who is an arborist at a country club in town... I'm hearing that Linden is a great carving wood... heard anything about this wood? Its very dry and in great shape... This guy is a real score, I just go to the back of the course and he's got nearly every type of Midwestern tree he's cut down laying there...!

Mahalo for your help!

I'm sort of a spring chicken at this, (I've been carving about a year and a half) but I've heard several times that if you cut about a 2-inch deep chainsaw groove up the back of a carved log that it relieves all the pressure and will keep splitting at bay. Other than that I'd polyurethane the heck out of that sucker, but use a satin, not gloss.

Mahalo... I shall proceed with the weatherproofing!