Palm Carving

Aloha from Tucson..home of Kon Tiki,
Recently acquired 5 - 4 ft. lengths of what I think is Mexican Palm (tree was about 40-50 ft tall) that got hit by lightning and was cut down.
Let them dry for about 2 months & out here thats pretty dry. My questions is how much of the bark do you strip off. I took off the obvious bark, but there is about 3/4" of softer stuff before you see kind of 'white, solid'. Does this need to come off too? Also what is a good sealant to use when the carving is complete?
A pre Mahalo to any help.

Aloha drgoat. Where did you get that name?
You can strip off all the bark or leave some just on the back. Go deep drgoat, go deep.
Don't put any sealant on palmwood, not necessary.
Here's waht you can do with palmwood, it has excellent carving qualities.

edited to confirm that mex palm IS the right palmwood. Never use Washington

[ Edited by: Jungle Trader 2008-10-19 17:11 ]

Jungle Trader,
Aloha & thanks for the reply. In answer to your query, (this is a bit of a long story) when I was 4 yrs old, back in '54, my Uncle who was very instrumental in raising me & my sister, illustrated childrens books, some of which he kind of did with me & my sister in mind. He story is he found me going thru the Merck manual & decided to do a story about an animal who was a Doctor that cared for other animals. The result was Dr. Goat, a pretty good Golden Book that came out in '55, I think. You can actually find a few copies on Ebay & other old book dealers sites. I have most of the original artwork, which I have framed. He passed away i '81....but it seemed like the name to go with. I have a picture of the cover on my comp. @ work. I'll post tomorrow.
So, no sealant, O.K. Checked out your site, VERY cool stuff! I like the root ball tikis. I'll try to post the progress pics.
Big Mahalo
Ciao

Jungle T,
Here tis.

Welcome Dr.Goat! Neat name and neat book!

I like to remove most of the stringy stuff and get to the more solid core - the outside stuff will stain and take finish differently, and also be more stringy. It's not necessary, but I like cleaner, smoother tikis, so I remove it.

For finish, you can use anything in the hardware store that they use on wood. I like the marine spar varnish for anything that goes outside, and I've also used shellac for a piece that I kept indoors.

You'll probably be surprised by the logs and the dryness - once you carve a few inches in, it might still be wet in the middle. Not a problem though, just keep carving! I've had mold problems that are pretty easy to fix, and cracking problems that are things that you learn to live with.

Can't wait to see your carvings!

Contact me and I will hook you up it with carving techniques. Tucson Tiki!!!!

Another question on Palm carving. I am a total novice, wanting to give this a try with my brother and my son, so we are putting together some of the goods. I have some sections of palms--I am pretty sure they are Mexican Fan Palms (two 3' and three 5'). I am in the process of cleaning the bark off of them. How long do you need to let them dry out? They are recently cut (about 2 weeks). A once the bark is removed.

Also, the bark seems like an onion--always another layer to strip off. . . .. Is this typical?

I am interested in the answers you get as well. I am a newbie to this world and I am working on cleaning some Mexican Palm trunks (bark removal). Can anyone tell me how long these should dry before starting to cut on them?

You can cut them green. Go a couple inches below the bark and have at it. Let the chips fly!!! It is there for you grasshopper.

Hope everyone is having fun with their carving. I am, when I can get at it.
I only get to it on weekends (Weekday worker) and I finally got some nice gouges & chisels at Woodcraft. Been using a Rotozip & Dremel for some of the detail.
Thanks to everyone with advice, If I did this image thing right, here is progress on first piece. Ciao

Awesome chops! Welcome to TC!

I like this last one. Looks good. Keep it up. You'll just get better with every one you do. TT

Excellent piece for your first one, you will look back on this and laff a bit, but be Proud. I didn't do anything this good until I had done a dozen or so, just keep practicing!
\

Thanks TT, Surf & Benz,
I'm not finished with this one yet.....I know, it's a bit Enchanted Tiki Roomish,
but I can't help it, grew up in the '50s & '60s at D-Land. Besides, I wanted to do one without teeth first, don't know why.

Mahalo & Ciao
P.