TikiMango's Carvings- P31, Bone Hawaiian Tapa Hook

Surfintiki, I picked up some needle files, both traditional (12pcs) and diamond (5pcs). They aren't the greatest since they are from Harbor Freight, but the price was right ($5 and $4). They even came with handles. Playing around on some bone, both seem to do a good job. The traditional files leave ridges while the diamond ones do not.

Alright TMango, can you show me a shot or two of the initial approach? I can't seem to pick a starting spot. My natural instinct has always been to just go at it with the chainsaw first, but that is not going to work in this case.

TbT, I just started with the bone myself, so I am not sure I'm the one that you should be asking. I'd hate to teach you inefficient work flow and bad habits, but...

I don't have any images of my process (maybe next one), but I'll try to explain things. I first start by cutting a piece of bone off the tubular shank. I don't have power tools for this, I use a manual Japanese pull-saw. I then go over to the bench grinder and try to form the "C" shaped fragment into a flat work piece. This generates the most smell and dust, and it is very easy to burn/scorch the bone, so be careful if you follow this.

Once my piece is relatively flat and equal thickness (or not), I sketch the design with a pigment pen. Pencil doesn't work for me. Usually I like my pendants to be thicker at the top, I reason that the area around the lanyard should be the strongest area.

After the design is roughed-in, it's back to the pull-saw to cut away the majority of waste material that isn't part of the pendant. I should use a vice or something, but I don't. Then I use the bench grinder again to shape the outside of the pendant, smooth down all the sharp edges I don't want. I think if you had a coping saw and were good at it, this step would go much quicker.

I then use my Dremel-like tool with an 1/8" round burr to create all the through-holes. It removes material very quickly, and can jump around if you try to take too much, or are pushin' when you should be draggin' (or vice versa). I have mine plugged into a speed controller so I have more control. When I have a large opening, I'll create several holes, then join them to form the shape I want.

After that, there's a lot of bit changes... smaller burrs, different shapes, grinding and sanding bits. I think I need a micro-chuck to save some time looking for that stupid tool wrench. Once your design is done, it's all finish work- sanding and more sanding (and filing now), till everything is smooth and the surfaces have decent (your call) transitions. I hit things with a small buffing wheel, again, it's too easy to burn the bone at this step... and that's it in a nutshell.

I hope those doing it longer than me (the experts) chime-in and provide proper advice. :D

I got a few new burrs and had to test them out. I might have attempted something beyond my means for now, but it was good practice regardless. Still learning the tool behavior. Here's the Maori Wheku that I attempted. Maybe I need to lay off the caffeine to steady-up my line work. :D

I know the proportions are a bit off, but I was trying to fit the piece to a scrap of bone that I had. I didn't even think about an inlay for the eyes.

This guy measures in at 2" wide and 1.5" high.

I envy you other bone and stone carvers and the glass-smooth look you give your pieces. When I look at this I am reminded of the quote, “If at first you don't succeed, destroy all evidence that you tried”- Jack Handy

I think it looks great! Very intricate details.
The other pieces you've done so far look like they have
a glass-like smooth quality to them, so I'm sure you
can do the same to this one. Inlayed eyes would be cool.

Velvets by J. Sallin

[ Edited by: Iokona Ki'i 2009-05-29 11:19 ]

I thought I'd go ahead and post my pendant that I did for the Tiki Art Swap. I finished this off this morning.

I was torn between two designs, and settled on this one. Redrew the design on the bone.

Now I know why Ruzic enjoys the PNG theme so much, they are fun to do, and you really don't have to worry about symmetry.

I antiqued this one by staining it, the white bone just didn't fit the PNG design. I didn't have any black tea, so I had to use Folger's instant coffee (not a drinker). It gave the piece a mild but still older look.

While I was staining in the kitchen, I decided to stain the Wheku, but this time I used 4 Lipton tea bags. You can tell in the photos that the stain is a bit on the red side, which I think turned out cool.

Really wonderful bone carvings. I like the antiquing. Really makes a difference. Keep up the great work.

Excellent stuff here t-Mango,I see you have been caught by the lure of the bone carving. It is Very possessive and addicting. It seems that bone allows you to get finer detail and opens creative doors not found with wood or stone (though the wood and stone have their own high points).

I have never tried carving the bone wet, always dry so if you are burning the piece then the burs are spinning too fast, are you using a flex-shaft unit or micro motor? If not and you see a lot of small stuff in your future then one of those will do wonders for you.

As for burs, I use small dental diamonds for the intricate fine detail and for a lot of cleanup there. Also us small carbide burs too. Also lots of small bits of sandpaper here and there but I'm not one for a lot of hand sanding. I get a Lot of my burs on eBay from the dental supply houses and jewelry tool suppliers. PM me if you would like more specifics.
There is Definitely a sharpp incline in your skill level with the bone stuff and it Will carry over into the wood too, large and small.
Keep practicing, you're doing Very Well!

Those are excellent carvings!

I've dabbled a little with bone, and for me it is a difficult media to work in.

These cuts you've made and the detail work are wonderful.

They look very delicate to work with, but you've handled them well!

Very nice work looks like you know what your doing with this.

wow, the detail is great! I love the size of this piece!

Amy

This bones lace make me Happy! :D And more happy what you join the art swap!! :D :D Top cool PNG bone carving...

J.

Tikilizard, thanks for the comments. I'm diggin' the antique staining, but I might be taking it a bit far. I don't want to lose the bone.

Benzart, thanks for the tool info. I am burning only when I am buffing. I've found that vigorous rubbing against the jeans works pretty well (minds out of the gutter folks). I need to get a flex-shaft and a real Dremel one of these days. I'm not ready to invest in a micro-motor just yet.

Lake Surfer, thanks, your relief carvings blow me away.

Seeksurf, I don't have a clue, but I'm learning and am a great faker in the mean time.

Queen K, I enjoy these sizes too, at least now that I'm used to looking at 'em.

Laojia, carving the "bone lace" made me nervous as heck. Merci.

On the Exotica Girl thread, and numerous others, I was drawn to the thought of mermaids, especially since I have missed watching Marina in the water for the first time/last time. The below pendant looks nothing like her, except maybe for the tail and other anatomical features.

This one measures 4.25" long and a slender 1" wide.

To me this is an example of where the antiquing process detracts from the overall piece.

Anyone else here thinking "Alien Nation?

Pupule, its difficult to get consistent coloring when trying to stain the bone which is why most of mine are left natural. On this girl's face you did great just to get any definition at all, that is a Small head.
I've been using a cheapie flex shaft I got from contenti.com for ( look for their "Economy Flex shaft tool) 69$ but it is at $83 now I think but great tool for the $.
Also got a Cheapie, Wecheer Micromotor for $129 and it seems well worth the bucks. Though it is not a NSK or other high power tool it does the job. Don't remember now where I got it but I posted it in the zTools thread sosmewhere. :o

I think she is cool stain area or not.

Nice work Ray...lucky f'ckers in Florida! They get first dibs on this beautiful work. SEND SOME TO SO.CAL SOON!!!!

dude.. i sum how misssed all this stuff.. fucken amazing!!!

It's Mangoliscious!

Benzart, thanks again for all the nifty tool info, I'll search the Toolz thread when I get into a position to buy a micro-motor or other item. You're saying this is a Small head? Wow, thanks.

Seeksurf, thanks for liking the stain. I will probably hit it with some fine sandpaper and rebuff to change the look a tad.

TikiG, thanks for the comments. I'll send a few your way one of these days.

Kirby, following your thread, it is easy to see how you missed mine... USB pendant, commemorative CD work, losing a Rumpus Room alumni. Thanks for the peek.

Grog, thanks. Now if Grog could only send me his dino bones (a la Flintstones)from dinner or his lunch, I would be set for life.

I remembered to take some in-process photos today, and thought I would share a little bit more about how I go about this.

After I do a few hours of research on a style I want to do and sketch it a few times, I redraw the design on my bone and hack-off the unused bits with a pull saw. As you can see, I decided to do another Maori design, this time it is a Manaia. I like the fact that there's isn't a "set look" for this, as long as you have the eye present.

Once I have the basic working piece, I hit the bench grinder to get the outside shape about 90% complete. This creates the most amount of dust, and if I had a coping saw or a band saw, this would go a lot faster and there would be way less dust.

I'm between jobs right now, so my disposable income is very non-disposable at the moment, but I was able to buy this small set of burrs and grinders from Lowe's for about $12... my price range. Sizes range from 1/8" down to 1/32" I think.

I use an 1/8" ball burr to hog-out all the interior cavities. My work surface is a piece of plywood across my lap as I sit in an old metal desk chair. My neck loves me.

Presto! Through the magic of modern technology, I'm mostly done with all the interior work, at least 75% of it. Now comes the really fun stuff, I get to switch between different burrs, grinders, and chucks about 1 million times to finish off the piece.

My helper dog, Matai, loves to just sit near my feet when I am doing anything, I swear he's part cat. I imagine all the bone dust I create must be like cocaine for the dog, he'll lick my feet and shins clean of the dust.

Pupule Tiki!

[ Edited by: TikiMango 2009-06-02 13:53 ]

Looks like bone dust is more like Canine Quaaludes! Awesome stuff Mango!

Great bone carving TikiMango. The PNG piece is killer.

I'm digging this new design.

Wow! Great stuff! The bone dust is REAL bad for us humans, I have no idea what it'll do for dogies. I can't picture him with a mask! HA HA

You're on fire: one piece per day!!

Ryoba saw, me too my prefer...

Very interesting in-progress pics and very good piece!

J.

Wow, what a busy week for me. I had friends drop-in from Kentucky, Alaska and Japan, some that I haven't seen in 15yrs. I guess June is the vacation month. It's really cool to be able to talk with old friends like you just saw them yesterday. All the "make nice" with old friends didn't leave me any time to be creatively productive, but I did manage to finish up the Manaia from the progress pictures.

This piece is by far my largest one, measures 4.38" long by 1.5" wide. I thought by making it large I could put more detail in, but it just means more surface area to smooth.

I think I need to start going a bit smaller than this. Probably not as small as others would go, but smaller still.

I tried getting different heights going on this piece, probably too subtle. I would also like to know how you guys get your eyes so dang round and symmetric?

Your stuff is really beautiful, Mango.
I don't see any problems with those eyes from here.
I just posted a small Manaia/ Matau inspired piece on my thread and now I feel its a little kindergarten-esque compared with your work.

Keep raising the bar!

Ohhhhhhhhh! Gman likee!!!!

there seems to be a sunami of GREAT stuff hitting the post these last couple weeks. yours to be included in that creative wave MR Mango! great work... man i have to get off my butt!!!!!

Awsome work.......nothing else i can say but ...NICE

Tikisbytyler, if we keep pushing each other, sooner or later one of us is going over the edge without a barrel. Thanks.

GMAN and Creative Chimp, thanks for the comments. This piece was fun, and it actually forced a little patience out of me.

So I was talking about going smaller, and had a few scraps of bone handy. I find that I'm not throwing anything out just yet. I had bought some hardware at the store, but didn't really know what is was for until I knew what it was for.

So this little guy is 1.38" long and 1" wide overall.

Getting symmetry on this pair was a real pain, literally. My hand was cramping so badly as I tried to keep them back-to-back and from moving around as I used the Dremel. I guess some soft-jawed clamps are one of my future purchases.

The first wahine to give me her room key at Hukilau... just kidding. :P I didn't know I was going to make earrings until they were done. After I did the first one I thought to myself, "Wow, that's too small now."

Very nice!
I'm enjoying this run, Mango!
I hope you don't mind that I've been using your creative streak to fuel my own ambitions.
With all this rain its good to have something to keep me motivated.
That Manaia figure is AWESOME!
Dig the earings, but don't let my wife see them - I have a small showing at a local wine bare in about 2 weeks and she's already claimed a couple of the new pieces for herself.

Your manaia is WOW!! Very impressive!!
And the ear pendants top cool! I understand what you say when you talk about real pain to getting symmetry...

J.

TikiMango you have it goin on my friend!!What a bunch of Beautiful carvings.Great stuff !!Keep it up,Aloha, Mooney

MAN! Good show there TM! Nice smooth, white bone. I'm loving what's coming out of Satellite.
Hey how is Dakine Diego's anyway?

your kicking ass and taking names, your no hack, thats for sure.. you defiantly have my respect!!!Awesome!!

Tikisbytyler, thanks for the comments. Grab inspiration where ever you can, sometimes in the most unexpected places.

Laojia, thank you for the kind words. Does your handle mean anything in particular?

MooneyTiki, mahalo! I just spent the better part of an hour going through your carvings. Great, huge, gorgeous pieces!

Surfintiki, thanks for checking in again. I have not had the chance to get to Dakine Diego's yet, not sure why. I do like burritos. If you're ever over this way...

Kirby, thanks for the props! It's all your fault for not showing me how to handle a hook knife while I was in SoCal.

Speaking of inspiration, I was inspired by Surfintiki's surfboards I saw yesterday, and the fact that I probably won't be making it out to Tiki Oasis this year. So I figured that I needed to make my own memorabilia. Besides, after a few drinks, people won't remember if I was there or not (but I was there, see? I have this pendant). So I tried to duplicate Ku's surfboard in the TO9 flier in bone.

I really liked the design on the board, and thought it was possible with a few tweaks.

Not an exact copy, which is a good thing, right? I'm not sure if I should hang it pointed end up or down, any thoughts? I was disappointed that the discoloration in the lower right did not sand away.

There used to be a guy that shaped boards that lived in my neighborhood back in the day. I think he worked for Ocean Ave or Quiet Flight, can't remember which. I know he used to do all their team boards, I guess hanging out with him paid off a bit.

Really nice bone works. Careful or the bone won't let you go back to wood. :lol:

Benzart, I think it already has it's claws sunk deep!

I managed to squeeze one more out, now I gotta pack for Hukilau!

I've seen these hammerhead pendants before, and always thought they were cool.

I'm getting a little more steady with the Dremel. The trick is to overdose on caffeine in the form of Mountain Dew... rock steady!

Nice Ray!

Whatever you don't sell at Hukilau....

....who am I kidding?

Awesome, Mango!!!
The hammerhead is really cool.
Wish I was gonna make it down to Hukilau!

Have a blast!

One more time a very cool pendant... You're on fire with bone carving! Have you find a cow skeleton in your garden? :roll:

J.

nice nice nice!

Excellent stuff mango, can't wait to see it and you at Hukilau!

Wow, what a weekend! Hukilau was great, hot, but still great. The pool temp at the hotel I was staying at was a refreshing 92f. I remember after Oasis last year, I had such a tiki overload that I couldn't even think about trying to make anything. It took me a solid 2 months to come down from that high! This time however I am steeled and resolved.

TikiG- I sold 3 of the 7 I brought. I have to thank TikiMike and TikiHana for letting me share some table space during the weekend.

Tikisbytyler- Thanks, you missed a great event, but you can redeem yourself by either going to Oasis in Auguest, or next year's Hukilau.

Laojia- No cow skeletons in my garden, but I do know where a few canines are buried... hmm? The guy at the store where I get my bone must think something is afoot.

Seeksurf- Thanks, thanks, thanks for enjoying my stuff.

Benzart- It was great meeting you face-to-face, and your art! They are so much more amazing when you actually get to hold one of your pieces. And to actually get a chance to watch you carve... way cool.

I had all this pent-up energy, had to carve da bone! Three new peices after I caught up on lost sleep.

Another hook, and sorry for the photo quality. I think my camera took a dive during Hukilau, it won't take macro shots.

The ring has Easter Island Rongorongo glyphs all around it. I decided to break out my india ink and give scrimshaw a try. I think I need something smaller than a 3/32 burr. It is a bit on the thick side, but I might open it up a tad to wear on my ring finger. Right now I am guessing it is a size 10, so it might grow to a size 12.

Usually when I cut a piece of bone, I cut "at the corners" and grind everything flat. This time I decided to utilize that thickness and curvature.

My Little Marquesan, third leg and all. I decided to give him cheeks, wasn't sure what to do.

Oops, almost forgot...

I'd let Matai wear it if I didn't think he'd eat it. I think he'll grow into it nicely.

Pupule Tiki!

[ Edited by: TikiMango 2009-06-16 07:46 ]

TikiMango you are crankin out some really sweet carvings!!!I love the flow with your lines, Aloha, Mooney

that Marquesan and RongoRongo ring RULE!
you got the fevah!

Mango -

Awesome new things. Of all of them, I like the Marquesan best. Rings too huh? I like that too! The scrimshaw technique should be explored furthur I see potential there.

Great to hear you sold a few things at Hukilau.

When are you going to carve a Matai pendant? His (cute and innocent)face just screams bone carving..and..instead of a hook..how cool would it be to see Matai wearing a small Matai pendant?

Thanks again for sharing.

Hey TikiMango. Love your stuff! Great details!