KINO's carving thread....

3 & 3a, I'd let them dry completely before applying any finish. You live in AZ, they should dry out in a few weeks. I live in FL, and it takes months for them to dry out due to the humidity. I sealed mine too fast, mold grew under the varnish. Not the greatest thing to happen.

KINO I have all the same questions. The only problem with praying them is cost$$$
Also after i toast them up the brush on technique starts to spread the char every where. So your right labor itensive and pretty much an all out pain in the.....

Are you going to put the carving inside or outside. What is the rain like in your area. I have used spray and it just doesn't hold up to South Florida weather.

TikiMango--- So, after you finish carving, you just wait till its all dried and relatively light ? I tried some testing on some older, very dry Tiki's and they just soak up everything I throw at them without leaving any real amount of material on the outside.

tikigodz--- I read somewhere on here that someone uses a wire brush or something like that after burning. Might be worth a try.

tikilizard--- Probably gonna live outside, and our average annual rainfall is only about 3 inches. The real problem is the brutal sun ! It just bakes everything !

Keep the suggestions flowing, please !!!

Hey Kino thanks for chekin in on my thread.
I beleive Big tikiScott burns them ,then carefully stains around the char ,after drying he brushes on spar Sands then buffs. Best check his thread on his last Tiki . he explains it better than me..

Hey Kino, I LOVE your questions:

"
Can any of you more experienced guys answer these questions for me ?

1- if I'm not sanding my piece will the above technique still have a nice look ?

2- how many coats of each product should I use ?

3- I carve palms, do I need to let them dry completely before the shellac/varnish ?

3a- if I seal them when they are still wet, will the moisture eventually dry out ?(slower maybe)

4 - what should I use to seal the top and bottom ?"
............

1, If you don't sand the carving it jst won't look too refined,,of course it depends on how well it was finished to begin with. If it is mostly chisled then not a lot of sanding is needed, if it is Chainsaw and grinder then more sanding is needed. With palm you don't want to rub against it and feel sharp thingies.

2,, I don't quite understand this ? so will just go over a quick finishing. first it depends on the wood, for palm you may need a few coats of stain depending on the look you want so stain is a "Just what looks good" kind of deal. for the clear, I like to give 2 or 3 coats of shellac as a sealer after the stain because it dries fast and can be SANDED between coats quickly. After the shellac, you already have a nice look and now you need the protection and the poly's or varnishes are next. LOOK at the directions before buying as many of the drying times are different and you want the fastes drying time because you should put on at least 3 coats to get the protection you want,, th More the merrier. You just don't wnt to be re coating it 6 months down the road. REMEMBER the poly's and varnishes are mostly for Protection. You Need to sand between coats to get proper adhering of the next coat.

3, should you let the palm dry before the poly coats? well it will take forever to dry a palm log so no is the correct answer but you need to let the Surface be dry which could take a few days.
3a. If you don't let the surface dry the palm will continue to dry BUT not n all areas. The nasty MOLD comes around and really not look good then the finish will start to flake off so See # 3 and let the surface dry well.

4. What to use to seal the top and bottom? The same stuff you use on the sides, just remember #'s 1, 2, 3 and 3a. Sometimes it is a good idea to attach a bottom "Base" board to the carving for stability since by now you found that you forgot to level the base before you started to carve(Always the first step!). Just finish the bottom before you attach the base.

EASY, 4 steps to finishing your tiki. Remember every piece is different, every log is different and all the finishes are different, the ONLY thing that is Not different is the Sanding part which ALWAYS Needs to be done.
You had mentioned the burning thing. For palm burning is a great way to rid the piece of the sharp splinters always sticking up but that is another whole chapter!

Hope this helps and also remember these are only My recommendations, everyone else will have their own. This works for me and I've been doing this for 25 years and have Always looked for the Easiest lazy mans way to finish a tiki!

Ben,
Thank you again so much for sharing your experience and expertise.
The detail of your explanations is VERY helpful and equals the great detail
of your carvings.

Everyone here on TC is so helpful.

Mahalo

In the meantime, I have been wanting to bust out some simpler pieces to feed my addiction.
I have a stockpile of about 20 logs right now that should keep me busy most of the Winter.

Here is the start of my first Moai.
Stripped the log and roughed it out this morning.
Took about 3 hrs to get to this point.

nice start And wsy to keep .em coming
BEN you are the MAN!!!!! Knowledge is power,

Kino, Excellent looking Moai, take your time , he is looking Perfect!
(Thanks t-godz.)

Ben,
thanks again for da kine words.
I'm not going for perfection this time, just looking for the 'vibe'.
No sketching or layout, I just started chopping away.
The log is real wet and I'm waiting for it to dry a little bit now that it is cut deep. I hope it doesnt split out too bad. I'll just wait and see.

I had to wait for this Moai to dry a bit before continuing.
Sure enough, he cracked pretty good, but I think they add to his character.
And this is not the greatest log to begin with.

Anyway, here are some shots after sanding and stain.

The stain is called puritan pine.
Looks a little light right now, but it will richen up after the varnish. (I think)
Varnish and more pics tomorrow.

Got him sealed today.
I know he's not the best looking or most original,
but I had to chop a fresh piece to try out some finishing things I
learned here on TC. This Moai will be a first place prize at a holiday party that we throw every December.

looks good. I think i might just try Moai for my next carve.

Since the shellac/urethane apps went well on the Moai
I bought more cans and drenched the Flaming Ku.
No stain on the ku, he already had a rich tone.
The first 2 pics are more what he looks like in person.
(flash on cameras are tricky)

moai looks kick ass dude!! very nice! and the other guy is sooooo wicked!! keep it up and lets see sum more!! cheerz!!

Kino, the Moai looks finished to me and an excellent job too!
The last one is cool too and has a Painful, angry grimace on his face and looking at the back side I can see why,,, His Hair is on FIRE. Hurry put it out before he goes bald! :o

claq, tiki Scott, Ben - mahalo for da kine words.

Ben and Aaron- extra special thanks for the instructions and advice on applying the finish.
I'm quite pleased that I didnt ruin anything.

More to come.....

Well, it's been way too long since I been here.
I finally managed to get some time and this is what I got.
I still have a little bit of fine tuning, then the finish.

The inspiration for this guy came from a skull I saw here at TC
quite a while ago. I dont remember who it was though.

kino!!! glad to see yah chopin!!! this skull is sweeeeett!!! cant wait to see him finished!!! nice and clean and unique love it!!! cheerz!!

Mahalo for da-kine words Scott.
He was pretty easy, but quenched my thirst.
Here he is all torched up.
I have labeled him ' The Tooth Fairy '
The spar is gonna have to wait a little due to weather
and free time.

to boldly go where no man has gone before....

way to push the boundaries!

Aloha everyone !
I havent posted anything new in a long time, but have been lurking for a few weeks because my carving season is here. I started brushing off the cobwebs of my tools a couple weeks ago.
Here's what I have so far.....

.
.
.
.

1st - these 2 are from the same log, sumthin simple just to get choppin,
just sanded, no finish yet

This is a fresh and very wet log. I scored a bunch and wanted to see
how bad it would crack if I carved it. Still waiting for it to dry for sanding

Started this one on a dry log using 'economy of cuts'. Not sure I'm liken him
so I put him aside for awhile.

This is a small slit drum I hollowed out last year
just to see the sound it would make. It lingered in the yard all year, so
I decided to decorate and finish it (with my new V tool)
I'm in the process of making some sticks for it

Just started this one today. I have a 4' tongue tiki that my wife loves, but
a bunch of carpenter bees made it their home. Thought I'd make her a new one.

My 7yr old daughter wanted to try her hand with a chisel,
its a portrait of me. :o

Kino Thanks You

[ Edited by: Kino 2010-11-08 13:45 ]

Kino, that slit drum looks Great! What kind of wood, and what did you use to hollow it out? That's gonna be gorgeous when you stain it.

Thanks 4wdtiki. The wood is african sumac. just something I came across last year. I have
few more pieces of it although they are on the smaller side.
This drum is only about 2' long. I hollowed it out with a chainsaw about 90 %.
Then tried to clean it up inside with a chisel.
The pic shows it lightly stained, I didnt want to go real dark, thought I would lose the details I chipped into to it.
This wood when peeled is a pine looking color and if left to dry more starts
to show 'red' flavors. And the grain of the logs twist.

It sounds cool , if only I could play it well.

Anyway, here are some progress pics of two I started last week.
They need some stain and whatnot (I havent decided completely yet)
otherwise, I'm calling them done.

Any ideas, suggestions, feedback are welcome.
Mahalo for looking.

On 2010-11-08 13:44, Kino wrote:

BEAUTIFUL !!!

amate, thanks for looking, and mahalo.

Ive been a little busy as of late, but did find some time to
finish some guys I started earlier
Here is an update ....

these next 2 I used the same stain, from the same can
the moai has a nice sweet golden brown color to it,
but the tongue dude came out with reddish overtones.
Does anyone know why this happens ?

[ Edited by: Kino 2010-11-20 18:42 ]

On 2010-11-20 18:23, Kino wrote:
these next 2 I used the same stain, from the same can
the moai has a nice sweet golden brown color to it,
but the tongue dude came out with reddish overtones.
Does anyone know why this happens ?

Looks to me like the moai was 'de-barked' down deep to the good wood, and the tongue tiki not as deep, barely past the bark.

4wd - thats what I thought at first, but I did cut deep inside the mouth and tongue
and the stain is reddish in there too.
Maybe its the log itself or something. I'm not sure, but I will try the same color
again on another piece/log and see what happens.

On another note, as you all can see, I am all over the place with
the different styles of carvings. I say its because I dont want them all to look the same. Keeps me interested and challenged.

Are the two pieces from the same tree?

On 2010-11-21 07:42, 4WDtiki wrote:
Are the two pieces from the same tree?

no, not the same tree, but one would think that stain
from the same can would be at least close in color.

Those EI's (Easter Islanders) are about as stoic as poker players! Those are four righteous tikis spread out there!!

mijaba - mahalo for looking

I've got more started but waiting for them to dry a little,
and now the holiday weekend

Been too busy to get any choppin done, but I'm gettin itchy.
More to come.....