New lono and Marq for the holidays

Let the log continue to dry as long as possible. Stain will cover the discoloration but the mold will continue to grow if the log is not dry. I use Minwax stains and Poly. Home Depot or Lowes usaually carries a standard variety. DO NOT USE the stain and poly in one - pure crap!

thanks aloha! i'll get some at lowes and see if i screw it up. the mold is kinda weird actualy......it will show up after about 5-6 days and looks like a light greyish blue dust. should i sit this log outside since we are having nice weather lately in florida? i thought that might make it crack more if it drys too fast. it has sat in my garage for over a year.

also.....you cant tell from the pics but this log got attacked by carpenter bees(2 holes in the head i have to putty up). those little suckers can drill a perfect hole faster than a drill. is that common with these palms?

Creative Chimp

[ Edited by: Creative Chimp 2010-04-05 08:49 ]

Great looking carve! Very nice long flowing lines all coming together well.

very cool keep up the good work

Keep it inside if you can - the humidity is contributing to the mold. Clear the existing mold and look for any new growth. You can still stain the log just wait after you stain it and see if any new mold grows. Don't seal it with poly till your sure the mold has stopped growing. If you don't the mold will continue to grow under the Poly.

seeksurf and marcus.....thanks for looking and your compliments. means alot coming from 2 pros like yourselves.

hey aloha......thats good to know about that poly cuz thats where i would have screwed up. mold is a tuff lil bugger to get rid of. i'll just stain it for now and let it sit and see......thanks again for your help. maybe actually finish him this weekend and start the stain

[ Edited by: Creative Chimp 2010-04-06 06:16 ]

On 2010-04-04 16:36, Creative Chimp wrote:

Excelent work you do ...

I love it....resurrected from the ashes. Call him Phoenix! This carving almost looks drawn. You truly have talent...keep going.

Hi dude, nice one indeed, the lines are always neat, I love what you did with the hands and the eyes are top shelf.
Can't wait for the next steps,

Mahalo,

Benjamin.

laojia, tikitammy, benella,
...thank your for your compliments and checking out my stuff. I've been struggling with this guy since the beginning and hopefully it will be worth it. learned alot what not to do thats for sure.

i put a first coat of stain on this guy(red oak minwax) and it went a weeee bit dark. had alot of trouble actually on picking out a stain and seeing how different the color changes when it touches the wood. alot different from the chip to say the least. i tried 3 different cans.....they hate me at ace hardware for returning stuff now.

so here is a question for all the experts out there....
?????
should i just sand down the high spots and go back with a lighter stain to help give it more definition or just finish the 2 or 3 more coats and finish this sucker off and move on? this has been an experiment from the beginning.....any ideas???????

Here it is in its future spot waiting for the stain to dry a bit

thanks everbody

Creative Chimp

[ Edited by: Creative Chimp 2010-04-10 06:55 ]

[ Edited by: Creative Chimp 2010-04-10 06:59 ]

WOOWWWW!!! Chimpo that looks great did you put poly on it?
I have been trying to get that loop into the nose for a while wth no luck
Looks like you nailed it !!!

I struggled with the stain and still do. You have a great carve and have a good eye for
tikis. Id move on. Im expecting great thing from your shop.

Thanks tikigodz for the comps......your faster than me, whats ya got cooking lately?

Seeksurf!!!! I'm taking your advice and moving on. I've learned alot from this troubled tiki from the beginning. Now let's see if I can actualy finish the next one I have started.....spendIng some extra time on the nose:)

Gotta say a big thanks to alohastation...... Your help saved me from making some painful mistakes. Thanks man!

well i put 1000 coats of stain on this tiki from the fire pit......time to move on to the second tiki......the cypress medicine man.

and a fancy photo (although not that fancy) done with the best iphone app in the world "hipstamatic". if your an artist and have an iphone.....you MUST buy this photo application..TRUST ME!its more addicting than crack.....

Creative Chimp

[ Edited by: Creative Chimp 2010-04-15 18:18 ]

[ Edited by: Creative Chimp 2010-04-15 18:47 ]

Hey everybody,

here is an update on the medicine man 7' cypress log. i thought i would have it done by now but the detailing is killing me. bit off more than i can chew on this one but it will be worth it in the end. the photos are not great. but you can see the progress. iphone in low light

NICE!!! Looking really cool. For sure the detail comes @ a cost, but when you are done
its there for as long as the tiki is loved.

I have to disagree, you did NOT bite off more than you can chew. It's looking great!

Bite off a little more :)
Really like this tiki and the one before it.

Super Awesome.

Love the medicine man!!
Great details!
Is that gonna be Earth between his hands...
Maybe rename him...
Protector of the Planet!! :)

SEEKS,
4WDTIKI,
CONGATIKI,
DRASTICWAGON,

Thanks for the compliments guys. it will be worth it but man when is it ever going to be done? I'm putting the hours in but just cant finish it. i have another log waiting and another curing in the back......I'd like to start chopping on those.

MEHEADHUNTER.....nope its not the earth. its going to be some magic swirls and some other details. he might look stoned and maybe tripping on something when im done but thats what medicine men do right? i really have no idea.....I'm really just making it up as i go from my original sketch on the previous pages.

thanks for looking ....going back in to do some details

Wow! That's some cool stuff. I can see the time you're putting in, and your after my own heart with all the sanding, and soft looking edges on the arm moko...lookin' great!

This "medecine man" pole is amazing!!! :o :o :o When it will finished, it will be a beautiful piece and a very personal design. It was worth the wait...

J.

well. been on vacation and havent done much, and still need to touch up and stain the old medicine man. started catching up on some yard work and decided to at least get rid of some frustrations from working too much.......

I beat the crap out of and stripped two inches of bark off this sabel palm i have had by my burn pit for the past two years. i cut off the bark like skinning a bear. not that i have ever done that but i used a 6 pack of beer and a bear claw knife. took two hours. the wood looks molded and not so good but if i take it down a half an inch i think i'll hit good wood (thats what she said)

I have suffered thru skinning several logs that were similar to your current project. I've asked several sources what kind of palm it is an no one had any idea. The best I can figure is that these are some species of Sabal - perhaps commercial - most of the logs were planted either along the roadside or in a Park where many full grown trees were planted. The wood is fine (a bit stringy), but the bark is a pain. Good luck!

I use a chainsaw to "rough" skin my logs and the angle gringer to smooth 'em. It usually doesn't take longer than 30 minutes.

yeah that palm you got ahold of looks like a LOT of work to skin. Love your carves though, good stuff!

i got the tree from someone i work with. its a sable that had the boots on (stems). i let it sit too long outside...but i think when it finally dries out and i take the planer and angle grinder to it it should clean up. even after all this time i still hit fresh pulp. its about 6 feet of trouble but I'll kick its ass......just need to bleach it and get it more dried out. then figure where the damage is. thanks for looking fellas.

Out of all the tools i have My favorite tool of choice is still the six pack of beer. It may slow work down but ya just dont care by number six. Its a win win for me and the palm.

Although common sense is a good tool too so power tools should never be used with a six pack.... EVER! just a comfortable chair

[ Edited by: Creative Chimp 2010-08-09 20:30 ]

Great expressions in those carves, good work!

Thanks Nomolos

here are some progress shots on the old trouble log (sable with dry rot). did most with the chain saw and finished with the angle grinder......still have some more to do but i let the log tell me what to do this time.........there was alot of deep damage on the back and in the area of the right eye position...... banged this puppy out in about 8 hours total...faster than a year........going to finish the face cuts and hopefully stain it this weekend.

AND..i have to dedicate this one to benella.......this piece was inspired by something he created a while back and he was kind enough to let me cut the piece similar to a body style he did......(for the record i asked his permission first) Thanks Benjamin!!! i still think his looked better though.....

[ Edited by: Creative Chimp 2010-08-31 11:02 ]

Das looking guud, Chimpers.

On 2010-08-31 11:01, Creative Chimp wrote:

:o

Amazing ! This one will be a masterpiece, that's sure.

Mahalo,

B.

Woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooow. It's really good.

The body came out really nice and the face is progressing nicely too! Its so hot in FL now that carving is a real struggle. I've been carving in my garage at night with the door closed. Its hot but at least the mosquitos don't eat me alive!

On 2010-08-31 11:01, Creative Chimp wrote:

Here we recognize well the style of Benella.... :lol: :P

Great carve CC! Really good, especially as the model on my desk.

J.

Grog....Thanks for lookin man!
Benella...couldnt have done it without ya....your version is still the best. this is just an ok copy of your original masterpiece..

Kahaka...thanks for the woooooooow
aloha.......YO MAN! thanks for looking and you aint kidding about this heat. not to mention the 100 feet of rain we got last week( i exaggerate a bit)

Laojia....yes i know it is benellas style. i asked him first. no point in copying but his design fit the log with all its problem areas. didn't want people on TC accusing me of ripping him off so i asked first!!!......thanks for checking it out man. your lucky to own the original benella masterpiece....wish i had one

[ Edited by: Creative Chimp 2010-09-01 13:59 ]

On 2010-09-01 13:31, laojia wrote:

Here we recognize well the style of Benella.... :lol: :P

Great carve CC! Really good, especially as the model on my desk.

J.

The benella's style is the beer the tiki's holding, because beer drives me crazy :lol:

You successed in putting your skills and style in this log dude, the cuts are neat.

B.

OOOOHHHH....ok bennella, i understand now ....thought laojia meant the design.....you mean you like beer too? i thought i was the only one that ever bought the stuff :) ha ha ha

YEEEES BEEEEEEEER!!!!!!! its SOOOOOOO F-ing GOOOOOOD! but not with power tools or heavy machinery.....i think!

Love It!!!

Classic! Great size, great body and that head WOW.

I am digging this design!

Nice carve!

Mahalo

Perfect log shape for this classic design. Looking oh-so-good so far!

tahitiki...thanks for looking man.
seeks.....yo bro. thanks for all your help.
tikidiablo....thanks for the comps
mctiki and surfintiki.....thank you guys

well i had all these plans and time this weekend to do all this stuff. finish some tikis etc.....well my kids keep using my tools. i need two of everything now cuz they got my same tiki bug too.....start-em young!!!!!!!. shes got a hibiscus flower bone pendant going....and im watchin.......good times.

[ Edited by: Creative Chimp 2010-09-06 11:18 ]

Looks like she's walking on your tracks dude ! Good times indeed.

B.

well here is my first attempt at bone carving. i wasn't worried about making it perfect and I'm not done with it....it was more of an learn how exercise and what tools work best project..its about 1 inch tall. got the bone from a pet store....its not a good photo, but you can see where i left off at least.

[ Edited by: creative chimp 2010-09-08 05:41 ]

Right On! Way to change it up.

ok...here is a piece that i finished in red heart(from mexico) its a 12x3x3 block. great wood with a red color. i loved carving this stuff...going to have to carve some more. i had help from benzart giving me some advice on the finish as well as alohastation. hes now with his new owner Benella way over the ocean in france. hope you like it benjamin. took me about 3 days total and ready to start another in a block of quina wood...

here are some progress images and the final piece image

redheart on the right, quina on the left

and a better image of the final from all sides

[ Edited by: Creative Chimp 2011-02-19 12:31 ]