Lake Tiki - 8/23/2013 - Red Cedar

Hey Lakes,these latest guys are great,that yellow pine looks a treat to carve but not being familiar with it I
was curious how it would compare with cypress.Cheers Watango

The Ku is awesome! I was just at Pu'uhonua o Honaunau Historical Park last week. It is hands down my favorite place in the world. I actually went twice while I was in Hawaii for the week. I met the the native who was replacing all the Ki'i like his ancestors before him. He had some great stories, gave me some knowledge and his blessing as well.

[ Edited by: drasticwagon 2010-08-25 03:51 ]

Dude seriously, your chisel work is amazing.

You have totally inspired me to lay down the angle grinder on my current piece and go chisel only.

Zowy! You're knocking me out! Depth is right.

Grog... thanks much my friend! You're no slouch yourself! Your mug work is looking really great and that was a hell of a haul you brought to Oasis!

Watango, thanks! Yellow Pine is a treat, especially fresh! Softer then Cypress... many times as soft as butter with a sharp chisel!

Drastic, much thanks for the compliment! That's very cool that you got to experience that all in person! I'm still trying to get back to the Islands... never been to the big one buyt have been to Kauai and Oahu long ago.

pjc5150, thanks! Go for it! Good luck!

BigT, mahalos! This one was a lot of fun to carve.

Here's some finished shots of the tikis I carved from last Wednesday through this week, except for the Kona Ku, which is still drying.

Smaller tikis in the 8 - 10" range

[ Edited by: lake surfer 2010-12-05 22:55 ]

WOW! More amazing stuff Dave!

Chris

wow. once you see this style Lake Surfer, it's hard to think about much else. the texture is making me crazy! very nice!

Now we're talking about some tikis! Beautiful and exciting work Lake,
as mentioned above, top-notch on your finishing skills. Great to see you
working with some bigger chunks of wood again.

Thanks again everyone for your compliments and feedback!

Here are some pictures of the just finished "Kona Ku."

Awesome texture going on there. I'm glad that you keep it like that. The classic look is always the way to go in my book. Just looking at them, I can feel their essence of MANA emulating from each one. Great job! Go sell your sander now coz you won't be needing it any longer! :lol:

you dick !!! Now I gotta try harder.

coconuttzo, thanks so much for the kind compliments. I've settled into a happy groove lately with my work.
Fully enjoying each and every piece I do. Must be the Mana for sure.

Never liked sanding either. :wink:

i like the texture also,make them look old already
plus anytime you can do less sanding has got to be a good thing!

Just wanted to show you the piece you inspired.

Obviously not as good as the stuff you just completed, but I'm learning.

Basically it's a going away gift for the girl standing on the tiki's right side. Everyone was very stoked and loved the "hand-cut" look. Thanks for inspiring me. I'm going to start doing more like this.

Lake I love your new Groove, it's great that you're finally happy with your work.

Nice carve pjc5150, and I'm honored that I was an inspiration to your latest creation!

There's no better gift then something that someone made themselves, and I'm sure your tiki will be cherished for along time.

I'm by no means an expert at this, probably never will be... and a newbie when compared to the likes of our own Mr. Ben Davis. :)

But everyday, myself and everyone else gets a little better at it and a little more confident. The main thing is that you enjoy it!

Benz, I always appreciate your compliments and advice... thanks much! Just grooving and chopping my way along!

Thanks man.

I've kinda relied mostly on power tools, but I am going to look at a flex-cut chisel set today.

Hopefully it'll broaden my horizons a little. I felt very satisfied after cutting that one by hand. Made some mistakes, but I kinda feel like it was a rouch draft for future stuff.

Mahalo bro.

After 3 hours of drawblade, angle grinder, more drawblade, more angle grinder... this 5 foot palm log is ready to go.

I'll be carving it this weekend at the Dairyland Surf Classic in Sheboygan, WI.

This is our kickoff to the big surf season... the Largest Gathering of Freshwater Surfers on Earth!

Hope to have pictures next week!

Only my second time carving palm... gonna be interesting!

Nice palm log!! Don't mess it up!!

Yeah, no pressure there Kirby! :wink:

I'm gonna take some chops at it today to see how it goes...

Maybe I missed it, but where did you get a palm log???

On 2010-09-01 09:42, 4WDtiki wrote:
Maybe I missed it, but where did you get a palm log???

Finkdaddy brought it to Wisconsin when he moved back from Florida. He said he wasn't going to get at it anytime soon and wanted to know if I wanted it.

If I remember right, this log actually came from Benz!

Well, that settles it. I think we will move to Florida so I can get more of this palm log stuff to carve.
What a treat!
I couldn't wait until the weekend, so I took some chops on this guy, then took some more chops,
and then realized that if I kept it up I wouldn't have anything to carve this weekend.

So here's some of the 5 foot palm tiki I'm working on...

I'm really digging this palm. Benz, if you are reading this, do you remember what kind of palm this is?
For me, its as much effort as carving Yellow Pine, but I'm loving the crisp, clean cuts I can get with just a little effort.

And unlike Pine and Ash, this is got a great tropical vibe going on for me!

You're making short work on that log. More than likely its a Cabbage/Sabal Palm. Two things to be aware of when carving Palm is that you may have to sharpen your chisels more often (the wood has a lot of Silica in it) - and there are ALOT more spinters! After carving Ash, you probably took your first swing and dug in twice as deep as normal? Now you know the secret of why people carve Palm! Come on down - I have a whole pile of logs!! Hurricane swell coming!!!!!

[ Edited by: AlohaStation 2010-09-01 13:04 ]

SWWEEEETT!

GO LAKE GO!

welcome to my world...palm love it or hate it....it's great when it's great.

A.S. - carving does go quick on this stuff! Thanks for the ID on it! I do like it a bunch, and would love more sometime. Thinking about doing Hukilau in 2011, so that would be a good opportunity to pick some more up! Not too bad on the splinters right now... the chips remind me of Graham Crackers. It is strange though, I have noticed some checking though... thought the log was pretty dry. I guess anything that you take the bark off of is going to dry out quick.

I'll be keeping the chisels sharp, thanks for the tip!

I did whack it pretty hard the first few times... the strikes go pretty deep. Got a good feel for it now, and I can compare it to carving very fresh Yellow Pine.
I love how crisp you can get an edge.

Enjoy your waves!

tikigodz and drasticwagon, thanks guys!

Al, I can see how that goes... luckily this is a good piece, but some very small areas get a bit funky. Would hate to have a whole log like that.
You do some amazing things with palm... working with it has given me a little insight into your world.

WOW, this piece seems to be on its way to be finished very soon !
Crazy stuff as always.

B.

Looking that way for sure, Benjamin! Sometimes you gotta pull back on the reins though and leave a little for later on!

Too much fun carving this guy though!

Palm hu? Looks like it is holding up well.

Dave I like the notch look you give to it ...similar to the vintage peanut mugs .
This seems to be a Lake Tiki trade mark you are incorporating in your work and I
am really liking it .

[ Edited by: 1961surf 2010-09-03 12:46 ]

About time you carved some real wood...

Looks good for a Palm Newb!

Runs

Pretty cool Dave. I'm like you not having the Palm around...and now you've sunken into it. Cool to watch.

On 2010-09-01 12:54, Lake Surfer wrote:
Well, that settles it. I think we will move to Florida so I can get more of this palm log stuff to carve.
What a treat!
I couldn't wait until the weekend, so I took some chops on this guy, then took some more chops,
and then realized that if I kept it up I wouldn't have anything to carve this weekend.

So here's some of the 5 foot palm tiki I'm working on...

I'm really digging this palm. Benz, if you are reading this, do you remember what kind of palm this is?
For me, its as much effort as carving Yellow Pine, but I'm loving the crisp, clean cuts I can get with just a little effort.

And unlike Pine and Ash, this is got a great tropical vibe going on for me!

Hey Lake, Glad you like this palm, it IS Cabbage palm and there is enough here for you to carve for the rest of yer life so C'mon Down and git it...
(I hear Tiki Hana is looking for a room mate)
Good looking carve to!

h

Lookin' great Dave! I'm glad you could use the wood. How did the wood hold up as you got deeper into the log, like in the mouth? I find that the middle of the palms logs are tough to use.

Lovin It ! You to bizzy surfin'
Gotta have more pics! Brother.

Well, back from a long holiday weekend, and the Dairyland Surf Classic. Drying the wetsuit today since we did indeed get waist to chest high waves yesterday. I am paying for the 6 hour session today in the back and arms, but it is all good.

Time to get to some responses!

Seeks, thanks much! Holding up well for sure, but some slight checking the last few days.

Bill, thanks for the compliments! I do see that I've settled into a distinctive style lately... for sure inspired by some other artists.
I like the tool mark look, and it really shows the work and the strokes that go into a piece like this. Pretty mind boggling when you think of the hundreds of blows that carve out the form.

McTiki... :wink: No worries my friend, I'm for sure a newb when it comes to this material. Loving it though, and I think I'm getting it down! :)

Thanks surfin Dave! Would really love a haul of this, but I'll get the most outta this guy until I can get more.

Benz, Cabbage Palm! Thanks for the correct type! Now I know what to look for! And thanks for passing this guy on up this way!
Would love to move on down to Florida in a second, but I'd have to work on a plan with the wife! Maybe one of these days...

Fred, thanks for stopping by and thanks for your compliment! No worries on this guy right through the middle. I was a little worried, but I pretty much carved right through the core and it held up very solid. Slight checking now as it still continues to lost some moisture, but no too bad.

Mahalo tikigodz! More pictures coming right up!

This past Saturday was the Dairyland Surf Classic. No surf on Saturday allowed me to do a bunch of carving on this guy, and I'm now down to the lower body and legs.
I have to do some more sketching as I work on the arms and legs. I'll continue on with this as time allows, but I have to get a few more pieces done for the Forbidden Island Parking Lot Sale in a few weeks!

Quit making it look so easy or everybody will want to carve, and you won't be able to sell any.

This one is KILLER. GROG like.

sweeeeeeet!!!!!!!! thats some grooovy carving lakesurfer. real awsome.

[ Edited by: Creative Chimp 2010-09-08 05:48 ]

Very nice Lake! Talk about leaping into a piece of wood!

i recently found and reappropriated 11 sabal & cabbage Palm logs. Heavy as hell, but, I need the exercise.

Thanks for sharing!

Oh HELL yeah! NOW I see what you were talking about. That is superb, Dave. Bravo!
Great chatting with you last night...oh, that's Sammy- gotta go :wink:
-Andy
ps waist high surf...grrrr...thanks alot, kook!

Like Grog said, you make it look too easy! I know, however, that it's not. Major props to you!

Great looking tiki there, atta boy Dave!

good good stuff! bold design!

Missed you at Oasis this year!

I love that head that u do Very coool!

This fella is the BOMB! Perfect!