Viva Todd Vegas! Dreaming of electric tikis...

Greetings, friends! I finally bit the bullet... I've been lurking at this site for over three years, and I finally decided to join. I've been having dreams of bringing electric tikis to life with my bare hands for a few years now. I have also been amazed at, and inspired by, the quality of work I've observed on this forum!

It seems almost unbelievable to me the quality some people achieve in their "my first tiki" posts. How someone carves their first tiki and has it magically turn into a piece of art (worthy of display in the finest tiki bar) is beyond me. However, I am not jealous. Oh wait, yes I am!! A few weeks ago I finally tried my hand at tiki carving for the first time, and the result was ahem simply glorious...

As you can see, I started with nothing but the finest virgin palm log, tenderly dried for 6 months in optimal conditions. OR perhaps I used an old, cracked log of unknown type (quite probably a hard wood) that was found laying in a yard in the upper Midwest. It had been laying in that yard for at least 7 months, through rain and snow...

My masterful design skills allowed me to put a design on the log that would inspire the ages, and brought about a fluid and skillful carving session that shocked and amazed me. OR perhaps my design was drawn too tightly for my non-existent carving skills to execute, and several vital pieces of wood that were supposed to remain in-tact were accidentally hacked off by my chisels, basically making it impossible to salvage the design. It is difficult to see in the picture, but trust me... It is FUBAR.

On the positive side, I only drew a little bit of my own blood. There was definitely some smashing of digits, but they bled very little. Bonus!

So there you have it... A "my first tiki carving" post where it actually looks like someone's first tiki, ha ha! Fortunately, I am undeterred by this rough start. I currently have no plans to attempt to save this tiki from its horribly incomplete and mangled state, but I do plan to get back on that tiki carving horse again, no matter how many times it bucks me off.

Thank you for your time!
Todd Vegas

Congrats on catching the disease.

Go deep!

This does not look FUBAR! I heard a rumor that wood goes all the way through to the other side of a log?? I suggest removing anything you don't like and keep carving deeper and deeper till you run out wood. Every tiki is different but yes some require blood to fuel their "tikiness". Keep going - if its your first, its gonna suck anyway (at least compared to your 100th). I know my first did.

On 2011-04-01 10:37, AlohaStation wrote:
This does not look FUBAR! I heard a rumor that wood goes all the way through to the other side of a log?? I suggest removing anything you don't like and keep carving deeper and deeper till you run out wood. Every tiki is different but yes some require blood to fuel their "tikiness". Keep going - if its your first, its gonna suck anyway (at least compared to your 100th). I know my first did.

Well, I do have the sucking part down pat... Maybe I should whack at it some more!

Keep at it Todd, and Save these Firsts, they'll be a treasure some day I Promise!

As a beginner to another beginner: get a softwood log that is not punky. I made the same mistake scavenging wood. The weathered stuff won't hold your design and bits will flake off. It's so frustrating.
I named my first carve 'Merle' as in 'Haggard.'

OK, I did NOT give up on carving! :wink: A great many things have happened since my last carving post though. I now live back in my home state of Michigan, which is something I've wanted for a long time. I'm finally getting my workshop set-up again too. I thought I'd share these pics from last year, of my second attempt at carving. I decided to start smaller this time, and with easier wood (basswood). This moai is still IN-PROGRESS. I know it's like looking at someone's preschool drawings (compared to a lot of the other carving talent on this forum), but you have to start somewhere, right? :wink:

I also wanted to say a belated THANK YOU for the encouraging replies I received to my first carving post!

[ Edited by: ToddVegas 2012-07-16 09:59 ]

Get it on
Have fun

Nice. Keep posting progress pics. I am almost done with my second one and I've got the bug too. My tikis don't look very good but I'm learning.