Lake Tiki - 8/23/2013 - Red Cedar

Babs, much thanks! Mixing things up here all the time to keep things fresh.

Hard to carve when the big lake is working its magic so much. Third big swell in the last 2 weeks.

I should have gone right on this one though!

Some big stuff in the works for Foundation Tiki Bar... stay tuned.

Man that break is so crowded, its a wonder you can go right or left.
Fun lookin wave. Whats the air and water temp?

Hoot it up bro,
keylo

[ Edited by: Keylo 2011-10-22 20:32 ]

I just wrapped up work on a trio of Papua New Guinea inspired stools for Foundation Tiki Bar here in Milwaukee.

The stools will compliment the other work I did for the new booth the bar put in back in July.

Each stool has a hand carved and hand painted face on each side of it, and for sitting comfort I created 2" thick vinyl cushions that attach to the top.

These measure in at 18" H x 14" W and are made of Cedar.

Delivery is on Wednesday!

[ Edited by: Lake Surfer 2011-11-08 00:00 ]

Beautiful PNG stools, those bright colors will stand out in a dimly lit Tiki bar.

Enjoyed your song BTW, "He even had the balls to surf Niagra Falls!" :lol:

Nice furniture Dave!

Waves still kickin up there?

Mahalo

McTiki

Excellent. I like the proportions - How tall are they?

What a great idea for stools! Gives new meaning to our
state slogan, "Something special from Wisconsin."
You are one busy carver...and it's always a treat.

MadDogMike, Thanks for the compliment! I love the color combination on these pieces. I'll have pictures by Wednesday of them at the bar and you'll see the theme we've got going in the booth.
A real honor to be featured in a Crazed Mugs song also!

McTiki, thanks you sir! These were a nice "out of the box" project.
Lot's of surf here lately, out of the last 7 days we got to surf 3 times.

Thank you Tom for the compliment! These are 18" tall and will sit around a small table on the stage at Foundation Tiki Bar. There's bench seating there also that is 18" high.
The width on them is 14" and one is around 13".

Conga, thanks a bunch! When Foundation Tiki Bar started in on the new booth, I really wanted to take off with a PNG theme since these days it is the generally overlooked theme in Polynesian Pop.
There are also a lot of Marquesan and Hawaiian pieces that I carved in the past in the rest of the bar, so now the PNG balances it all out.

[ Edited by: Lake Surfer 2015-03-22 12:16 ]

That is awesome bro.

Looks like you had some nice surf too....

Mahalo!

Lot's of tiki and surf going on here lately.

Nice work on the bar lakes,do you ever sleep man,how can one man make so much kool stuff?

Thanks Watango! Its been a lot of fun adding to the decor at Foundation Tiki Bar.

those stools and everything are awsome man!. like to try them out and see if i could drink beer on them......whats your next planned project for that place?

nice work lake!

anyone crazy enough to surf in water that cold is ok in my book. awesome work on the stools...they look great in their new home!

Chimp, thanks very much for the kind compliments! I had a couple Mai Tais myself on the stools and they are quite comfortable.
I used 2" high density foam covered with marine grade vinyl for the cushions.

Not sure what might be down the road there, just when I think they've got everything covered, they come up with a new project.
The variety has been a lot of fun.

NIxxon, water's still not too cold at 50 degrees! Air temps have been warm lately also at around 50. We've been getting waves about twice a week.
I really appreciate the compliment on the new work, thanks much!

Not TOO cold at 50 degrees?!?! I would need 2 7mm wetties to get into that :)

NIxxon, wetsuit technology is wonderful these days! A little extra gear (6/4 hooded wetsuit, 7 mil boots, 5 mil gloves) and you're toasty warm.
We'll be surfing in 38 degree water in the near future. Ever surfed with ice floating in the water? :)

[ Edited by: Lake Surfer 2013-01-13 12:28 ]

Kool stuff as usaul but I'm with Nixxon on the cold water thing,I'd go into shock and sink like a rock.
Booked flights to Hawaii yesterday and as it's our first time we're pretty darn excited might even give surf'n a crack
If i can put down my maitai and take off me jeans.Cheers Watango

Dave - I love that shot of you PNG corner. You did an awesome job on those carvings, really gave them the feel of traditional PNG designs that have been in place for years.

Sheesh...I need to come over here more often so I can gawk at your updates!

Good session today on the big lake! This was early on during a surf check.

And an update on water temps for NIxxon and Watango... we've dropped down to 45 degrees. Today's air temp was 47.

Watango, a Hawaii trip sounds like a dream. I've only made it there once, hope to get back sometime soon and catch some waves in hot water!
Try surfing, once you get the hang of it you'll be hooked for life!

Jim, thank you very much for the kind compliments!
Foundation has been a lot of fun, both to work on and watch evolve over the years.
For this booth I wanted the lighter side of PNG work, thus the brighter colors. Plus they show up better in the dark bar.
That photo has been lightened considerably.

I update here when I can, but the majority of my daily updates are on my other little corner of the internet.
Good to see you back on the 'ol carving thread! Us "Oldschoolers" need to represent more! :)

Got a good start on this commissioned 4 1/2 foot Ku today.

A very choice cut of Yellow Pine! Some beautiful grain inside the mouth.

wow man, how big was that swell? Looks decent size.

My buddy is from up there & says surfing is a little different up there, with the different salinity / buoyancy.

Great looking Ku also!

wow that is looking great already...very clean. Cant wait to see what comes of this one!

oh and 45 degrees? that's just absurd...you need to make it down to FLA for a nice WARM hurricane swell :)

[ Edited by: NIxxon 2011-11-20 07:28 ]

Waves look fun and the Ku looks like your on your way to another great Lake Tiki.

pjc5150... chest to head high on the set waves... I dropped on quite a few that were bigger then head high on the outside. A good swell.

When you surf here, you don't miss the buoyancy, but thicker and wider boards do help. Its a nice treat to surf the oceans because then we're that much stronger on paddling.
Wave period is much shorter here also, so there is a lot more duck diving.

Thanks for the compliments on the Ku!

NIxxon... I'll take it over nothing any day! I could never be totally land locked in say Colorado. I'd go nuts. The lakes are inland seas. Each has its own moods throughout the year, and each is surfable.
Back when Hukilau was in October, I would be down every year with my board and we would spend a week on the Space Coast. I caught many good swells, and it was really nice to surf in just boardies.

Thanks for the props on the Ku! Gonna jump back in today on him.

Mahalo! Having fun with both the waves and the tiki! Looking forward to a big Thanksgiving swell here this week!

Carved the teeth last night, and cranked away at the head dress and the mid section this afternoon.
Just the lower body to do and some clean up work.

You are a MACHINE!! Look how fast and clean you carve. You make it look too easy.

Fantastic work Lake Surfer!

Awesome work Dave! Loving that Ku!

Lovin' this guy above. The teeth look great.

Aloha Grog!
Lake Surfer very sad to miss this year's Tiki Wonderland.
Lake Surfer also appreciate very much Grog's kind compliments.

Cy, thanks much for the compliment!

Robert, thanks so much Having fun with this guy!

swizzle, many mahalos! I like this guy's chompers also!

Very nice piece Dave.

Doesn't hurt to have some fun with a little work sprinkled in too.

Mahalo

McTiki

Aloha Andy!

Thanks much for the compliment on this guy!
This one is flowing, nice and relaxed.
Nothing wrong with a little fun and work mixed together for sure. :)

Carving is done. Finishing work is up next.

that is an excellent piece.

your chisel work is off the charts brother.

pjc5150, thanks a ton for the kind words.

The stain is now drying on this piece, and I am ready for a Mai Tai or two! :drink:

This guy is a wrap.

4 1/2 feet tall x 12" wide.

On to the next project!

WOW Dave! That is awesome! How are you going to ship that to me? :)

Came out great! Very nice work...and just on a side note, the water down here is 70 degrees :)

[ Edited by: NIxxon 2011-11-23 14:13 ]

Great as usual Dave, I don't know how you knock out such great carvings in such a short
time. This one is a real beaut!

Chris, thanks very much for the compliment! This guy is actually going to be headed much farther North of you... across the border to be exact.
But I've got logs here, so whenever you're ready for one let me know! :)

NIxxon, thanks very much for the compliment, and just on a side note, the water down here is now down to 45 degrees!
Soon we'll have ice and surfersfloating in it!

Conga, thanks much, and honestly I don't know either. I do know that I pay for it in aches and pains the next morning though!

Happy Thanksgiving guys!

yeah, the water here may be 70, but the sandbars in Cocoa are all trenched out from 2 weeks of blazing onshores & victory at sea conditions. The swell was a solid head high yesterday & it was still barely breaking when I left at noon. But the gulf is supposed to turn on here in a few days so we'll see.

Anyway, great finish on that ku. Looks great man.

That's my HAWAIIAN KU ... I think I made a great choice in Lake Surfer to make my first TIKI ... but Dave, I'm a little confused, your backyard doesn't look anything like Kauai???

ya know lake? your stuff is so great and one thing i see about your work is the design and quality is so consitant....you never seem to have a bad day ,ha ha ha

and how do you keep the symetry of your design so perfect? thats one thing that makes me tense is getting both sides to match.

pjc5150... thanks for the props on the ku! Much appreciated!
Shifting sandbars pose a problem for us here too. We are also effected by seasonal water level changes. There's some breaks here that have not worked right for years.

Darren, many thanks, and we still have to get this big guy to you! He's got a long journey ahead.
My backyard... far from Kauai... and in a few weeks it will probably be covered with snow.

Creative Chimp... thank you for your kind compliments!
To be honest, I have a lot of bad days and there are many logs and flat pieces that have ended up in the garbage or as firewood.
Some comes from bad wood and some comes from just not being in the right mood. Gotta take the good with the bad.
I never really worry about the sides too much. I start with the mouth and either work my way up or down from there. It just sort of flows.