Grand Poobah's Oasis Update

Thanks laoja how are things in France?

Mudbone, I used a dremel with a small rounded bit. I then plunge the bit into the wood. It takes forever, but I found it does two things 1) adds a different texture (other than wood grain or color of stain) 2) hides some difficult areas to sand!

Wow, lots of coolness going on here! I love that texture, too, and that Marq face on top, and those hands, they're freaky-real!

On 2011-04-04 18:04, Grand Poobah wrote:

how are things in France?

sunny days are back ... then again it's the mess in the workshop... :roll:

J.

I finally had the chance to post a few pictures. The latest one is done (actually been done about a month. I finally put him outside with his brother. Here are a few pics.

Here he is with one I made last summer. I have added a torch to this guys hand also. I just debarked an ash on Sunday. So hopefully I will be able to start a new one soon. Thanks for looking.

[ Edited by: Grand Poobah 2011-05-24 14:52 ]

[ Edited by: Grand Poobah 2011-05-24 14:53 ]

Fantastic poobah! Been following the progress and the results are superb. They really look good together. I have heard of the word "sanding", but have not yet tried it.

[ Edited by: cy 2011-06-01 19:24 ]

damn bro....

those are NICE pieces... what are you using for the micro-detailing????

Thanks Cy. 3m sandpaper co. sends me christmas cards!

5101 "those are NICE pieces... what are you using for the micro-detailing????"
First of all thank you.I use a dremel with a rounded bit and plunge into the wood to create the dimpled effect. It is tedious, mindless work which is well suited to me!

Gorgeous works, man. Your attention to detail is amazing. Love the lifelike hands too.

How fine a grit do you sand these down to?

it has been such a long time since I posted anything and while I am pretty sure that none of you have been too worried, I thought I would try to catch up on a few carvings.

here is the guy I made for my mom and dad. I finally was able to install it in his back yard (a while ago!)

here he is at night.

Of course my in laws decided that they needed one too!

here he is.

I have another I have done in ash, but I just have to organize my pictures. We had so much rain up here this past summer that one of my other guys took a beating. I have been working on cleaning him back up. I also have a good sized aspen on deck. It just seems as if there is never enough time to get out in the garage these days. I apologize for not keeping up with all of the great stuff out there. Thanks for looking.

You kiddin' Poobah, I've been worried sick about you. Great new carves with the same meticulous attention to detail. Really nice!

What a fine pair of lips on that guy, nice work!

nice!

Finishing and color... So cool!

Great job Granpoobah!

Grandmaster
U freekin rock...

the details...ooohhh the details.......the devils in them aint they?

nice work and all those little details are nice...i like

I hope you are finding the time for some new projects. Your stuff is always a cut above. Those lips say it all!

cy "You kiddin' Poobah, I've been worried sick about you. Great new carves with the same meticulous attention to detail. Really nice!"
Thanks cy. It is nice to you you care!

mudbone "What a fine pair of lips on that guy, nice work! & "pjc5150"nice! "
Thanks guys. I was planning on making this guy as a Christmas present for my mother in law. My father in law pressed for her birthday in August. I felt like I had to rush. He was a silver maple and the wood really fuzzed a lot, but I like him more that he is done. They are big bird watchers. My mother in law gave him a ladies name! Oh well.

laojia "Finishing and color... So cool! Great job Granpoobah!" thanks laojia I appreciate the compliment. Is it cold in France these days? I have been real lucky as the weather has been mild.

hang10tiki "Grandmaster U freekin rock..." Usually I am called a rockhead. Thanks

Creative Chimp "the details...ooohhh the details.......the devils in them aint they? nice work and all those little details are nice...i like" The bottom took a lot longer than I thought. I actually figured that part would go quickly. So the "easier" details were a devil.

amate "I hope you are finding the time for some new projects. Your stuff is always a cut above. Those lips say it all!" Right now I in a holding pattern. Work has been a bit overwhelming this year. My wife has been working at a new position so her hours are longer. I am Mr. Taxi for the kids these days. I brought a few guys in for the winter to restore. Finally I am building a small table for my foyer. My brother in law came back from Iraq a while ago. Another soldier came back with him and drove him home. He brought some marble from a dismantled palace! He left at my father in laws and never came back for it. My brother in law didn't want it. So my father in law and I split in half (we had a kitchen counter place do it). I have to get this off my plate before I do anymore carving. Hopefully that will be soon.

Yep, great detail ... especially on the hands! Nice Work!

Here are a few other things I finished up. One was fixing an old sign I made a few years ago. The wind blew the sign over. I didn't like it much so I thought I would try again. Here is the first sign.

so I made a new one

I liked it so I made another one. I even made sure the mileage is correct!

Finally I had to re-sand some earlier projects, re-stain , and re-coat. The fist couple of tikis I made were finished with a spray on polyurethane. I don't think this has held up to well. No I am going back and cleaning these guys up and brushing many coats on.

Thanks for looking. Got some work done on my Saddam table today. Just have to sand and stain. Once I am done I am back on tiki detail!

It has been a long time since I have been able to post. Here are a few things I have been up to. The first is the table I had mentioned earlier. My brother in law did two tours in iraq and came home with some buddies a few years back. One guy has this marble from one of saddam's palaces. He left it in my father in laws garage and never came back. After a few years my in laws had to use it or throw it away. Both my father in law and I were able to create a table. Here is mine.

I took the wood from the old table and used it to create a surfboard caricaturing (is that a word?) my wife and I. I then hung it my back yard.

I spent a good deal of the summer building a pergola for the deck. I had to put the breaks on a lot of the carving time I had.

I actually borrowed an idea from a another poster who used pvc to make bamboo. I did the same and it is doubling as electrical conduit. You can see it if you look closely at the posts on the right.

I did manage a few carving projects. I will post them up soon.

What a great Island Oasis...hard work always show and it seems you have definitely put in the man hours. Excellent carves and awesome Oasis!!

That deck is an inviting spot. When will you be having us over? :)

Thanks Nixon and Amate. Anytime in you're in Reading Pa you're welcome to stop in. I'll have a drink waiting for you. Here are some pics I finally got around to taking of a Marq I had worked on. He is made of ash. The wood was hard, but clean to cut. He is a heavy bugger too. I filled in the check with a clear silcone caulk as I am weary of the extremes in weather we have here. Has anyone else tried something similar or better to try and preserve wood from the checks taking on more weathering?

Hey Poobah, where you been?

nice stuff ,man ! cool designs!

Thanks RIOTURBAN. Thanks for asking Cy. I am still alive and well. I have been slowed down by the little poobahs. I have a tiki I carved (> 5 foot) now that school is out I will find the time to post the pictures. I have been working on a tiki themed backyard shed. This has been going on since April. I get a few hours here and there so it has been slow going. I have to get the camerea fired up and going.

So ….it has been awhile. I have been really running around a lot playing mister mom with the kids as my wife is putting in some long hours. I have not had much time to check in let alone do much carving. My in laws parents got hammered by the hurricane in November. They are in their 90’s. My father in law and I spent a great deal of time putting their house back in living condition. They had three feet of water. Needless to say the combination of things has left me with little time to carve.

The hurricane did give me an idea. I had a kid’s fort in my yard. They didn’t use it much. In fact I was trying to store chairs and other stuff in it before the hurricane arrived in the fall. They stuff stayed there all winter. In the spring I decided to tear it down and put a shed/ tiki bar in its place. The plan is to make it a sitting area in the summer and then store deck items, tikis, etc, in the winter.

Here is what I have so far…

The old fort (you can barely see it on the left)…

Here is the new fort…. not yet complete

I am currently making the moldings to go up top…

Eventually I would like to mimic the Papua tiki design found at the Polynesian hotel in the peak. Create some double doors and hopefully be ready to go.

Glad to see you back and producing tiki art Poobah.

very cool...

looks like you've got something good going there...

almost done! I hope to get back to carving soon! I have to put some siding on the back of the shack today and then the outside is officially done.. here is an update

here is the shack with the moldings

then the doors

V

this is the same shield from the Polynesian Resort

and at night

thanks for checking in,, i will have more to add soon

Nice!

Great job. Hopefully my build looks that good.

very impressive indeed sir....

nicely done...

Thanks guys...I am planning on adding a deck on the front and include a tiki I have waiting in the garage

Thanks guys...I am planning on adding a deck on the front and include a tiki I have waiting in the garage

Thanks guys...I am planning on adding a deck on the front and include a tiki I have waiting in the garage

Thanks guys...I am planning on adding a deck on the front and include a tiki I have waiting in the garage

just to be clear,

is there some sort of plan for a deck and garage tiki?

thats a pretty sick shed but I would probably add a deck and a tiki.

Sorry....I tend to repeat myself...did I mention I plwn to build a small deck?

Sorry....I tend to repeat myself...did I mention I plwn to build a small deck?

Sorry about all of the repeat posts...just like me, my computer has issues! Hopefully this will only come through once. Here are some recent pics of the shack (with the deck and the tiki..in case I didn't mention that)

So over the winter I was working on a tiki..I got the idea from this totem. I liked him holding the fish, so I wanted that in my design.

I also thought I would have his feet crossed, I had to have my son model (I'll spare that pic)

I finished the headpiece and decided to use a wine based stain. I was a bit worried about using the color but I wanted to try a different stain.

Here he is on the deck

My boy opening shop

And finally at night

I had run a cable underground, tested it, buried it, and when I later tried to get a signal it didn't work. I had to partially dig a new trench and rerun the cable. I had a lot of cutoffs and was going to throw them out but I threw together a makeshift bar that will serve as storage in the winter. Hopefully I will begin tweaking the inside but I have to make a large Easter island head for a co worker.

Thanks for looking.

[I finished the headpiece and decided to use a wine based stain. I was a bit worried about using the color but I wanted to try a different stain.

Love the scales on the hat and the colors are fantastic. A beatiful piece all around and top notch carve!

Nice detail. I like the contrasting, yet complimentary colors. You've obviously got a good eye for what looks good.

A whole lot of beautiful textures and colors on this one GP!

Thanks Cy...that's a nice complimennt considering the work you have with stain you as well FTLOT. Thanks and good talk with you again amate.

I actually had to make an easter island head for a coworker. I don't know why, but I always seem to have trouble getting him to look just right. This was a better effort (I think) The log ended up having a nice spalt to it.

here is the profile

the grain

and in his new home

Nice.