surf soul tiki

On 2012-07-05 13:15, pjc5150 wrote:
so yeah, anyone have any guesses as to what kind of log that is???

oak? aussie pine? any ideas?

cedar? it has that irregular rough shape and all those knobs where the limbs were. Just a guess.

I'm with the Big T- looks like cedar, and it's a beaut.

That piece of fur is really shaping up and the "Islander" turned out fantastic! Everything looking good.

Thanks Amate.

well, Benz seems to agree that it's probably either cedar or cypress, and it doesn't look like my other cypress logs I have laying around nor does it look anything like them inside or have the same consistency, so it looks like what I've got here is 2 sunken white cedar logs!

they're out in the sun doing a little drying, but I'm cuttin' into one of 'em as soon as I get ahead of things.....

I've got some commissioned pieces to work on too...I've got a company that is throwing their annual company whatever down here on the gulf coast, and the theme is tropical with tikis...so they want some tikis....

well, it's been bugging me all week that I didn't recover the entire tree, and just got 2 logs....

so today I put a few chicks on the boat, and a couple of my bros, and we went back out there & I got the rest of it.

I cut that log I'm standing on into 3 pieces...one very small, one kinda big, and the one really big. good thing I just put new springs on my boat trailer.....felt like it was gonna bounce off the damned trailer hitch every bump I hit on the way home!

the inside of it is absolutely gorgeous...and none of that stuff in the pic is rotton and smushy....it's all hard as a rock!!!

[ Edited by: pjc5150 2012-07-06 21:50 ]

Great find
Can't wait to c what u come up with
Go bruddah go

ok, so I started putting the little faces on the headdress yesterday, and the first 2 came out great!

and then I moved on the the middle ones and it was crumble city. the palm in that area just won't hold detail worth a damn...just falling apart. they look like shit and I'm totally not happy with them...thinkin about just grinding 'em off and calling it a day. I really liked this piece but now I feel like I've gone and f###ed it all up. I'm a little pissed right now...

Yea, that detailing on a chalky, crumbly palm is not fun. This batch of very dry logs I have now get to be quite a challenge once I get 2 or 3 inches deep. Good Luck with it ... looks great even without the faces!

This will make you a better carver, you'll see.
Soak it with polly. it'l firm up.
Carve deeper & find fresher wood.
Cut it out & put a better wood ball in there.
Then carve it again.
No body will know.
Cut out just the 2 middle ones.
Think about it, you'll find the right thing.

hmmm....new balls...that's a good idea....

A little more pub tiki progress.

I've decided that this will be a lono.

I really like hardwood.

On 2012-07-10 07:37, pjc5150 wrote:

I really like hardwood.

That's what she said.

got a nice commission for a few tikis for some company that's having a company meeting in Ft Myers, and the theme is "Hawaiian Luau"...

So they're getting this one & 2 others. Gotta get 'em done by Friday.

man u r fast...

a few hours on the chainsaw and the HSA ku's "ruff cut" is complete...

an hour or so on the angle grinder & a little chiselen' and he'll be ready for the torch & stain...

I've pretty much been working on my fun hammer & chisel stuff at night at the pub and my "production work" during the day...

Boom boom!

first pass with the grinder & it's a lot closer. I'll pick this one back up in the morning.

Still need to bust out 2 more smaller, cheaper tikis for them before Friday.

On 2012-07-10 07:37, pjc5150 wrote:
I really like hardwood.

This is looking really good, what kind of wood?

douglas fir...

and thanks bro.

Way to go on the Ku, Jeff! Impressive work with the saw and grinder!

thanks Chris.

here he is all done...complete with torch!

a little more progress on this one. he's going to the pub with me tonight so I should get a bit of work done on him later.

Since he's made of douglas fir, I have named him "the fir trader"... lol...

[ Edited by: pjc5150 2012-07-13 12:43 ]

Lookin good Mr

Well, I got a little work done on the fir trader...

Those knots were a pain in the ass. Had to break the dremel out for those because they are quite brittle and were breaking easily....

Great Work! The fir is looking awesome...so much progress on this guy its ridiculous. The body looks very lively and it looks like that hardwood is holding some amazing detail as well. Keep it up!!

way cool love the knots i want to try that on my next tiki but am having trouble getting my head around it whats the best way if you don't mind me asking

Good job
Now that's using all the wood.

thanks guys.

and Anthony, I used a small, straight tungsten burr in a dremel to slowly shape it. It was just too chippy for the chisels...

Awesome

Thank you have to give it a shot

a little more progress...he has a face now...

A little more progress. The face is pretty much done, and now I've moved on to the headdress.

I have some commissions lined up that I need to bust out here in short order, so I'll be very busy here for the next week or so. 2 of the 3 pieces I need to get after are actually for a couple of nice Hawaiian pieces, and the other is a quickie production piece. And I am absolutely dying to cut into one of those sunken logs as well as the driftwood log, so I'm pretty much going to be working constantly. But that's ok.

The head and crown look awesome! Did you forget about the body?

thanks Tom. and no, I'm gonna probably go back to the body and do some kind of tatts or details...

and I still have a ways to go on the headdress...but it's gonna sit for a few days while I start some new ones.

still don't know how I'm gonna finish this one. The only hardwood I've ever finished is cedar, and this is way different. And let's face it, my finishing kinda sucks...lol.

Finishing is an art to itself. Don't sweat it and stick with the old reliable - Polyurethane.

Yeah, I don't know. I was thinking about teak oil or something to darken it up a bit. It's kinda light colored...

Once you put any finish on it - the wood will get darker. Do some testing on a scrap piece or somewhere that can be sanded off.

that's a good point.

On hard wood hand rub polly gives it more of a furniture look & shows the grain. Brush on polly is like candy coat. That's fine for palm. [so you don't get splinters].

Well I guess rub-on poly is what it's getting then.

But this one is gonna have to take a back seat for a week or so while I get some commissions going. And I'm camping out on beercan island saturday night so I'll be carvin' on the beach! Beercan island is essentially a place where everyone takes their boats and hangs out drinking beer. So I think I'm gonna start taking some tikis out there to work on and maybe some will sell.

So anyway I'm super happy right now because a buddy of mine who's really organized and good at cleaning stuff (which I am not) came over yesterday and helped me clean up the front porch and yard (which previously looked as if a wood-shop had exploded there). I actually have a great porch for hanging out and carving, and I've been spending way too much time (and money)at the bar, so this is awesome. And, I also have a roommate moving in, which is also great because she's a good friend of mine and she'll bring her girlfriends around. So that means I'll have more money AND more chicks hanging out at the house. Double bonus! And she also has a really cool little chihuahua named "Tyson" that I really like too. He & Dinky can keep each other company. Kinda funny, he's tiny and harmless & his name is Tyson, and my dog is big & could kill someone and her name is Dinky...perfect.

so yeah, I had so much shit laying around on the porch (drill chucks, angle grinder wrenches, and other various tools) that I filled my new toolbox! Yeah, I bought this practically new toolbox from a dude at the bar for 25 bones!

[ Edited by: pjc5150 2012-07-19 07:46 ]

the next octopus...

Gona be sweet,
Feels like it's lookin right at me...

Lookin good bro...sweet score on the box!

Do you do those girl paintings??

On 2012-07-18 11:58, pjc5150 wrote:

AWESOME. Love the mouth.

On 2012-07-19 19:41, pjc5150 wrote:
the next octopus...

And I DO like this octopus! I need to find me some driftwood!

hey thanks bro. I always look for the right shaped driftwood root clusters to make the little octopus and squid. They are not hard to sell!

more progress on the fir trader.

gonna punch those little valleys through, and detail up those side posts, and then figure out some kinda detailing for the body. probably some swirls or something...I don't know...

this is what I'm doing tonight.

poking holes in the headdress!

I see the light!! Lookin good!

You know you get extra credit for every hole
you punch thru.