1st try at tiki pole...HELP!!

Hi I'm new to this game but it looks like a whole hell of a lot of fun. A friend of mine gave me a tiki he made when he moved and after a honeymoon in Hawaii I've been a little obsessed. I recently had to cut down some dead palm trees at work and I am now the proud owner of 3 8 foot tall palm trunks. It looked easy enough: take chainsaw carve face, chisel at details, done. But of course as you guys will (I'm sure) attest to it is not quite that easy. I was wondering if anyone could give me some pointers on tools and methods I should use. I've seen alot of tikis now that are not palm I was thinking of maybe getting ride of the palms and trying pine or something 1st. Any help would be greatly apreciated. Thanks.

Aloha schase1399 and Welcome to Tiki Central. I'm not a carver by any means but I do know a few things from reading the posts here.

First off, DON'T throw out those palm trunks! If they are freshly cut, then they are probably still full of water (even if they were dead). You won't be able to carve them for about 6 months. Let them dry out and give them a try then.

This is the main Carving Post here on TC. It's got lots of info:

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=1605&forum=7

For tools, here's a good post:

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=4918&forum=7

Good luck and have fun.
Post some pics when your tiki is done.

Hey - I'm a poet and didn't know it!

Thanks that is definitley helpful information. My problem now is where. I live in an apartment and the property manager has been nice about it but I don't want to piss people off. Should I tarp them or find a buddies garage?

Are there any woods easily available in central florida that I can carve right away? 6 months is a logng time It would gbe good to get some practice in, any help???

I think (though I admit I'm stabbing in the dark here) that you can carve palm green...Jaksin or Gecko could tell you better...I carve my pine logs semi-green (because the soft layers are firmer and cut cleaner). You can cut a relief groove up the back with a chainsaw or circular saw and that will reduce cracking to minimal. If you're like me (allowing for the nature of wood) you like a few cracks in a tiki; makes them look ancient and weathered.

Chiki, you carve palm?

carving palm logs green? i'm no expert as i have only used palm a couple of times and every time i carved it, the thing was soaking wet, in fact it would squirt in some place when chiseling. i don't know if it is easier to carve wet or dry as i have only carved it when it was wet. the carvings have now dry almost all the way and there are little hair cracks. but if it is practice, i say just carve away, expereiment.

Are you in South Florida? I have a garage I use for drying Palms in Pompano Beach, still have plenty of room, happy to trade the space for a log or 2. Again if in South FL, there is a great carving store in Oakland Park with loads of tools to choose from (forget the name, on Oakland Park BLVD, just west of Federal). email if you need the garage [email protected]

Good to have you back, Octane!

I'm in Gainesville a little North of you. So far I've been scopping the woods where I bike for some dry pine, but the primo pieces I've found are too far away from any jeep roads. Any carving shops in ocala, or Orlando, Jacksonville?

polypop suggested that I dry them out for 6 months I think I can do that. I have 3 of them I guess I could carve one wet and one dry. We'll see I don't think I can do anything until after the holidays. I'll have to post something when I've finished. I'm going for angry, scary protector tikis, 2 one on each side of the entry way to my apartment, and then 2 party tikis out back on the patio with the grill. Anybody no where I can find some historical info on particular gods I could model these after? I have a history degree but I don't know anything about this subject. Any suggestions??

The main thing about carving is to just do it. I think you are thinking about this way too much. If you are carving for yourself as practice, it really doesn't matter what type of wood you carve(I first started carving on stumps of cut trees from the green dump) because that first tiki is going to look WAY different from a tiki you carve a year from now. You are going to get frustrated, cut yourself, smash a body part, laugh and get shit in your eye. Your ears are going to ring and your back is going to hurt. People are gonna ask why are you carving this? and so on...... but at the end, you are going to sit back and get the biggest kick out of turning something out of a piece of wood that could has easily just been turned into mulch. You just have to find your own voice in carving. Good luck .

I would venture to ditto Octane...Like Nike..just do it.

Don't be intimidated by a big hunk of wood. A few hours of practice on a scrap should take care of that and as well give you a feeling for things like carving with or against the grain and other nuances of wood.
Sharpen your tools, drop your inhibitions and let the chips fly!

When your friends ask you why...with sawdust in your hair and bloodshot eyes.. you grab them by the shoulders and shake them and loudly proclaim "BECAUSE IT WAS NOTHING......AND NOW.......IT'S SOMETHING....BEHOLD TIKI. BEHOLD.....I HAVE CREATED.......a funny looking face in a piece of wood and people will pay you good money for it......HAHAHAHA

"If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much space." Lou Whitaker

[ Edited by: jungletrader on 2003-12-18 21:33 ]

And then when you are in the hospital explaining to every receptionist, intern, nurse & doctor how you injured yourself, and you are constantly getting a puzzled look from them when you say "TIKI, I WAS CARVING A TIKI". you can take solace in the fact that at least you knew what you were doing.

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=4830&forum=1

Go Forth and Create.

thanks for the support. I'll get right to it then I should have something to post by mid january if I get any spare time. Thanks a bunch.