For the Love of Tiki

Hello everyone,
I've been admiring all of the tiki creations here from the sidelines for a while now. Been getting inspired & checking out everyone's various techniques as to how to go about it - and then, couldn't resist any longer & had to jump on in. The result being, that I've actually been carving for about a year and a half now.
I'll begin by posting some pics of my first tikis - until I get caught up to the present.

This was my first go at tiki carving. The wood is cedar - a soft wood.

Here's Tiki #2

A little stain and they really come alive.

Inlaid abalone for the eyes.

And here's a group shot of my first three tikis. #3 is on the far right. They're all from cedar, about 4' tall and 10" in width. #2 was real challenging - but all were fun to do.

very cool bro. nice firsties...

welcome to the party...

Welcome aboard!the family is getting bigger!!!

On 2013-02-20 12:40, pjc5150 wrote:
very cool bro. nice firsties...

welcome to the party...

Thanks :)

On 2013-02-20 13:29, RIOTURBAN wrote:
Welcome aboard!the family is getting bigger!!!

Thanks, Rioturban. It has taken me a while to get signed up - but glad to finally be here.

Great stuff
Keep going
More pics
Step by step pics too

Jon

Nice to see some new blood for the love of tiki, an impressive first 3.

Very nice work! Thanks for jumping in.

Well done

Mahalo and welcome

McTiki

Off to a great start. Keep it rollin'

Hey hang10tiki, cy, McTiki & amate…. Glad to meet everyone and thanks for the warm welcome.

I call this tiki - Mort Jagger. Inspiration comes from the famous Trader Mort's Tiki but I wanted to give him a Mick Jagger tongue - although survey sez it turned out more like Gene Simmons of KISS. I had these short leftover bamboo pieces from another project and added a King Kukulele style crown. BTW, the "SD" Native sign is for San Diego - and not- South Dakota. :wink:

[ Edited by: For the Love of Tiki 2013-02-21 08:51 ]

I've always liked this tiki style - so thought, I'd give it a try.

Welcome, great tikis. My first tiki sure didn't look that cool. But I guess I'm a little artistically challenged...

I ran through all of the cedar wood that I had and then got a hold of some palm wood. This was my first palm wood tiki. It was a quickie. I really just wanted to cut into it and get a feeling as to what to expect from palm wood as compared to the cedar.

Here are Tikis #11 & 12.
Tiki #11 (Java Joe) is from a Mexican Fan Palm & Tiki #12 is from a Queen Palm.
I did a YouTube video on these if you'd like to check out the process:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSH7KDQcnMo

Here's Tiki #13 - from a Queen Palm. Check out the video for start to finish process. I have a feeling you guys might really like the song "Church of the Tiki God.'
For the Love of Tiki #13
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuzvlvjIdZc

Tiki #14
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICUepB-D6lA

Here's my first go at a Marq Tiki.
Check out the video here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3jNVhOJSYA

Kool stuff! keep em com'n.

On 2013-02-26 18:11, Watango productions wrote:
Kool stuff! keep em com'n.

Thanks, Watango!

[ Edited by: For the Love of Tiki 2013-03-02 13:52 ]

For the Love of Tiki #17
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNjFCxAdY1s

For the Love of Tiki #19
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltRAuB23Si0

Here is the current work in progress. Its a queen palm, 4' tall and 11" diameter. Its still a bit green. I'll make some cuts, then give it a couple of days in which to dry out a bit - then hopefully, be able to get back at it.

Wow! Lovely stuff! My Uncle Barry is thinking about trying his hand at carving Tikis. I suggested he start with cedar, but I suspect he will pick up a driftwood log from the beach since it will be free. I hope I can help him carve it. This thread is so inspiring!

I really like your Mort Jagger! I live right by Trader Morts, and I really like that tiki! You really made a good likeness to the original. Good job!

I see you are also in SD. Are any for sale?

On 2013-03-07 12:36, Coffee Pirate wrote:
Wow! Lovely stuff! My Uncle Barry is thinking about trying his hand at carving Tikis. I suggested he start with cedar, but I suspect he will pick up a driftwood log from the beach since it will be free. I hope I can help him carve it. This thread is so inspiring!

Thanks for the kind words. I liked starting out with cedar. Its more like real wood - certainly as compared to palm. .. but if driftwood was readily available in my local, without a doubt, I'd be carving it too. Be sure to check out the recent post by 4WDTiki - he's been using driftwood for his latest tikis. I feel that searching on the beach for a good piece of driftwood to carve would be fun in itself. Ya know, finding a piece of wood that already sort of looks like something. It is a great hobby & am sure, you and Uncle Barry will have a good time at it. My recommendation: if you want to do it, is don't give it too much thought, just set some time aside for it & then start to let the wood chips fly. :wink: Of course, be sure to observe all safety precautions - but the main thing is to make it hands on. Anyways, thats what works for me - although, I read about how everyone else approached it on Tiki Central as well.
Good luck.

On 2013-03-07 12:47, lunavideogames wrote:
I really like your Mort Jagger! I live right by Trader Morts, and I really like that tiki! You really made a good likeness to the original. Good job!

Hiya Lunavideogames, Thanks for the compliment. Mort Jagger gives a wink :wink: So far, my tikis have ended up as gifts for close friends & family - but believe I might be approaching that day in the near future when I'll be in a selling mode. Thanks for asking (you've just made my day) & I'll let ya know.

For the Love of Tiki #16
Queen Palm - 3' height x 12" width

[ Edited by: For the Love of Tiki 2013-03-10 19:44 ]

Some good work goin' on there FTLOT, really like the time lapse photos.

Sweet 16 rocks!

Thanks for the tour last weekend! You have a lot of ultra cool DIY things going on over there. (Just don't tell anyone around here its real name. :wink: )

Buzzy Out!

cool stuff man....

I tend to avoid queen palms because they're so stringy....but looks like that one came out fine!

Thanks Cy, Amate, BuzzyHere & pjc5150 for the encouraging posts.

Here it is - from start to finnish.
For the Love of Tiki #16
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lv-KwW1dWbM

nice! looks a bit like KAA from "The Jungle Book",hehe.

[Haha... Good one, RIOTURBAN. Don't stare into those eyes for very long - who knows what you might end up doing?

[ Edited by: For the Love of Tiki 2013-03-20 18:50 ]

Here's an update for the current work in progress - Tiki #20. Now, ready for some stain.

Tiki #20 is done! Here are the time lapse photos...

And here he is, up close and personal...

The bark had a real nice red color to it. I was hoping that the color would carry through into the wood - but that wasn't the case.

This tiki is very top heavy and I finally decided to pour him in concrete to keep him from toppling over.

First drill out your somewhat oversized holes - about 3/16 larger than the rebar you intend on using. I used 1/2" rebar so, I drilled the holes at 5/8" and then reamed them out a bit more. I went extra deep (a strong 9") because the tiki is so top heavy. Usually, 4" or so would be plenty deep. Be sure to clean out the holes so that you will get good adhesion. Safety Precaution: Be sure to wear eye protection and gloves when working with epoxy. Apply the epoxy into the hole and then insert the re-bar - making sure that you don't have any air pockets. The epoxy gun with the nozzle makes this a lot easier - but if you don't have a gun - you can also do it by mixing the epoxy (2 parts) then applying it directly onto the rebar as you slowly "screw" or "turn" it into place. If you hear an air pocket "pop" inside the hole, then slowly reverse the rebar and pull it out some - add some more epoxy onto the rebar, then re-insert it into the hole - using the same turning technique. When it goes in all the way, some of the excess epoxy will kind of bulge out - this is the desired result. Take what epoxy is left over and spread it with a putty knife to seal the wood where it will make contact with any concrete.

I like to give it until the next day for the epoxy to come up to full strength.

Then, its up, up and away...

Some improvised concrete formwork along with a footing... and there ya have it!

Just posted a video, showing the process from start to finish.
For the Love of Tiki #20
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Vq7R_K_fPU

Another root ball tiki. This one is a Mexican Fan Palm - and was way easier to carve than the last one I did, made from macadamia nut!

Here's the latest work in progress-- a queen palm 4'-6" height x 1'-2" width.

nice stuff again!i like the carving progress pics.and the cat seems to like your tikis too!

[ Edited by: RIOTURBAN 2013-06-13 14:48 ]

I really like the KAA tiki. It made me laugh, and I dig the style.

Thanks Rioturban & Hale Tiki for the kind words & encouragement.

Here's the latest all stained up.

A Quickie Tiki.

Just posted a new tiki carving video on YouTube.
This one is #18 - the Big Mac Tiki (made from a macadamia nut tree).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZJXEu7LdWk

Here's my latest Tiki Carving video on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jM8VzGPPlgo
Music compliments of The Vooduo.