For the Love of Tiki

Cool tikis and music!

i like the stain contrasts

Tiki Oasis 13 / Sunday, August 18, 2013

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

Had the pleasure of meeting Cy of Carvings from Frog Island Tikis. There are some photos of his work on display at Tiki Oasis 13 in this slide show - as well as a lot of other sights that we took in.

Have you ever carved a tiki and had the nagging thought it looked like something else? Something you couldn't quite put your finger on at the time? I call this one the DeBusey Tiki. I've always liked Gary Busey - especially in Big Wednesday & the bad guy in Drop Zone…. but I think subconsciously I must have had Gary Busey playing Buddy Holly in mind when I carved this one. What do you think - see a resemblance?

Great Balls of Fire ftlot, DeBusey is Debomb!

Check it out - my latest Tiki Carving Video...
For the Love of Tiki / Luau Louie Tiki
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7l005mVYR0
Ukelele music provided by Friendly Fred.

keep up the good work

I've been side tracked for a bit, but heres the latest Tiki!

New YouTube video - check it out:
Tiki Twofer * For the Love of Tiki - with music by Tony Baloney
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlYzp-nWKiM

Here's the current work in progress.

[ Edited by: For the Love of Tiki 2015-09-09 17:00 ]

My latest YouTube video of Tiki Oasis 2014. Check it out…
Tiki Oasis 14 / Sunday, August 17, 2014
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCmYpMhNe0M

Thank you, nice music and video.

You captured Oasis nicely Allen, thanks for including me! Like the music also.

Tiki Oasis 2015 - my latest YouTube video / slideshow. Check it out…
Tiki Oasis 15 / Sunday, August 16, 2015
http://youtu.be/KaQWXoUI2Bk

Great video! looks like it was a lot of fun!

Another nice slideshow FTLOT!

I finally got back to carving - just a little for now... but its feeling good to get back at it.
This Tiki I had started over a year ago.

Tiki #26

Heres the latest #27.

Here’s the current work in progress. Almost ready for stain. This was carved from a Mexican fan palm. I carved a little deeper than usual and was surprised to find how much harder the wood was. My first experiences with this type of wood wasn’t that great… it was fibrous - sort of like carving shredded wheat. I then got a couple of good pieces and it was like carving a bar of soap. After that, I knew what you guys had been talkin about - this, being a preferred wood to carve and being way better than the queen palms (from which I had carved a fair amount of tikis early on).
I’m recognizing the value of allowing logs time to cure and dry out - prior to carving. Still, it looks like there are a lot of variables when it comes to the quality of palm wood.

I live in a different climate and as a result our Palms are much more moist. I do not let logs "cure" anymore. Where I live, if you leave a log to dry, all it will do for sure is rot. Dive in - carve it fresh - and let it dry after you have carved. Carving the moist palm with chisels is a pleasure. Let them dry and they become "like shreaded wheat".

Yeah, I’ve carved them when wet, but from my experience - it isn’t ideal. Based upon what you’re saying, I can understand climate being a big factor. Where I’m at, I’m finding the palm logs dry out pretty good - probably because of the heat and there being little moisture in the air. I’ve enjoyed reading all of the different posts about how everyone approaches this subject - but I imagine a person’s locale might be the most important consideration as to what information might best apply.

Looks good For the Love, the lettering is very cool, what tools do you use?

Hey Cy, Thanks, the lettering was done with a Makita 1/4" variable speed die grinder and a small burr using a 1/8" collet adapter. This is a relatively new tool for me - but is quickly becoming one of my favorite go-to tools.

[ Edited by: For the Love of Tiki 2015-12-01 15:46 ]

The Kama Kai Tiki- completed.
This was my first time using the Behr wood stain - a nice change of pace from the MIniwax stains that I usually use.

Kama Kai looking good and such a great job of lettering and control with a die grinder!

Heres the current work in progress...

Nice style on this one FTLOT!

Here’s a slideshow presentation of our adventures at the Tiki Oasis 16.
https://youtu.be/I-b9x4LFVfw
Tiki Oasis 16 on Sunday, August 21, 2016 in San Diego, CA - at The Crowne Plaza Hotel (formerly known as the Hanalei).
Events for the day included the Tiki Oasis Marketplace & Art Show, a vintage car show and more. Mahalo to Desi Relator for his rendition of the song Lei Momi.

Nice work!