My first two tiki carvings

Aloha,
Here are a couple of pix of my very first tikis. I'm still working on the larger one laying down. You can see the mallet and chisels I've been using. I did cheat though, by using an angle grinder with a sanding disk attached to draw the lines. This way, I got easily through that pithy, stringy bark. It saved some time. I hope you enjoy! I'll send updated pics.

Hey blowtiki- Nice start! Don't be afraid to carve deeper into the wood. It'll give you some good dimension.

Using an angle grinder is NOT cheating! If ancient wood carvers had them (and chainsaws as well), they certainly would have used them. More power to ya!

Looks like you got Coconut logs. Where are you located?
Great start.
Go crazy & have fun.
Yes, & Go deeeeeeeeeeeep.

Good stuff Blowtiki...keep churning um out and posting. Your doing great man!

Great start Blowtiki, just keep pumpin'em out. The quality will get better with each one. Just have fun, Be careful and Go deep with your detail.

Thanks for all the words of encouragement! I'm trying to go as deep as I can to give it some dimension. I'm in in Long Beach, CA and I believe the pieces are from a Washington palm.

Here's how my tiki is progressing. I took everybodies advice and I'm carving deep. My gouges are starting to get dull. I found a gouge sharpening stone set in the Highland woodworking catalogue. When I went to order them, they said they wouldn't be in until mid to late April. Does anyone know of another source for these stones? I checked ebay and several other sharpener suppliers. Maybe there's an alternate method someone out there knows. I do use my belt sander to give a rough sharpening, but I want that fine sharp finish.

good work and just have fun

On 2007-02-23 13:57, blowtiki wrote:
I did cheat though, by using an angle grinder with a sanding disk attached .....

That ain't cheat'n that's a time management decision. Keep carving and keep posting. As far as sharpening your chisles and gouges, do a search here. Benzart posted a fabulous description on how to sharpen hand tools with sandpaper. Works like a charm.