My first Queen Palm carving

I just finished this guy, Its my first attept using Queen Palm. Kinda stringy/fiberous but all in all it was pretty nice timber for carvin. Do any TC carvers suggest polyurithaning? Cant decide, I kinda dig when Tiki's get all gnarly & aged. Can't wait to get some new gouge chisels.

Great job. If it was easy then it would not be a challenge. I love that hairy tongue. I cut my queen palm project down 4 or more months ago and it still leaks moisture. Keep it off the ground with several pieces of wood so air can circulate under it. See Buff Bags a Big one if you want to see fibers gone wild. I only used polyurathane on the bottom and top. BUFFBAD

[ Edited by: BUFFBAD 2009-04-17 17:21 ]
How is this for hairy.

BUFF

[ Edited by: BUFFBAD 2009-04-21 19:52 ]

I have had good look with chisels VS machinery w/Queen Palm. Fibrous indeed, and a sharp chisel keeps it looking like wood.

Spar varnish, either glossy or satin, I thought worked well, and actually brings out a really colorful, ruddy look. The wood turns a an Orange brown color which works well.
I have a post under 'Don the Beachcombers' with a Q-Palm I did last year if you'd like to see.

S-Mike

I did one really nice carve out of queen. I would say the quality of wood was similar to coconut, however by the time I got around to using the second log, maybe a month, it had already started to rot. I don't know if that's going to be a sign of longevity, but we will see. Nice start on the queen tiki by the way

The image is a queen palm tiki I did over 2 years ago. It's coated in Marine Varnish and holding up well.

I think the real secret is to protect the wood ( or glorified grass) keep it dry and to get it treated with a hardener (Varnish etc.) so that it dries from the inside out like it does with the bark on it. The substance binding the fibers becomes powdery.The palm doesn't contain a hardening resin of its own(as do some other trees) and it's gum is water soluble. A queen palm tiki' loses weight over time and shrinks some. But with treatment, especially epoxy resin, they hold their shape around the fibers and remain solid. Dry,needs to be kept dry. and if varnish is used it will need to be reapplied every year o so, it the tiki is kept outdoors.

Keep the Faith

[ Edited by: Sunset Mike 2010-11-26 23:40 ]