Conga....Wisconsin stuff!

Conga, I didn't know you were using carpenter's chisels all this time. I still use them a lot, but the flexcuts really help out too. I like this latest piece and the ancestral mask a lot. But I guess I never saw the lighter brown tiki with the bound wrists and upper arms shown behind the mask about 3 or 4 pics back. That is sweet!

thanks Ben and AA...yea it makes a world of difference to have
better tools...I just picked up a Flexcut starter set...and
enjoyed them so much I ordered a set of larger "sculptors"
chisels today...we're getting ready to rock up here in the
north. That first little guy was a quickie to "get the feel"
of the new chisels...
And A-A....I wish I could claim credit for the fella with
the ropes around the hands and arms...we actually picked him
up at a local liquidator store...cheap....along with two
companion pieces. I really like them and will post the complete
trio this weekend. Although I didn't create them...I'll just
post 'em in this thread.
Thanks again guys...getting really cold up here.

[ Edited by: congatiki 2005-12-03 14:48 ]

Cnga-
I like this carving alot, Nice lines. I hope santa drops off some tools. Getting cold here also. BRRRRR

Moon

[ Edited by: Moondance 2005-12-02 23:35 ]

thanks Mooney...winter is a drag...it sure makes a mess out of
my basement carving down there...but...what ya gonna do...
here is a post for A-A...a few guys I didn't carve...I really
like 'em tho...



We picked em up at a small liquidator store that often carries
imported/exotic merchandise.

I know all about that wood chips inside the house stuff. I do a lot of vacuuming in the winter.

I have a Flexcut chip knife and like it pretty well, but I haven't taken the step and invested in a good set of chisels yet. I've been making do with the basic K-mart set. I know you said you liked them but have you noticed a big difference with the set you just got. Is it the "feel" or the way they cut?
JohnnyP

Johnny it's a bit of both feel and cutting ability. A couple
years ago I bought a set of really cheap carving tools...and
the result was the handles fell off and the tips broke...or
they were just plain crappy chisels. So I gave up and went to
the basic B&D chisels...good tools but not very versatile for
carving tikis. The flexcut chisels feel good with the
interchangeable mallet/palm handles...but the variety of cut-style
is the best part. I don't know much about other brands but
Flextool seems to be a fairly high quality product. I ordered
mine from two different on-line sources...one was selling for
suggested retail and the other for about 10 per cent off.

[ Edited by: congatiki 2005-12-03 14:46 ]

I always like the great finish you get. I cant seem to get it consistant.
I too also bought some good chisels from leevalley tool and notice how much nicer they were than the old flat stanleys i was using.

Nice score on the carvings that you and the wife got.

thanks Rodeotiki...sorry for late response...been busy goofing
around again...
working on three projects at the same time...a small war club
for small battles....something that I will attempt to slice into
a Maori figure...and a Kon Tiki mask

this is a close-up of the "tiki"...I actually started doing a
Marq but didn't like him (drank too much)...so I chipped off
his face except for the nose...and started to dig deeper. In
the words of Jonathan Richman..."I got a lotta lotta lotta hard
work to do.!"

Thanks for stopping in...

Keep the tiki torches burning up there in the Northwoods Conga... nice work!

Hey Lake...gotta keep tiki torches burning in order to stay
warm...and it helps to keep chiseling too. Not sure this guy
is tiki anymore...think i'll just call him "exotic"

[ Edited by: congatiki 2005-12-09 22:48 ]

several hours later...still not sure what's happening here...
but I believe the wood is leading me...instead of the other way
around...

this will eventually get a bunch of tats that will hopefully
pull into more closely into the tiki circle....I guess I'll
call him "Exotica" for now.

[ Edited by: congatiki 2005-12-10 15:06 ]

The best tikis are already in the wood before you even start carving, It looks like this log has its mind set on looking a curtian way. Dont fight the inner tiki or you will be sorry ...

Conga,

Make up your mind man! You're a nut!

-Gman

The log took control and this is what happened



thanks for peeking!

:o Wow, that's really cool! I love that profile shot, it has a ton of personality.

That IS cool. Looks like a Benzart tossed into one of those chipper trucks! I dig it!! ( texture rocks!!)

p.s. is Benzat moving right now?? I need to get in touch wit him. Any help ??? Mahalos!

Turned out very cool by the look of it. Love the color

much mahalos Finkdaddy...BooBen and Hewey....Ben I really love the remark
about the chipped-up Benzart...any comparison to a Benzart is a great
compiment...it was a combination of just plain too lazy to sand anymore
and that I thought a rough-hewn look would be alright. He looks a lot better
to the naked eye...my camera flash accentuates some of the imperfections
that are lost in the normal darkness of things. Again...always appreciate
the responses.

That dude looks like he has some old tiki wisdom. I go for the rough hewn look, more authentic that way.
JP

Conga, I Love the Rough look of this guy. He is very decieving. Kinda looks rough and simple but has a lot of subtle things going on that you don't really notice but that make up the whole being. Nice.

thanks Johnny P and Ben...appreciate the words...you guys are always an inspiration....I snapped one
more shot of the old boy cuz I think he looks a lot better without the camera flash...snowing here as
you can see

I know what you mean Conga. I hate using the flash on my digital camera, it never looks natural.

He looks great!

Conga,

Just back from a trip to DC....ccccccold up there!!! Glad to be back in Florida! Nice work on this one. I like the Maori bust idea. Your style is clearly visible in this work. Great job and keep showing us your creations!!!

-Gman

If he stuck his tounge to a metal pole would it get stuck? Very nice work as you always do.

many thanks kind friends...and yes RT...plenny cold up here to get tongue stuck on frozen pole...
we are very careful about sticking our tongues out! Now for something completely different...a
steel tiki cup hanger/hat rack/etc....it's lazer cut into the steel plate and needs to be primed and
painted


Any suggestions on what color would work on something like this?

[ Edited by: congatiki 2005-12-15 19:00 ]

I would just let it rust to a nice reddish brown. Then it would not flake or scratch.

are those metal tikis (I think Its) Speed Cult? Something like that. I have a Moai lightswitch cover and key holder. They do nice work. The Full body Moai lightcover has metal turning and then a transparent green baked on. Just lights up in the sun. No possible better treatment.

letting it rust and get "vintage looking" is probably a good idea....Teakey this was fabricated by
a friend who works in a laser-etching business...not sure where he obtained the tiki template...but
he made some variations in the arms...eyes and overall shape...so as not be be perceived as ripping off
someone else's design...

I thought is was a Speedcult product. I wasn't thinking it was a "rippoff" but now that you say something, yeah , probably a ripoff.

Just the fact that it a laser cut meatal tiki key or hat rack is a ripoff but take a look at the tiki. Damn.

http://www.SpeedCult.com

the other guy

I like Sppedcult's products, have a few and they are hometown hard worker.

[ Edited by: teaKEY 2005-12-16 07:58 ]

ten things are the same and one thing is different so its completely different. I don't think so.

here we go again....I forgot...who has the copyright on "tiki" anyway?

not tiki, just that tiki. And how about metal ones that hold your hat.

[ Edited by: congatiki 2005-12-24 16:55 ]

For everyone else...this is not a "Son of the Beach" thing...I did not create this...it was a gift...
i like it. I had never heard of speedcult....the person who made it had never heard of speedcult.

[ Edited by: congatiki 2005-12-24 16:56 ]

Regardless of where it came from I would be honored to recieve it as a gift. Even if it was someone elses design , some serious time was put into progamming the cutter and then polishing it out. Congrats Conga on your cool gift. I am sure that you will put it to good use.

Conga, whos bitching??? I didn't ever attack you and I know that you did not make it.

The suffering bastard. The maker of that is probably dead and plus its been so long that I don't think copyright even can apply any more. We are not selling it and are not making money off those.

Speedcult are a newer tiki/hotrodder company that are trying to make money to make a living off their ideas. A wild guess is that your friend did not go through that trouble to make just one. Buying would be easier. I think your friend and you know about the original because you knew the little changes that your friend made before I even knew. Whatever dude, I'm done talking about it and done adding to your post. Glad you check out my stuff. Have a nice day :)

okay...a little Northwoods update....I hesitate to post this pic because this carving is still very
much in its infancy....still lotsa removal to do before I get to finer detail...this will be based on
a tiki that is on display at the Kon Tiki Museum...I tried to find my reference pic but I cannot
pinpoint the site where it's located...only 2 1/2 hours into this one...

thanks for prodding me...GMan...and this....a Kon Tiki mask

[ Edited by: congatiki 2005-12-21 05:42 ]

Hey Conga,

Sorry I missed this post last night. I must have been asleep when you posted. Your new tiki looks big. Thanks for posting, I know you were not really ready for pics. What does that sucker weigh? He's looking good. Any chance you could post a pic of what your working towards? Can't wait to see the next step.

-Gman

GMan my friend...I am referencing two images of a tiki that is pretty unique...and I am not positive
they are the same figure...but they are close. I found one pic of a figure at the Kon Tiki Museum...
but its not at the museum website....the other pic is on page 249 in Tiki Road Trip...the one at the
far right and the leaning one that is propped against another carving. I have a lotta lotta lotta
work to do...made some progress tonight...just trimming the head down to size. It will be about five
feet tall..not sure of weight but it hurts my back to move him around. I am not sure I have the talent
to replicate this carving...but it will at least be an interpretation. Sorry for rambling...Margaritas
this time.

[ Edited by: congatiki 2005-12-22 05:24 ]

Nice work. It looks like all chisel work so far, no power tools? If you are using two different tikis as reference you might get something totally new emerge from that log.

I've spent hours on line looking for specific reference photos only to not find them so I understand your frustration there.
JP

thanks Johnny....this is and will remain "all chisels"...it will take a long time to reach my
goal.....I found another internet pic that is the same "family" of tiki
http://www.islandheritage.org/eifimages/museumpiece3.jpg

Conga,

Way to go man! Chip it out and let us see it as you go. I tried your link and it was dead. Maybe my bad?

-Gman

sorry GMan.....works on my 'puter but I use Mozilla....Island Heritage is sort of a tourism site
for Easter Island...cool site....www.islandheritage.org...good luck...you will see that my goal might
be unattainable.

That's shapin' up fine, conga. By the way, I use Mozilla too. I also use Explorer, but when it acts up, Mozilla always comes through. (I'm on a Mac of course).

http://www.samgambino.com

[ Edited by: Sam Gambino 2005-12-22 17:27 ]

Hey Sam....nice to have you back in the neighborhood...appreciate the remarks on Kon Tiki dude....
I'll second/third the suggestion in your thread that we need a Gambino book....best wishes for
the holidays to you...Sam...and everyone else too!

Getting deeper....a few more hours into the project


Merry Christmas to everyone from the wonderful Northwoods of Wisconsin...

[ Edited by: congatiki 2005-12-24 16:35 ]

Conga, this guy looks like the tiki bug man, very strange but cool. Can't wait to see Him done. Merry Christmas

thanks Ben....once again the wood is taking me a little outside the tiki box....I keep thinking
of the incredible detail in your work and it inspires me to just keep picking away...I already
have two big garbage bags of wood chips from this guy...and a lotta work to do. I am confident
he'll squeeze into the polynesian "bag" once he's stained and photographs a little better.
Any similarity to AlienTiki's latest or to the big head guy from Outer Limits is strictly
coincidental.