Bam Bam's carving thread

Looks great Bam Bam!

Nice job, man.

Thanks a ton, guys! I'm really pleased with how it turned out. Waiting on the poly to dry and I'll get a shot in sunlight.

Also pretty cool to note, my church's bible school director wants to borrow the moai and the older garden tiki for their "Shipwrecked in the Pacific" theme this year. I'm also providing her with some incidental background music, like Chaino. Tiki bible school. Go figure.

The finish looks great. He looks like he just ate a very pleasing meal.

Thanks Mike. They say you put an aspect of yourself into whatever you create, in this case it is quite accurate.

Had a moment of panic when I got home and discovered blisters in the finish - I thought it was more bugs trying to eat their way out. Turns out it was something (either in the wood or maybe the old stain) off-gassing in the heat of the sun. Punctured the blisters and smashed them flat. Can't even see where they were.

The moai on his temporary ahu.

Gonna see if I can find some flagstone bits this weekend to disguise the outside edge, then fill with gravel.

Finally got around to staining and sealing the stumpy guy.

Moai came out great
Lil dude has a nice tan

Nice weather has finally hit the Northeast - an opportunity to get back to some carving, powered by a few W&N & ginger beers.

I've been looking for a proper cocktail muddler and recently found this old meat grinder plunger that I think will do the trick.

It's a simple job to flip it upside-down and slice off the end of the handle in order to make a flat face.

Speaking of faces...

Much better.

All right
Lookin good n making me thirsty
Cheers

Nice cocktail meddler.

Thanks, guys! It's great getting back into the swing after so many months. The +60-degree weather drives me.

Back in the saddle again! Had a couple 2-foot oak logs curing over the winter. Figured it was high time to do something with one of them - also finally got to try out the new chisels I got months ago for my birthday. He's been toasted in the fires of a citronella tiki torch, and then sanded/wiped back for that wash & dry-brush look.

Nice one, will fit right in a tiki bar.

Carve deeper!!

On 2020-03-12 08:52, AlohaStation wrote:
Carve deeper!!

I'm right with you there! You'd think I'd have learned my lesson with the last piece of oak I worked on, this one was still a struggle to get good cuts. Very stubborn material, and I probably need to put a better edge on my chisels. If I could find a reliable source of other hardwoods that would be perfect, but I'm pretty much stuck with what shows up at the town mulching site. Loved carving birch.

Had some pent-up anxiety so I spent this afternoon knocking out this guy. Oak slab, about 3 1/2 feet.

Found the slab at the town mulch yard. I could already see a face!

Had to reshape the backside so he can hang flat on the wall. Power tools failed me on the super dense oak, so it was down to hand-chiseling. (really need to get a better chainsaw)

Tried to remember to take more in-progress shots, but the muse overtook me as usual.

The inspector approves.

After smudging with an oil flame and wiping down. A couple coats of spray polyurethane will keep it set in place.

A rainy day in PA. After 2 years he's still keeping guard over my parents' garage.