New stuff added!!

aloha a.s.!those different tones are a treat for the eyes. the curves are so smooth, too. awesome job! can't wait to see the really big one.

Thanks for all the compliments. This guy was a lot of fun to carve. Finishing him was a struggle - or should I say sanding him. With the hard wood every little scratch shows!! The colors didn't come out as I envisioned, but still looks great.

M.I.T. - thanks for the inquiry. Mahogany actually grows here in South Florida. A few months ago I scored a pile when a shopping center clear cut their parking lot!! Check it out, I have only used one piece so far!!

Aloha, I can't believe how excellent you are getting with the Fine Detail. Can't wait to see what comes out of that wood pile!

WOW!!!!!!!Once again your tikis are More amazing with each carving!!! Can't wait to see whats next,Aloha, Mooney

Thanks goes to the St. Lucie Crew - I know you have as much of this wood as I do. Anything in the works?? Posting a little "Pocket Tiki" that I just finished. He still needs a clear coat. Its a crappy photo, sorry.

your title made me think of this..

Nice bird tiki. Could have passed as a Crazy Al surf tiki a week ago. Bird's cool

On 2008-03-11 13:55, AlohaStation wrote:
Thanks for all the compliments. This guy was a lot of fun to carve. Finishing him was a struggle - or should I say sanding him. With the hard wood every little scratch shows!! The colors didn't come out as I envisioned, but still looks great.

M.I.T. - thanks for the inquiry. Mahogany actually grows here in South Florida. A few months ago I scored a pile when a shopping center clear cut their parking lot!! Check it out, I have only used one piece so far!!

This part of Texas the best I can do for a tree "on the hoof" is some pretty nice mesquite. It will dull a knife or chisels faster that you would think is possible in the known universe but it is well worth the effort. The wood is beautiful and holds great detail. Also, if the carving goes south you can always barbeque with it!!!

If I am feeling especially masochistic I will start a mequite piece and let ya all see what it is like. For every day fun kinda carving I like a good chunk of basswood.

I have my "very first tiki" I am wanting to post up once I pry the digital camera away from my wife. It isn't anything "holy tiki-erffic" like alot of the first rate pieces you and others have been putting up but it is a start. Just be gentle on me sensibilities is all I be askin of ya'all!

Mustang Island Tiki

[ Edited by: Mustang Island Tiki 2008-03-15 00:15 ]

On 2008-03-14 17:44, AlohaStation wrote:
Its a crappy photo, sorry.

Happy subject though! :)

Nice! I think the small detail stuff is harder than
a semi large subject.

BUMP to cool of carvings to slip back, Aloha ,Mooney

Thanks for all the input everyone. I just back from spending a week in Orlando with the kids and trying to catch up. There is some really cool stuff being produced. Not much tiki happening here. I have a super secret project that I'm working on for a TCer so I'm not posting any images without their permission. Here is a sneak peak of me milling some of the Mahogany. 6 months after being cut and it is still a little wet - but beautiful!!

Alohastation I'm looking forward to your next project even if your keeping it a secret. I hope you had fun in O-Town. My wife and our kids and myself did a quick 3day trip to ftwilderness and disney alot of fun. My 3yr old son loved the inchanted Tiki. Hs eyes were as big as basketballs and laughing all the way. Looking forward to meeting you and everyone at Benzarts Chop in May,keep up the Sweet Art my friend, Aloha, Mooney

OK - my super secret project has been given the green to post images - so I will be posting progress shots as it goes. Here's where I started today with some roughed out shapes. When I was finished they are much further along.

Can't wait to see the wood come off! Aloha, Mooney

Right On Aloha! the 3 guys are coming along really nice.

looks pretty good already!!! can't wait to see more.

After seeing some of the work spaces here, it has motivated me show mine.

Not as nice as some - but it is my Fortress of Solitude. Much of my time carving is spent sitting in the garage with the door open enjoying the night air. You can see my box of dowels on the floor - right next to it is my secret stash of wood in the colored containers. The red cabinet is the command station. it holds most of my chisels, gouges, and the mysterious "box of rejects". I will have an update later this week on the Trio.

I'll take a picture of my spot later.

Very Modest work space. Looks very close to mine, but
I have less tools.

Nice shop, it would be nice to work in a garage that never gets cold. It would be hard not to play with that lathe though.

Any update on the three amigos?

[ Edited by: JohnnyP 2008-04-19 17:45 ]

The workspace is modest but boasts an almost complete woodshop. Chopsaw, tablesaw, router table, drill press, bandsaw and yes, the lathe. The lathe really got me started into wood carving, but it hasn't seen much use lately. I have been having problems with some new tools and exchanged them this week - so more stuff will be coming soon. My wife caught me in the back yard yesterday after the day at the beach. All I was doing was enjoying the afternoon with a cool drink - she got mad??

Bablu's mug from the recent swap. I think there's a whole in it, because my drinks seem to disappear!!

I have not had a whole lot of time to carve because I am heavily involved with another hobby. Mountain biking - yes - in an area that has no HILLS (much less mountains). After hurricane Wilma the local MTB trail was destroyed and it has been almost 3 years since the trail has been open. The past year a small group of us have been fighting to reopen the trails and just 2 weeks ago it happened!! 2 miles are open and we have another 6 to go. Wplugger and I are trying to work out a deal with the park to obtain trees in exchange we will be allowed to put the tikis in the park. I'm not sure we will ever see pictures here because Will doesn't post images of his stuff (wink, wink, nudge, nudge) more on that coming.

I have been carving on the Trio, heres the update requested. i'll be working on them later when the temperature drops a little (too cold - too hot, garages are fickle). Enjoy

[ Edited by: AlohaStation 2008-04-20 08:34 ]

it seems like all you do is sit around. you should try and get some work done. :P

it's nice to see you take some time to relax. good for you.

Looks like you are living the Fine life, MAi Tai by the pool, loungin; in the sun with a child slave to keep the breeze goin' and the bugs off, And Then you took Pictures? No Wonder your wife was irritated! :lol: :lol: :lol:
I've seen that compact little shop and it's Very deceiving seeing so little but seeing So Much. Also you have a Shed out back full of stuff too?
I want to see that Mysterious box full of Secret stuff Too! Bringing it up with you?

pdrake - I wish I did have time to just sit around. That afternoon was the exception - I spent the day at the beach with my two girls and I was spent. Sun, rum and few small waves - it was a good day.

Benz - A Mai Tai was to much work for that afternoon, just rum and coke (the garnishes came for my oldest daughter). The reason my wife was irritated is because I beat her to the punch. By the time she got a drink and set up, Allison was too tired to fan her and I wanted to get out of the sun. That will teach her to participate in Habitat For Humanity! And, yes, there is the wood shed. Filled with all types of wooden treasures: mahogany, oak cherry, macadamia nut, mango, walnut and some mystery woods. Not to mention the Coconut tree and 10' log drying outside the shed!

:lol:

Like the direction of the Trio!

Thanks for coming to the chop.
Whats this sliding off the page stuff, Bump it UP!

Great stuff Aloha! I hope that you are successful in your tiki park endeavors. Maybe I will have to bring my bike down to Hukilau and check out the trail. I'll be down early and leaving late. We had a big mt. bike group around here a few years ago but it fell apart when we had our second bundle of.....challenging joy. They are old enough now that we can start riding again. Let us know if you guys need help, I'm handy with any size back-hoe & front loader, you could make an event of it and take donations to pay for the rental. Great to meet you BTW, cya @ the H.

great hangin with you at the chop- thanks for the knife pointers. so where's the updates on these guys?;)

Thanks for all the inquiries. The TikiJam was a lot of fun seeing familiar faces and a few new ones. I went home with a lot of creative motivation and some new knowledge. Benz showed me the sanding stars and I went out and bought 2 from Woodcraft. After the first 5 minutes I knew it was a worthy purchase. Check them out here: http://www.woodworkingshop.com/cgi-bin/A9B02700/mac/subgrp.mac/subGroupSelection?lenGrpDsc=6PROCONPROFILE%20%26%20CONTOUR%20SANDING
Woocraft actually has a cheaper version that you can not refill.

Once I got back from the TikiJam I dove into a chunk of wood and came up with this. A little over 5" tall, carved in Walnut.

Next up is the requested update for the Trio. These two are at midway point in sanding. Once that is done, I will move on to the final cuts and tatooing. Enjoy.

Wow your designs are so nice and clean and crisp...must be in the genes. It was a pleasure to meet you Tom and to see your work in person....

Here's another small guy I just finished - not quite 3". Carved from a remnant of Koa - he was pretty much an experiment to see how the Koa carves. I LIKE IT!! Its a hard wood that has a very tight grain that can hold a lot of detail. Now i know why people like to use it. The color of the wood is beautiful. More stuff in Koa coming - Thanks Ben!

Aloha, I Love that Koa Piece, yes the wood IS Beautiful but you bring a Lot out of it. I Know it's hard but you'r right about it taking a Lot of detail. Awesome Piece.

Incredible! Your carvings always make me grin.

Great stuff A.S.!

I would love to get a little chuck of Koa, I'll probably have to resort to ordering some as it rarely pops up at the wood stores here. I am kicking myself 2 years later after not buying the Koa board scrapes that my local Woodcraft had once. It'd be a carving I would keep as Koa is full of good mana and would be a great item for my bar.

A wonderful fun style you've got going in all your work, keep it up!

Sweet!

Awesome one, A.S.

Benjamin.

Ooo, very cool! I've been having problems with my Koa so far, it keeps splintering on me and chunks fall out, but it is incredible looking wood. I've got a few scraps from various sources, but there's a store by me that sells it. As long as they have a long enough board, they'll sell it to you by the inch if you just want a chunk off the end.

Thanks everyone. This little guy just developed as I started carving. Benzart gave me a block of the Koa and I will probably use it sparingly. Fortunately Woodcraft and Constantine's carry a great selection of wood - the downside is that it aint cheap. Mooney gave me a piece of Albeeza(sp?) that I want to try next. I still need to finish the Trio before Hukilau. Its hard to believe its less than a month away.

Incredible your work always has a life of its own.

Very sweet carvings my friend!!! That koa carving is excelent and the wood is Beautiful. look forward to seeing your carvings at the Hukilau,Aloha Mooney

NICE! Your stuff is great, I love it. Like seeks said, they've got life in 'em!

Here are some little guys that I have been working on for Hukilau. Carved in Koa and Walnut. Two different techniques using Squares and Rounds. More of these to come.

A.S. you're on fire! These guys are great!

There's going to be some really great stuff for sale at this Hukilau, I think attendees will go home with big smiles and lots of new tikis!

Nice work, I especially like the marquesan you carved !

wow! i can't believe how much work you're getting done! gonna be an incredible weekend!!

going off!
can't wait to fondle some of these in Florida!

Great work! How you get such detail in small pieces is a real talent. I did go to the link for the sanding stars but nothing was listed under that name. Another hint please? Thanks. Can't wait for your next piece.