Mr. Dale....tiki #4, "Mo Moais moving in," page 3

Mahalo.............
I've been lurking around over your shoulders for quite some time. Not much of talker but I have spoken up here and there.
But I just gotta tell ya....Some of the work posted on here is really amazing. Benzart, Gecko, L. Surfer, Kiegs, B. Kahuna and the never ending list of others........Ya all are truly inspiring. I mean really. So I've been doing my own carving when I can.
But time is scarce. Between work, new baby boy, young hot wife, old house, big yard and old hot rods, time to carve is extremely rare but Oh so fun.
I sculpt in metal when I can and have sold a few but this wood is a whole new ball game.
And living in landlocked Colorado, pine to carve is plentiful but the people have no idea what the hell a Tiki is. I know Lake Surfer has the same problems but man. If its not the Broncos, canned beer or Skiing, these people just have no clue. Not everbody but most walk by the house and say "Nice..um...totem thing"
But what can ya do? My wife and I are true Tiki freaks and because of the Tiki's in the Yard we are finding the rest of them in Denver who have heard about the house and stop by. They're all excited because they've found out they're not the only ones with the same sickness.
But man if it is a sickness then I want the full disease.
So I'm gonna try and post my two tikis on here. But me and Computers fight more than Tom and Jerry. So I'll do my best.
Criticism gladly accepted. I do most of the bulk of the work with a chain saw, not Kosher to everbody, but thats o.k.
The first Tiki has since lost the white teeth and recieved a dark stain and varnish.
The second has gone to good friend Jay as a birthday present this weekend.
So here ya go....hopefully... and again, thanks for letting me play with ya all. I hope for more to come.

[ Edited by: Mr. Dale on 2004-08-08 15:02 ]

[ Edited by: Mr. Dale on 2004-08-08 15:05 ]

[ Edited by: Mr. Dale on 2004-09-13 16:16 ]

[ Edited by: Mr. Dale on 2005-01-17 22:54 ]

Hello Mr Dale. The pictures did not come up.
The embedding is correct, but the link from shutterfly is not. Go to shutterfly and open your pictures from the thumbnails when you have the fullsize image then right click on it and click "Properties" with the left mouse button. Then you see the properties box. Point to the address in the middle of the page and RightClick on that. Left click on "Select" from the menu. Now you see the address highlighted. Right click on the address and a menue comes up. slide down to "Copy" and left click on that.
That is what you want to put between embedding codes. I hope this helps because I really want us all to see your work. Thanks for posting and holler if you need more help
The first part of your URL looks correct it is just missing the last part. here is one of mine so you can see the whole back end is missing
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b4da20b3127ccebb961fad2cd40000002611

[ Edited by: Benzart on 2004-08-08 15:40 ]

Thanks Ben. Man oh man, my big Tiki Central debut and I feel like someboby slipped a whoopie cushion under me in the middle of church. But you are one of my idols, with your Tropicana works and all. Can't believe this whole internet thing is so cool, just sit and talk and get advise from a cat like you! Man! So I'll try, try, try again........Thanks!

P.S. Sorry, it took so long for me to get back and check this. I'm a busy Daddy and can only play every so often. But I'll get those pictures up a.s.a.p!

No problem, just holler if you need any more help. You can always jump on "Chat" too for instant advice.

Right on! Thanks Ben! So here......is Tiki #1, 4+ feet of angry love.

And here is #2, almost 5 feet of more angry love.

Thanks again for all your help.

But once again, I gotta run, I'll check back tonight!!!!!!!!!!

Right on! wow. it worked!

[ Edited by: Mr. Dale on 2004-08-10 15:02 ]

[ Edited by: Mr. Dale on 2004-08-10 15:06 ]

i really like the first one he has a cool attitude, and look. good job, don't worry about messing up the pictures i think everyone has trouble the first few times.

great work keep posting them

[ Edited by: Octane on 2004-08-10 16:39 ]

Very nice!
Thanks for posting!
I really like the frst one too, I think it's the first tiki I've seen with a cleft chin! Very cute :)

Moderators can't moderate what I take out.

[ Edited by: Chip and Andy 2009-06-05 15:56 ]

Mr Dale I'm Glad you finally got the pic's up. Spectacular for 1 and 2, another top notch carver starts off almost as a master here on TC. Beautiful.
Chip and Andy, I Love carving with the Ficus wood. Very stable , fairly strong, easy to carve, SAVE Me some. I'd love a piece. You are down near the Mai Kai, where Oakland park? My old Stomping grounds.. Make me homesick why dontcha..

Mr. Dale I dig your style - your tikis remind me of the tikis at the Enchanted Tiki Room - the 2nd one really reminds of the Marc Davis' design that's shown in the BOT and that's a good thing!

Gotta say man, no matter how you carvin em, keep em comin, that #2 I would love to have in my home. Great work.

Man, ya all, thanks for all the encouragement (sp?, that doesn't look right, but........oh well) You guys gave this bald Denver dork a smile with your kindness. I mean, what right do I have carving Tikis, except my passion for them since I was just a little kid in Disneyland at the enchanted Tiki room, and my parents flying us off to Hawaii at the impressionable age of 11, except for those two burning memories, what right does some mountain working, cowboy hat wearing guy like me have carving Tikis?
There isn't an ocean or tiki bar within sight for miles around here. I mean I LOVE Colorado, but I just can't bring myself to carve a bear, mountain man or a miner.
Who knows, maybe while I'm carving Tikis in Colo., some cat in Hawaii is carving a bear holding a Coors beer! Wouldn't that be a hoot?!
But I love 'em, always have, its just the mystery and exoticness of it all, ain't it.
Thanks Octane for the encouragement. (there's that Damn word again) I love your work. Really good stuff.
Tikiwahine, that cleft was a bad slip of the grinder that became a good thing. Didn't all the good / bad guys in the sixties movies have cleft chins? Maybe I'm onto something here.
Chip and Andy, Maybe I should change my
name on here to Chip and Dale! That wouldn't be forgotten.
I only take off the "bulk" of the work the chain saw. That is, I take off the biggest pieces with chain and then go to smaller power tools, hatchets, die grinders,
and then chisels and sandpaper. Those cats on here who's work is truly impressive do most or all of thier work with mallet and chisels. They have better control, more patience and more "intimacy" with thier art, than I do. I don't know if intimacy is the proper word to use, but that kinda of explains it. I'm standing up hacking away with a power tool, and while I truly love
the work and the wood and the whole aura of it, Its the cats who spend hours looking and thinking about every cut that really floor me. And looking at thier work. Its shows.
John Tiki........man you're gonna make me cry. What better compliment could ya give than the enchanted room.....wow, cool, thanks.
I don't want to sound like ignorant Colo. hick, but who is Marc Davis and what
is BOT?
But again, thanks.
Tiki toa, that one went to my Buddy Jay for his Birthday. But thank you anyway. I have plenty More ideas in my head.
And Ben, again thank you, one of the true masters of this craft, if ever there was. Not only can you carve like a mean dog, but man, you gotta be the nicest cat I've never met. I've been reading this site for over a year and not once have I heard an unkind word from you. No matter how bad the art or how far off base the idea, you still always give back a little good word. Thanks for just being on here. God love ya.
Man. I just wrote a friggin' book, damn, sorry,
But I gotta go...miss Amy, my beautiful wife is waiting.........

Mr. Dale truly great stuff. I too am surounded by carvings of bears, salmon, and loggers. Something I just cant get into. The chainsaw is a great tool. I have yet to pick up a chisle. I respect the guys who do. But I still think there is no shame in using a chainsaw. Hope to see more tikis

Great work Mr. Dale(I had a teacher at school called Mr.Dale so this feels a bit wierd), a chainsaw is just another tool, I don't believe it takes away from the 'soul' of carving. I use an arbotech for rough work, it speeds up the process a lot and saves abit of energy.
BOT is Book of Tiki.
look forward to the next one

Mr Dale, you must immediately log yourself onto Amazon and purchase the Book of Tiki. If you're producing work like this without the BOT as a source of inspiration, I can't wait to see what you'll be carving when you do.

I agree with Artiki. I used to use chainsaws all the time, and grinders and sanders and chisels too. I believe in using anything possible to remove the wood as quickly as possible. Just don't let the chainsaw determine your work because beyond the chain is a whole different depth of detail. Even grinders and such can expand the detail as you will see in the future. Thanks for your kind words and keep up the good work, no matter how you do it.

I agree with Ben and Artiki, it doesn't matter what your using, chainsaw, grinder, dremel, chisel or what ever, as long as it works for you.

personally i don't like power tools, but not becuase i think they are bad or sacrallig(?) its just i don't feel comfortable with them, as they take to much material off to fast.

I don't think there is a right or wrong way to carve a tiki, and you have to remember you can't always please everyone, so just due or carve with what ever is comfortable to you.

Mr. Dale,

Your work is really excellent. I've been working the opposite..on my first palm wood tiki. I thought Mallet & chisels were the way to go. About half way through I said the hell with it & bought a new Dremel Flexshaft kit. Unbelievable difference! Now I'm using the Dremel kit for the precision cuts & a chisel to take out the bulk extra wood in between. I'm still trying to figure out a happy medium - a fast way to rough things out with power tools. I'm sort of intrigued by Cheeky's reference to an "arbotech". I'm going to see if I can look this up. Can't bring myself to use a chainsaw yet - at least not on a 2-foot tiki. Now, maybe a 6 footer!

Keep carvin' and postin'. We need to see more!

• Aaron

Again guys, thanks for all the kind words.....ya all are awesome.
I figured out "BOT" was "Book of Tiki" about 2 in the morning. Its right next to my bed on the nightstand. Book of Tiki, the Bible and a couple of hot rod magazines all side by side. Its a cool thing.
And I did try chisels to start with. But I'm very comfortable with power tools and man its just so fun. And you're right Ben, it does limit the tiki as in I have to carve big and fat to get the right look to the curves and details. Any smaller and my tikis start losing limbs!
Not a good thing to carve up unhappy missing a limb tiki!
Tiki #3 is halfway done, so give me few weeks and I'll post it up!
Again, thanks.

Aaron this is an Arbortech woodcarver and fits on any small angle grinder. Unlike the chain versions it removes wood very quickly by chipping away rather than cutting.


Mr Dale what chainsaw do you use? I have a homelite with a 14" blade but I find it very heavy. I tried out a top handled Stihl with a 9" blade and its fantastic, you can use it one handed, itds sooo light.Problem is thy're around £500 new and rare as hens teeth on ebay and get snapped up!

Aaron, as you can see the "Arbortech is just a chainsaw type attachment you can put on a grinder instead of a disck. It has the same teeth as a chainsaw and sharens the same way and removes wood the same way. I have used them and they are great for removing wood plus you can use the grinder as a normal grinder too..

Cheekytiki, I bought one of those grinder attachments when I first started carving, but I took it back unused. I was too chicken to use it, are they easy to carve with? It looks very vicious and very close to your fingers!

Cheeky,

Thanks for responding (I sent the question to Cheeky as a PM, but I'm glad he shared on Mr. Dale's post). These pictures are super helpful, because the Arbortech is a british brand that I've never seen here. I never knew you could put a "chainsaw disk" in a grinder. This is great because I already have the grinder - I just need to buy the disk. The whole idea of using a chainsaw seems a little unweildy to me. Kind of like using a sledge hammer to nail in a tack.

By the way, I hate get Mr. Dale's string "off track", BUT.....

All of us fledgling TC carvers would greatly benefit if some of the real expert carvers like Benzart, Cheeky, Chiki, Gecko, etc.. (Hate to leave anyone out, but you all probably get the idea) would start a new post with some digital photos of their favorite and most useful carving tools.

I'm sure this would be a much viewed, much appreciated post that would be of real benefit to the all of the newer TC carvers.

Just an idea....

Now who wants to start???!!???

Thanks again, Cheeky.

That's one cool grinder attachment!

Mr dale...Your tikis are awesome! It's hard to believe these are your first. I'd say too that there's a little bit of "hot rodding" in their designs too (it might be the pic of you with the cowboy hat that influenced that statement...but I dunno)

They look tiki-goulish, like if the tikis from the tiki room decided to replace the 3 hitchhiking ghosts in the haunted mansion...this is what we would see.

Keep carvin and posting! Can't wait to see more

BTW - I agree that however you get your tiki done is the correct way to do it. As a chisel/grinder guy I have the utmost respect for chainsaw carvers, I don't know how you can control those things to make such fine cuts.
keep 'em coming!

Hey all you beautiful tiki heads...........
I finally finished tiki #3.....I call him "Fu"
He's 36" tall and 18" across.......
I "borrowed" an image from a pair of boxer shorts my wife bought years ago and then changed things quite a bit.
I know these things change as they go and "talk" back about how they want be....but this little fellow came out looking a LOT like Don Quixote. I have a mexican / spanish Don Quixote statue that is just the coolest. But I didn't plan for this.
So....heres my Spanish tiki..
Adios and Mahalo.......

Excellent work!!!! Hey I love the Pink Flammingo's as well. Please post more pic's when you make more.

Nice piece! It has a very primal vibe. Maybe you were a headhunter in your past life.

Nice work! Day of the dead tiki!
too cool dale, too cool.

Keep 'em coming!

That's another cracking piece of work. Well done.

Thanks for the compliments. I really liked doing this one.
"Cracking piece of work" man, thats funny, Artiki, you crack me up.
I get the end pieces from a friend who builds log cabins. He builds it all outside and just leaves these ends in a big pile. So by the time I get them they've been laying out in the weather for a couple of years or more. Not good for a 150+ year old tree. But I think the cracks bring up the coolness level. Just my opinion. I could actually hear this guy cracking more as I carved him out in the sun.

I also get my wood from the ends of log homes, mine havent been exposed to the elements as much.
Love the finish on the last one. What did you use?

Hey rodeotiki....were both on #3 huh? Its good, I don't feel so alone with these veterans.
I burnt the deep areas with my acetylene torch, sanded that down. Then I layered on a couple of coats of a dark Minwax stain, American something, I can't remember what right now, old age kickin in.
And last I put on five coats of Marine Varnish. And a few more just on the top to seal it.
Benzart puts on like 12 layers of marine varnish for the ones sitting outside.
But I'll have to do some research. I can't get that many on without it looking gummed up. His and others on this board always look so smooth.
Maybe I need to sand more. But man, I HATE sanding. Boring. Carving and chipping is the thing. Thats fun. And drinking rum and sharing it with the Tiki to bring it in to the world! Hell yeah..........

Looks great Mr. Dale. That guy looks pretty big in the photo. Hard to believe its only 3 ft. tall. All that deep carving really ads dimension and scale. I like the design. Do you draw these up on paper, or just outline them on the log & let the chips fly?

Wow...nice, original stuff, Dale...just saw these. Good work...

I guess I hadn't seen this one either. Wild look with enough teeth to rip off your head in one bite, fearsome. Cool and nice detail. Mr. Dale you are catching on quick. About the sanding part, It's not importand unless you want a smoothe, finished look, for which you have to sand and sand and then sand some more. Oh and did I mention you have to sand and sand BETWEEN the coats of Varnish or whatever finish you use? You do. The old setup I had with the 5" Makita sander connected to a speed control with a 1" thick foam pad always worked best for me.
You have sucessfully completed lesson 3 and now on to lesson 4. Get another log, tools , and Plenty sandpaper...........

Thanks AA for the compliments, I just draw on the log and go. If not, I feel I'll lose much of the spontaneity.
B. Kahuna. thanks also. You're one of the reasons I started doing this whole tiki thing. Your work has always been amazing.
And Mr. Ben, thanks again for all your help. I guess I gotta learn to like sanding.
yuck. I thought it was just bad varnish or dry Colo. air. Live and learn, and sand away like sand in the shorts. Sand til' it hurts! Yahoo! Mahalo, Dale

Aloha all you awesome tiki freaks........
This is my latest little guy. I did a Moai, but I didn't stick with original design.....I love Moais but that kissy faced lips thing just kills it for me.
So I carved mine more in the image of my Grandpa Guy. A So Dakota gold miner who always has this set jaw look about him even when he's smiling.

This here Moai is almost 5' tall and 20" around. I tried a lighter stain this time, I think I prefer them darker, but hey, live and learn. I also used Poly. instead of Varnish. Seemed to dry faster in the cold than the varnish did, so that was good, we'll see how lasts. It has six coats.

He started life as a Montana Engleman spruce. Now he's a set jaw Maoi hanging out in the snows of Colorado.

I thought a Moai would be somewhat easier....ha, uhh no. They're not. Lots of design things to 'em you don't notice until you start really looking. But still brother, just as fun.

I named him "Mo". I hope you enjoy.

Cool moai, looks very staunch, he's got his spot and no ones gonna move him

I guess I would look that unhappy if I was standing out in the snow too. When you are used to warm sunny beaches, the snow can make you irritable. Nice one MrDale. Decieving little suckers aren't they, those Moai. They look Sooo Simmple until you start trying to fit all the pieces together, when you realize there are a few complicated translations to get unjumbled. You did it tho. Keep it up

Ooh Man, Dale! you do a nice job!

I dig the look on that Moai - that lower lip is a very cool "mr. Dale" touch. You got skills! Yeah, those Moais look easy 'till you start carvin' them....

THanks for the picture and to be honest - rather than looking cold there (which I'm sure it is) it actually looks like it snowed in polynesia.

did anyone ever end up purchasing the carvings you had at the shag show?

Keep those torches burnin' Mr. Dale. The next luau's right around the corner. Forget the snow, it's tiki time!

Your Moai looks like he could care less. I've seen that same expression on my 3-year old's face many times, & it's called DEFIANCE!

That is so excellent. Glad to see your newest back on the board. I really like your interpretation on the moai theme.

A-A

Excellent work Mr. Dale ! Welcome to the group(I just found this thread too). Do you have any other local friends into Tiki, or are you pretty much alone in your quest to surround yourself with these mysterious idols ? Have you tried doing any Tikis in metal yet? Please post when you do. I have a friend who does really great aquatic themed metal art, like sharks and sea turtles, but I have not yet been able to get him to do a Tiki. If I had the gear at my disposal, I'd love to be putting up some big scary steel Tikis!

TikisbySeamus.com

[ Edited by: seamus on 2005-01-19 09:42 ]

Thanks for the happy returns everybody. Moais are kinda cool, kinda the laid back tikis just checking it all out and don't need to impress anybody....
I think I'll do more over time with different expressions and just completely fill in my yard.
Poly........Yeah, I did sell that little headhunter looking head, a lady at the show bought it for her Tiki bar basement. I was very happy to say the least.
A-A, you got a young un' too huh? Aren't they awesome? So much work but so much fun. Makes it hard to run a chain saw during nap time tho.
Seamus, I've heard of people making steel tikis but I have yet to see one. I been told I should try but my steel work and my tikis are night and day from each other, except that they are both figurative.
Maybe I'll give it a go sometime, but I have to do a few steelies I have in mind first.
Yeah, there are a few tiki freaks hanging out in Denver. They just seem to show up at my doorstep every now and then.
Its kinda cool.

[ Edited by: Mr. Dale on 2005-01-20 17:25 ]

[ Edited by: Mr. Dale on 2005-01-20 17:27 ]