4 Dreams & a Back ache!! My very first Tiki

I became obsessed. I was turned on to Tiki Poles for a long time now but did'nt have the drive until I started dreaming about it. I know it may sound weird but it's true. I'd wake up in the morning and tell my wife "I have to carve a Tiki"! I kept seeing these images in my head. After my second dream, It was log searching time. Well, I found small avocado logs from my neighbor and started carving away. Three straight nights and a real bad back ache, I finished my first tiki. Hope you guys like it. I started on my second one before finishing the first. lol. Need to do something with the first one though. Any suggestions? What stains/color should I go with. It's starting to crack already(my kids dropped it a couple of times).

Hahaha another one infected by the tiki carving virus - welcome, welcome [evil laughter]

I just did my 1st too - good fun isnt it?

I reckon just slap on a stain. Looks pretty good as it is.

Big Welcome Atsinroc c'mon in and stay awhile. That is a rockin' good tiki for your first and # 2 looks pretty good too. You have the bug alright. Ride it while it's hot and quit whn it's not.

Wow those are great first tikis!
I'm just hoping mine look somewhat recognizable when I start in on them.
-Tw

Thanks for the positive feedback. Its funny, when im in my car driving, I find myself looking for trees. Dead or Alive. Hoping that the homeowner will get rid of that dying palm tree. Is there a place where large dia. logs could be purchased? I live in the Anahiem area and would like to take the step up to the larger size Tiki. My wife thinks Im crazy. LOL.

Welcome, Atsinroc. Glad to see you've gotten the bug, started caring, and are posting your work here.

There is an easy place to get good carving logs in South O.C. if you don't mind paying a few bucks for them. It's right near the 5 fwy and Sand Canyon, so not far from
Anaheim. I forget the name, but I think it's something like "Wood Hill". It's not in the hills, though.

Here's a pic from last time I went there.

Directions:

From Anaheim, take 5 Fwy south, exit on Sand Canyon.
Make a left at the bottom of the offramp, go under the fwy and make an immediate right just on the other side of the fwy (not sure of the street name, but there's a small church on the corner).
Go about a block down that street till it dead ends and the wood lot is on your right (it backs up against the Fwy, but you really can't see it from up there).

The best time to go is on Saturday, and the Owner can tell you what are the best woods on site for you to carve. There is also a carver named Roy Hamari who sublets there and carves lots of non-tiki stuff - grizzly bears, dolphins, etc.

Here's a pic of his carving area. Real nice guy.

I bought (2) logs there (almond?), about 20" diameter x 36" tall each, and the Owner made (6) chainsaw cuts for me and dropped them in the back of my truck with the skiploader - Total $40. More info on this adventure here..

Of course you can save the $$$, call a few local tree trimmers and see if you can get some wood for free. I was just going for convenience that time, but it seemed well worth the $40.

Good Luck! Shoot me a PM if you have more questions, I live nearby.

Aaron

On 2005-07-17 02:55, atsinroc wrote:
Thanks for the positive feedback. Its funny, when im in my car driving, I find myself looking for trees. Dead or Alive. Hoping that the homeowner will get rid of that dying palm tree. Is there a place where large dia. logs could be purchased? I live in the Anahiem area and would like to take the step up to the larger size Tiki. My wife thinks Im crazy. LOL.

Good tiki!!! I live in the Anaheim area also and have just completed my first tiki today. I used a semi gloss laquer to finish my tiki since he will be chillin' indoors. It has a nice golden look to it. I used a pine wood which I was able to score for free at a tree trimming place on lincoln ave going towards the city of Orange. Hope to see more of your work and Ill post a pic of my work!

[ Edited by: johnster 2005-07-17 15:14 ]

Thanks for posting these. Very nice!

Aaron's Akua........ Thanks for the info on log heaven. It just so happens that I just started work at foothill ranch on 7/20 and I drive by every day for lunch. I look at the logs dreaming of my next project. What an inventory of logs. DAAAMMMMNNN! Its a carvers paradise. The only thing I wish I had is a truck. I drive a mustang :( I'd buy some1 a log or two if they would be willing to haul a couple to my house. I need more wood. LOL. Anyway, almost done with my 2nd one. Thank for all the kind words all.

first ones look good, can't wait to see the pictures of the second.