Gman vs Wild - Page 1; Kotiate Warrior 183; BoatMan 184; Gman Lizard Dance 190; Screamer 193

Hey guys,

I took Mrs. Gman for a ride through the neighborhood and she likes it - a lot! Actually, she can't wait to get it out in some of the State/Federal recreation areas where we can cruise, camp, and have fun offroad. A friend introduced me to a local guy who runs with a group of other rail owners. They run every weekend, either in town like a rod cruise, or on trails on State/Federal lands.

Here is a link to a club I am trying to join. They are a very active club with their own private driving area - with a sand pit and hill climb. They are not far from my house, about an hour and a half, and they run every week. Check out these air shots!

http://cobrabuggys.homestead.com/cobrabuggys.html

I'm looking to buy a flatbed trailer so I don't have to burn my sand tires or other gear by dragging the buggy behind my truck. I wasted one of the rear tires pulling it the 225 miles home.

So, in light of my new purchase, I will be turning up production of my Gman Tikis to finance my new ride. Just so you all know, I will likely not be spending much time on real deatiled pieces, unless done on commission. Please don't bash me for it. After finishing this Maori, I'll be back to the basics, pumping pieces out for the relatively inexpensive market.

I'll post some side pics of the rail today as a few TCers have asked to see other shots of the buggy.

-Gman

Look's like FUN G, I have a Jeep and my neighbor has a rail. Sometime's we trade for the day nothin' like goin' topless.

Cool rail GMAN and I really loke the Driver and his pal. I'll bet they CAN Fly if you just let'em have at it.

Carvings look great G-man , nice Rail!!! do i detect a shifter kart there in the background too?
Dont hurt yourself, we need you carving.

Rodeo,

Yep, that's my a kart (dig the G-Man sticker :) ), but I'm running a Honda four stoke/no gearbox (lower $$$ decent power/top end). I wish I had a two-cycle 250 shifter on it.....My friends run them and they are FAST! They were running 130 on the short straight at Sebring last year. They give me their old (20 minutes on the track) tires :). After a bad motocross accident where I shattered my arm overjumping a double (2 plates, five screws, three pins, a cadaver bone implant, and thirty grand!) my wife decided that I would stay on four wheels - with a cage if possible. The buggy should be a wicked fun ride. I'm heading up to a sand pit this weekend to meet some folks in a buggy club who have private land to ride. I'll leave my rail home though as I need fix a few things before I get stupid with it.

On the tiki front, I need to finish this other Maori so I can get to making some $$ on some other pieces and fish rubbings. I'm laying out his face moko tonight. Stand by for pics (if I can get my camera to work).

Thanks everyone for commenting on the buggy. It's not often I let myself buy this kinda thing, and I'm very excited.

-Greg

Now take that thing out to a great big sandy area and carve the worlds biggest tiki into the ground with the tires. And then get back to wood stuff. Have fun! Be safe! If you hurt yourself with this your wife will only let you have a 1995 Buick to drive.
JP

JohnnyP,

I could roll a 1995 Buick in about 10 seconds! :lol:

Anyway, here's an update on the Maori moko. I have his face layed out, and I'm gonna cut it in tonight. I'll try to get more pics of him once he's cut, but it might be pretty late. If not, I'll get them up tomorrow. His body moko pics are on page 41. Here he is...

-Gman

SWEET! I really like iy. Took you long enough. How was your award presentation?? Are you back home for awhile now? Are you doing another maori, are you gonna do a lono? Am I asking too many Questions?
You did good on the Moko.

Benz,

I may add some more to his face, but I wanted something strong and not too busy. We'll see if it stays this way or gets mo' busy!

I'm back, the awards ceremony was great. It's very nice to be recognized for your efforts. We had NOAA marine biologists/scientists from Alaska, Hawaii, Gloucester, Florida, and all in between. It's nice to be rewarded in front of the other top producers for the Agency and my peers.

Next up is finishing this guy....but then I'm on to a bunch of Gman tikis to sell so I can pay my fees to the rail club so I can use their sand pit and also pay for paddle tires, a new rack and pinion steering assembly, and a host of other parts. I need to go out and harvest some wood so I don't wind up using my nice cedar for these guys.

-Gman

I'm anxious to see how this finishes, but then I know it will be a long time until the next big ambitious Gman project. Gotta make money though. Hurry up and get that sand rail paid for, and all the future broken parts.

JP

JohnnyP,

Not really, I can knock out a few good sellers in a two weekends or so. I'll get back on another involved tiki carving shortly. I want to think about what I really want to carve as it will likely stay here with us.

-Gman

Hey all,

Here is another moko update for my Maori. I cut his face moko in and took a few more pics. My camera is giving me fits. Some of the pics are over exposed, but at least two of them show the moko cuts well. Here he is:

As always, comments are appreciated. :)

-Gman

Nice. I have to get one of those recipricating hand pieces. It would take forever to cut those in with a utility knife (my only option at the time) and it wouldn't look as smooth and graceful as you did.
JP

Classic stuff my friend GMan...take it easy...you are raising the bar too quickly....yer gonna
leave some of us hackers behind. Congrats on a really nice "GMan."

Looking better GMAN, every time you touch him he gets better. vcxCan't wait to see himfinished.

Looking truly fabulous G. I love the unique look of the cedar, and the top knots are great.

JohnnyP - I would not recommend trying to do a full-body moko with a utility knife!! Yikes! Go on and getcha one of these...you'll love it. I've used the recip and the rotary handpiece for all sorts of things I used to do "other" ways. I likee!

Conga - You're no hacker man..and I'm not leaving anyone in the dust. I'm just doing what I've always done - with a twist.

Benz - How come my carvings look better every day and I wind up looking worse?????

Helz - Thanks for stopping by and dropping some props. Much appreciated. NOW GET BACK TO WORK AND POST SOME UPDATE PICS!!!

I figured that because I've been so busy at work and Benz has also been very busy that my chances to get over to his place to chill and put in my ab inlays were slim to none - especially with him heading out of town. So, today I carried the big Maori out to the garage and put the chisels to him. I got both of his paua eye inlays in nicely. I am pretty stoked. He's getting closer to being completed. Tomorrow I'll work on the smaller Maori adding his inlays and some other details. Here are some pics of the big Maori:

Thanks for looking....

-Gman

That is the icing on the cake. Finishes him off nicely.
JP

Gee Man, incredibly Sweet. Johnny is right, the eyes give it that final touch , and really sets him off. I can tell he's a Happy guy, maybe because he can see now? NIce job GMAN.

Looking great. Nice piece!

Sweet tiki Gman! Love the maori stuff you are doing :)

Greg-
I love the jobs you've been doing. I prefer the dickless guy.
Ray

JohnnyP, Benz, BK, Hewey, and Moondance,

Thanks for the kind words on my big Maori. Your support is greatly appreciated. Those eyes were tough. Because of the curve in the shell, I had to go in over a half an inch+ deep in some places to get the corners flush with his face. All in all, I am very happy with the result. Now I need to drill the inlays and mount them permanently with wooden pegs. I'll leave that for another day :)

Today I had planned on working on the smaller Maori and knocking a few tasks out, but I've changed plans. I got an email last night inviting me up to a private land lease where a sand rail club practices heir insanity. I hope to be allowed to join this group, so I'm heading up to meet them and see the land. Unfortunately I am not bringing my rail, but hopefully that will come in time. I'll post pics of these nutballs in the air if I get any good ones.

You all have a great day, carve like freaks, and keep on top of JohnnyP so he shows us what's going on with that fabulous Lono he's working on.

-Gman

GMAN, That is a beautiful piece, still lookin' for some of that cedar but I got a nice piece of basswood. Great finale.

Very, very cool Gman! I love how the color of the wood turned out. Is there a difference in density between the colors of wood? If so, did that make it any more difficult to carve?

Tfisher - thanks for the props. I can save you a chunk from the next cedar tree I get my hands on, but what I have here is all planned for right now.

Fink - yeah, the heartwood is a lot softer and you have to be careful not to break through the sapwood and really dig into the heartwood. It's not too much of a problem with chisels, knives, or rotary tools, but it's a BIG deal with the chainsaw. One careless move with that bad boy and it's going deep - real deep. I've been lucky with my saw work and have not killed any carvings with it lately. I'm real careful and use solid bracing techniques to support my chainsaw during tight cuts.

Thanks for stopping by guys!

-Gman

GMAN,
Sorry i havent posted to you in a while. I'm always checking in to see what your up to though. What else can i say that hasent been said already? The Maori's are looking like quite a motely crew. I hope you are still planning on heading down in April for the Tiki Jam.

The rail...now we'll have to talk about that later. That looks like trouble, in a good way...me wants one too....

Loki,

Thanks for stopping by. I sure plan on being at the Jam 2. I'll do my best to be there. Thanks for the comments on the Maoris. They have been a lot of fun. As for the rail, yeah man, getcha one and come up and do some hill climbs with us!

-Gman

Hey all,

I came home tonight and decided to make a gator to sell during tomorrow's game. My neighbor is a mad Gators fan. He'll sell it to one of his friends for me. Just a quick and dirty two hour carve....Gman needs $$ for sandrail parts!!! :) :)

Go Gators!

-Gman

Good mooning Gman i love the maori it is a lote off wook.Just awesome

Gman-the world famous wooden gator wrestler.

I like the way you stylized it!
JP

Dude,
You oughta come over to the Lagoon Lounge on Thursday.
Wahines welcome.

Big luau - plenny pupu.

We're kicking it starting 3-4pm.
Crazed Mugs and Haole Kats jamming it all night.

You gotta check out my TiKi tOny tiki.
It's all that and a bag of Chifles plantain chips.

Got a BK (his first) a Lake Surfer and a palm one we rescued from under a trailer.

Marcus - Thanks. The Maori tekoteko carvings are fun. Lots of carving to do for sure!

JohnnyP - Yep, gator wrastlin' is my bag man. There's nothing better than putting the smack down on a grumpy old gator.

Pablus - I dunno man, I gots to work the next day mang? I have bean working late, at least until 7 or 8 at night, maybe we can swing by after I gets home? Can you PM me directions?

So, after yesterday's battle with the gator, I decided to do a rough out of another Maori - just so I wouldn't get bored. I'm sanding the little maori now, but I can only do so sanding before I need to cut big chunks off of something else :) The big Maori is pretty much done, the little Maori is almost ready for stain and inlays, and now I have this other little Maori to work on. Jeez, these guys are starting their own tribe! If I'm not careful, they will vote me off the island :( !!!!

Here are some pics. I know he looks like poop, but these guys usually do at this stage.

here's his older brother....this what he will look like later on.......hopefully :lol:

-Gman

Nice work Gman , I thought for sure with the new toy you would have slowed down a bit.

Rodeo,

I tried to slow down when I got my last bump in pay; it didn't work. So, more toys = more $$ needed to play = the need for more carvings and gyotaku. X (toys) + Y ($$s) = Z (fun) - it's a linear relationship :)

I'm gonna try to remove a lotta wood from the new Maori today so I can get him to where I can work on him with smaller toolz in the garage at night this week. If I can get the big stuff done, I might be able to have him finished up pretty quickly.

-Gman

On 2006-04-02 07:12, GMAN wrote:

I'm gonna try to remove a lotta wood from the new Maori today...

Well, didja chop a lotta wood from him today? He looks good, now your mini Moari has a mini Moari.
JP

JP,

That's right Mini Me Maori now has a Mini Mini Me Maori - go figure! I hope to sell this one fast....he'll be priced to move. I need turning brakes for the sandrail and some paddle tires :) .

So, yeah I got some work done on him today. I still needs to works da feetz and the lower legs, but he's on his way. Now if I could just get someone to do my sanding for me.....

Here's some pics:

Thanks for looking,

Gman

Man, TC is one SLOOOOWWWW place when you guys leave town. Dang! Glad you are all back safe. NOW GET BACK TO WORK!

Here's a mask I carved tonight after work. The person who requested it wanted a Gman-style piece that can hang on the wall. Can do!

Here's some pics - Oh, and one with a side shot of the rail for Gary (TikiG)

-Gman

A mask you carved after work? Whattya trying to do....show that even tho you missed CoonTiki
you can still kick our ass? Nice work.

Man, it seems like Forever since I have been here and looked at all the work. The Mini Maori is really nice GMAN and so is the mask. Yeah, you have been carving up a storm. didn't skip a beat with all of us gone. Nice to come back and see so much art. Well Done!

Conga - na man, just carving - like usual. I'm glad you guys had a good time. Who was the snorer? What's next on your list? Maybe that log drum?

Benz - nice to have you back. Not a whole lotta carving going on on the forum lately. I tried to do my part with the gator, a new Maori, and the mask - just cheapo seller stuff. What I've been seeing posted lately is mostly mugs, shirts, and home bar stuff. Do you have a project in mind to work on after you recover from your trip? Maybe a few updates on the mahogany Lono?

I want to finish my mid-sized Maori this weekend (the killer), but I may need to put all carvings on hold, take a few weeks off, and take care of some important stuff. Some life changing decisions are heading my way. I'll let you all know more when I come to grips with some of this.

-Gman

The mini mini Moari me is coming along great. You've got the two tone very symetrical and it really highlights the face well. Great attention to detail. The mask looks good, I bet that style would sell a lot, big decoration that doesn't take up any floor space.

JP

Wow, an entire wall mount tiki in an evening! He's fantastic!

I'd still like a honu when you get around to it, but I'm in no rush.
Take care,
-Tw

G,

That cedar looks awesome!! Been away for a while and sure missed checking out the work here... Looks like I'm going to have to go log hunting...Come on hurricane season!! just kidding of course Keep up the good work G!

Sweet Work GMAN, what do you do for play?
04-22-06 is coming up pretty soon

[ Edited by: Benzart 2006-04-06 20:11 ]

JohnnyP, Tikiwahine, PHT, and Benz,

Thanks for stopping by and checking out the carvings I started/finished this week. Your support/friendship is greatly appreciated. :)

I came home tonight and decided not to think/worry about the things that are bothering me....so I hit the shop and worked on my smallest Maori tekoteko. This guy is coming along. I'm diggin' him! I have some small stuff to do, a lotta sanding, and then he's gonna get a deep mahogany stain and a few coats of poly. This is a new stain mix that I haven't used yet, but I've done some tests with some cedar cuts and I think I like it. We'll see. Anyway, here he is:

Thanks for looking,

Gman

That stain sounds great on that wood. He is AAAllmooost dooone

Hey Benz,

The stain job on this guy is going to be a kinda test, so I can be sure I like what I'm getting when I stain my medium sized Maori. I also mixed an ebony, but I'm not sure I want to completely cover all the wood color/character. The deep red mahogany will still allow some of the variations in the cedar to show through. I need to experiment with number coats, soak times, etc. I'm excited to see how it turns out. He should be done by tomorrow evening.

I was comparing pics of the three tekoteko pieces I've been working on - at the same stage. Interesting. I carve my rough outs free-style, without drawing on the log - I never even noticed that the right hand always winds up on top. It's tough to fit those arms in the space the log gives me. I can only get the standard bar to make just-so-sharp a turn. I've actually broken several bars pushing them too far in the turns. Especially on the small logs. Having the arms set up the same way is weird. This isn't planned, I actually thought the medium guy had his left arm on top. Go figure. Here is one pic of each of the Maori carvings at the same stage. The two small ones look just about like this right now, but the big guy has a few coats of spar and his eye inlays in now.

I hope you all make lots a chips today....

-Gman