Benzart 's, Last, most recent thread

Can you do abalone-shell with that software too? Just kiddin' - I think it looks good with either red or green! That's a great piece.

That's a pretty cool looking pendant!

Thanks IsleConch, It only Seems that I am pumping them out, 2 of these are from awhile back.
Thanks Tama, I appreciate that. The Zebra wood is pretty stuff and this guy was one of my favorites and he went to one of my favorite guys , that "Other" ben, you know the Bamboo guy???Hehe. The tucked up fewet came because I ran out of room after I did the face, serves me right for not drawing him out before turning on the toolz. Thanks.
TGap, thanks to you tooactually I did hiom ALL in PhotoSHop, Yeah rightI Wish. But I will do one with Mother of pearl and one with NZ Paua too.
Bete, My good old stand-by, thanks, I appreciate you always having a kind word or 2.

If you need some black-lip pearl let me know, I brought a whole bagful back from Rarotonga. Love the original Tang too - what a shapely derriere!

Beeeutimos Ben! How hard on the tools is it. I have a piece of Zebra wood also, have been way too afraid to do anything with it, fear of wrecking what tools I have! I have a dremel, and chisels.

Thanks Paipo, a Man after my own heart, I'm a butt man! I would Love some black lipped pearl one of these dayz for sure. we'll work sumpthin out.
Thanks too to you Surfer. The ebony and zebra wood are hard on knifes and chisels so you Don't use them, use power.These guys ,except the first one, have never seen a knife, it took Chunks right out of the hook blade.Carbide works well on these woods and Make sure you wear a dust mask as the dust from both are toxic as hell. Oh but they polish and buff up So Well once you get them sanded down.
One day soon I will borrow a Video camera and carve a few different piecesunder the lights, I can Feel it coming.
Thanks everyone.

Ben,

I love this ebony guy. The last one that Moondancer got stood TC on end for weeks. You're a bad man with a knife!

I can vouch for the zebra wood being bad news. I worked with some with my respirator off for a while today and I feel like crap and I am hacking up goop.

-Gman

Just a quick note if any of you guys want in on the benzart Mug/pendant deal, the cut-off day is this coming Wednesday at noon Easterntime. After that they will be Unavailable. Delivery for X-mas.
Thanks.

Ben rocks! Thanks for everything.

G.

TikiG, Funny you should say that since a certain Rocknibbler sent me some NZ stones, River and Green, so I will be Bustin rock soon
Big Mahalo Paipo, I really appreciate the wonders! Funny, just yesterday I gave away a bag full of carving wood to tikigap and now He's gonna have to do some extra carving. I guess what goes round, comes round! HappyHappyHappy
Sofar I have completed 15 Lesson tikis with that many more to go, here they are,.




From today

What are those made out of? I wish I were going to get one.

JP

What a line-up! Only 15 more to go...when do you have to get them finished by?
Can't wait to see what you do with the stones - hit me up if you want any diamond burr advice. I do nearly all my pieces with about 6 or so tools.

Thanks JohnnyP, they are bass wood and I might could work something out.
Paipo, They need to be done by the 25th, so plenty time to make me stress.
I can't wait either, my mind is all over the place in that stone.

Oh Well, What can I say. You didn't Really think I was gonna work on "Lessons" today did you? Glutton for punishment that I am, I Dove right in after thinking about it all night long. I really have to finish the lessons now but atleast I got to play a little bit first. Now I have to think about I am going to tity these up and add the detail that I so foolishlydidn't think about earlier.. I can see why Paipo loves working in the stone, it is much softer than the Pounamu. Another thing I forgot is how much I always Hated working with cement, plaster and stone. I Hate the way it makes my fingers so sensitive and dry, Ugghh.. Having said all that here are 2 pieces that I Hope I didn't waste the stones on.
First, how I Trashed my work bench.

Next I found an old basketball pump and used it for water delivery. It'll work until I can find something better.

Next, the goodies.






HappyHappyhappy

On 2006-10-05 09:54, Benzart wrote:
Next I found an old basketball pump and used it for water delivery. It'll work until I can find something better.

Way to go RubeNZART Goldberg!!!
Keep playing...
Always at Play Buzzy Out!

Wow! 2 at once? you were chompin to get at it weren't you? How many lesson peices could the class do for you? ie; If you had 1/2 of the amount already done, and you handed out the remaining blanks to the class, the class could actually carve their own (saving time for you and gaining valuable carving accumen) That would leave you enough time to carve stone now and ultimately render your hands wretched from the wet cold toiling you so desired. lol

Nicely done though sir. They will be beautiful indeed.

Much mana there

Mahalo

McTiki (*Mac is scotts) Mc = Ire heres to ya, Slainte!

Oh Yeah, I For got al about the constant battle 'tween the scots and the irishman, and I Should know better because my dad was half Irish. Slainte indeed. (whhat does slainte mean?)
I'm Beggin' yer pardon sir!

Salute! Cheers! Peace be with ya! literally: "To your health" (True Gaelic)

Mahalo & Sl'ainte

McTiki

Sweet. Nice job. I like the pump idea.
JP

Oh yeah, the pump/watering system is very DIY, in true kiwi-stlye. Top marks for creativity! Thats what its all about!

Excellent start on these -they remind me of the business end of Taiaha!! Sorry to hear that your hands/skin are sufferin'.

Just great to see all the stones that are being dealt to around here now, & you are tackling them like a pro!

Youve got me thinking about non-jade (& the hardness difference) now; I have a few beautiful stones of amazing shape that may finally get their day in the sun...

Keep it up, but dont let it overtake other commitments, heehee

T3

Thought Id add another wee anecdote. One of NZs truly great jade-carvers, Donn Salt, once told me how there were NO diamond tools or specific stone carving gear when he first started (1960-70's). He told me about the grinding wheel/unit he invented that used a car gear-box to adjust speed!!! He went into great (semi-slurry) detail as to how it worked (but in my own slurry state, didnt retain much!!), somehow it was still hooked up to the clutch, which was depressed by foot whilst gears/speed was changed!!! Hows THAT for a 'tool-guy'? We got it easy nowdays... :)

McTiki, Thanks again.
JP, Thanks, the pump deal actually works well except that you have to keep filling it.
T3, Thanks for the kind words, my hands aren't suffering, just uncomfortable and something I never have been able to get used to. The pump idea hit me soon as I saw it. I'm bad about using impliments for Unintended purpouses:). Taiaha's are what they are supposed to look like so I'm on the right track
FunFunFun

Using a gravity-fed (bucket) system can be a pain re: constantly filling bucket... Try to get a decent sized reserviour. (my own lasts about 2hrs dribbling, so on a full day I have to fill 4-5 times. Not too bad, gets you up & moving for a bit & I adjust water temp, according to season...)
And have somewhere to 'hang up' the hose/pump when not needed to stop flow -youll find yourself stopping often to dry/redraw, so this saves uneccessary wastage.
Also remember that the higher you situate your reserviour, the faster the water will flow...

Another problem is draining; where does your water go..? Im assuming it is piped away somewhere. Some carversI know have the added hassle of emptying 'drain' buckets as well as filling reserviour buckets...

Very nice work as always Benz, I wondered how long you'd be able to resist these. So the longer one is from the little rectangle of jade I sent you?

[ Edited by: Paipo 2006-10-05 16:14 ]

Hey Ben, Is this one spoken for?

those look great, ben! i'm glad you're feeling good enough to give the stones a try. also, the ebony tang is just awesome! i love the annoyed look on his face.

Thanks again Tama, Yes this water system was Spur of
the moment as I couldn't wait to put the toolz to the stone. Here was my drain pan

and it will change when I get back to these guys. I appreciate all the instructions from you and Paipo, it is a Big Help.Thanks again
Paipo, I have No self control. I thought I would last about a week but alas my willpower broke at 8am and I couldn't say no. Yes the second smallest. Not the thick one with the oval drawn on it.
TMec, None of these are spoken for yet as I'm not sure if I will sell them. I may have to keep the first ones.
Bullet, Thanks for the kind words, HappyHappyHappy

Oh BenZ...you could probably carve water if it stood still long enough..magnificent!!! I want more!!!

Thamnks I-conch, as a matter of fact I HAVE Carved water before. The only trouble with it is that it Melts before you can put finish on it and peeps don't like it. Carving ice is too cold anyway since you need to work in a freezer!.'
Cheerz

Finally finished the Ebony Tang. He Definitely does Not like the camera, Shiny jet black.



Here is a shot unedited.

Nice set of chompers and great definition in the face. Now you can finish those stone pieces!
Like you mentioned in my thread, the roughout in the beach stone is real easy, but getting the cleanup and final detail done isn't - my rule of thumb for carving is 10% of the time to remove 90% of the material, 90% of the time to remove the final 10%. The very neutral surface colour makes little mistakes impossible to conceal. I probably should have thrown in a few scraps for you so you could test out some of your tools without making cuts on the piece you're carving, but I've got a feeling they're going to look fantastic anyway - I think you could carve anything that took your fancy. Just don't try and use your burner on the stone :)

When are you Hukilauing?

Thanks Paipo, I can see where that 90 of the time goes for sure, the rough out is decievingly quick. Right again, I don't think the burner would do much for the stone. We leave for Hukilau in the morning and come back Sunday around noon. Then I have 14 lessons to finish before I can play any more, Darnit. Thanks again

Since the Tang is done, I will offer it first to the next peeps on the "List" who have been waiting a long time like Virani, Pappy the Sailor, Conga, Spermy, Hakalugi, UngaBunga, Finky, DawnTiki, teaKEY AlohaStation. I know many of want specific pieces but as I do different things they will be offered to the list first.

just awesome, ben! he no longer looks annoyed. now he's just plain pissed off. great expression and beautiful wood and inlay. you've done it again! :D

Beutiful Ben, really nice. an you put me on your list? I know the wait is long, but it will be worth it! :)

Amy

Simply Spectacular !!! lovin' every piece

Ben,

The Tang is fab. You know my address! :D

-Gman

Thanks Bullet and Yes he does look pissed ,,Or like he has a stomach ache I'm not sure which.
QueenK, Thanks for the props and Yes, you're now on the list.
Thanks TikiIsleLuau and
Gman, I seem to have lost your address?? :wink:
Well, I will be Off to Hukilau in afew hours. FunFunFun

Nice Tang Benz!! Really like the inlay eyes.. This guy shows quite a bit of character!

It turned out good, looks great!

Cool stuff. I hope to try this soon... on some gravel in the driveway, first.

Beautiful, as always. Black Tangs are one of my favorite designs that you do, but then, I don't believe you've done anything that I didn't like.

Who wants this black Ebony Tang , PM Me

pm sent. i hope i'm first.

CURSE YOU RED BARON!!! :D

Nice work on the ebony BenZ and I really enjoyed meeting you in Florida. Keep up the great work! :D

[ Edited by: TravelingJones 2006-10-09 21:24 ]

Actually, Foamy is about to be the new owner of the Benzart Tang. he has been on the list almost 2 years, see it pays to wait around. Thanks Foamy!

Haven't updated the Lessons in awhile, I'm up to 21 today. Also I recently received a few nice pieces of Curly Maple and I opened it up today, Man it's Beautiful stuff.



The one in the middle is from today, After Laser Surgery on my left eye!