How I used to waste my week-ends...

Keeeripes man! By therapy do you mean that's what you'll need after carving all those scales? That's insane! Looks like the Ku-reature form the Black Lagoon!

I guess by now you have figured out how to do scales? You call that therapy, Puolng your hair out? Surely you must have no hair left by now as I would have torn mine out on the first leg. Excellent stuff, Excellent.

EXCELLENT.

Benjamin.

Superb detail!

On 2007-08-12 07:22, Benzart wrote:
I guess by now you have figured out how to do scales?

That is awesome. Can anyone point to a tutorial one carving scales? I would love to see how it is done.

Keith

Thanks all for the kind words!

Sorry it has taken me a while to get back to this, I posted and took off.
I HAD to go to Utah for a week of fishing. Honest, it needed to be done.

The therapy was actually working through a loss. I didn't actually mean to do the whole body, it just kind of happened.

Whether wrong or right, this was what I came up with for the scales.
I used a gouge and created the shape, and then cleaned it up with the hook knife.

Sorry about the quality of these shots, my camera was in the shop, but the camera phone is better than nothing.

The back.

The hip, do tiki's have hips?
Okay, the leg.

All those scales and I only broke one hook blade. Those things FLY when they snap!

I was finally able to get some pictures of the carving I did to pay for a previous trip.

I really like the weathering that's happened to it.

Thanks for stopping by, and remember to tip your bartender, especially if he catches you behind the bar. Are you paying attention Matt?

Very funny, very funny. In my defense the man did leave a stocked bar unattended at Oasis fer chrisakes!
I was only trying to help.

That scaly CFTBLagoon/KU hybrid is freaking beautiful, very unique too.
Also digging the back of the weathered tiki!
SWEET
...Luckeeee

ST

Once again I have found my way out of the depths of laziness in order to throw something up, er, post something.

Going back and looking I seem to have forgotten my manners, thanks to:

Tama and Paipo for throwing the stones across the pond :lol:

Benz, for showing how easy it is to keep an edge on the tools

Benella, McTiki, kgbenson, and Sneaky for the kind words

Matt for the influence and nice beers

and finally I'd like to thank the academy for making all of this poss..., oops, sorry, wrong speech.

Okay, I decided to try another chunk of queen palm. I know, I know, one would think I should leave well enough alone, but with the teachings of Mr. Zart and Zombo, all things are possible.

Close-ups of the top

I would have to say that the worst part of dealing with the queen palm is the cleaning. This chunk was from the logs I received back in mid- August of last year. While the inside had dried and the log split, there was still an incredible amount of moisture. I would say it took me about 6 hours to get it stripped to a point that was soft enough to carve.
And yes, I did use power tools.
I used a power planer, belt sander with a 60 grit belt, and 40 grit flap belt on a grinder

I'll post more as it progresses.

Thanks for looking.

Striking chops Heath! I am floored! Those scales are nutz...aack! I hope focusing on that work has helped you cope. The new guy is great too. Glad to see you around.

-G

You're good! Some great vintage mana going there...Carving the scales on that Lono must have taken the patience of a parent!

Love tha Lono - outrageous!!

headdress is looking awesome, man. Where's that scaly thing-I'd like to see more of that-it's simply wicked!

On 2007-08-21 17:15, Heath wrote:
Thanks all for the kind words!

Sorry it has taken me a while to get back to this, I posted and took off.
I HAD to go to Utah for a week of fishing. Honest, it needed to be done.

The therapy was actually working through a loss. I didn't actually mean to do the whole body, it just kind of happened.

Whether wrong or right, this was what I came up with for the scales.
I used a gouge and created the shape, and then cleaned it up with the hook knife.

Sorry about the quality of these shots, my camera was in the shop, but the camera phone is better than nothing.

The back.

The hip, do tiki's have hips?
Okay, the leg.

All those scales and I only broke one hook blade. Those things FLY when they snap!

I was finally able to get some pictures of the carving I did to pay for a previous trip.

I really like the weathering that's happened to it.

Thanks for stopping by, and remember to tip your bartender, especially if he catches you behind the bar. Are you paying attention Matt?

Great,great work!I love this last one very nice!Aloha!

Niiiiiice. Very cool carvings Heath. Your style is unique and very neat and clean. They look super great in your garden. Perfect accent pieces. The scales bring in the relationship with the ocean. Yikes! How did your hands feel after carving all those?

Mrs Hoptiki

Awesome stuff still Heath. Your tiki carvings are Really great and the scales are really incredible. Can't wait to see that one completed.

Hi Heath, just stopping by to say that whenever you're carving is sure no waste of a weekend. These shots speak volumes about your skill and the heart you put into your work.

Jeez-Louise!

Once again I have let the sands of time slip through my fingers.

GMAN, Thanks for taking time away from your hunt to stop by. You certainly know what scales can do.

BK, I don't have any kids, but you'd be amazed where I learned about patience.

BigT, Howland, Clarita, Mr&Mrs, Robin, Thank you all for the kind words.

Mr. Zart, Always an honor when you buzz by.

One would think that since I have joined the shuffling ranks of the walking dead, I should have more time to devote to the ritualistic wood shaping of pagan idols, but alas, I am too wrapped up in witnessing the creativity of others.

Translation: Quit my job, too lazy to carve.

Although I have managed to start yet another one.
I've got maybe seven or eight hours into it.

Even though I spent close to seven hours at a friend's house when I started it, I spent more time laughing than actually carving. So I'm only counting maybe three or three and half hours work time.

Very nice work here Heathbar. Im floored on the scales WOW.

He called you Heathbar.(snicker)

Okay, so believe it or not, I finally found so time in my hectic schedule to do some carving.
But first...
Seeksurf, thanks for kind words!
Matt, you know who you are!

The carving...

Started like this... yes, queen palm...

Ended like this... stupid, stupid, stupid...

Lesson learned: New chainsaw blades work differently than old dull ones, so have a back-up plan.

Take two... with fan palm...

More to come...

Very nice. That queen palm is crap. Don't waste any more time with it.

Thanks AS, glad you stopped by.

I know, alot of people don't like queen palm, but I don't mind it so much. That was just overly ambitious on my part. From now on I'll just use it for masks or flat backed stuff.

Your Precision is amazing, really.
I predict a Masterpiece.

Benjamin.

Looking good as always.
Cheers.

Looking very nice there mate :D

These tikis are killer, love the scales and nice job on saving the latest project! Looking good.

These guys are lookin' smooth, Gonna look great done...I bet you can't wait!!

LOOKing good my friend great start there.

Benjamin, Mattress, hewey, Sneakytiki, surfintiki and seeksurf...

Thank you all for the kind words.

I'll try to get some more pictures posted this week-end.

You called me Mattress(snicker).

So...
The week-end came and went...
But, I haven't been a total slacker.

Stained...

Carved and stained...

The two dark ones were carved four or five years ago...

Sanded and first coat of sealant...

Carved and waiting for stain...

You better not pout,
You better not cry,
You better not shout,
I'm telling you why...

Because I'll be back after the holidays.

aw geez, that was bad.
I'm sorry.

edited to fix links

[ Edited by: Heath 2008-07-05 00:14 ]

That last guy is sweeeet! (not to take away from the others, which are all tight) I like the negative spaces in the eyes, and the head/ body proportions within the form of the log work really nicely.

Your last tiki is very beautyful and a clean carving. He have a realy great expression. It´s great to see such good work.

What a great carving. Very clean and well designed and executed.

Nice work! I agree, I like the last one best of all. What a cool carving! What are you staining the really dark ones with? I haven't been able to find any dark stain like that.

Thanks!

Holy Crap, These are awsome!!!!

Thank you all for the kind words.

BigT, if you're referring to the two on the back of the truck, they aren't stained.
They've just been left out in the weather since they were carved.
If you're looking for something really dark, check Basement Kahuna's thread, he has a recipe for something I really want to try.

WoW Heathbar looking good! I simply love the stain job over the face
on the top pic. Bottom guy is outstanding also.

Thanks seeks, I wasn't real sure about it at first but it's kinda growing on me.

Okay, so the holiday season has come and gone
I wasn't as productive as I could have been, but that's the way it goes sometimes.
One minute you're busy making plans, the next minute life clears your schedule.

I finally had the time to get back to work on my hobbies...
hmmm, work on hobbies...
Why do we say we work on our hobbies?
A hobby is something you enjoy doing regardless of whether you get paid for it or not.
Work is usually something you don't enjoy, and if you do enjoy it you just say it's what you do, or call it a caree...

Oh sorry.
There must be something shiny nearby, distracting me.

Anyway, I finally had the time...
My wife said she didn't really care for the original staining, so I thought I would adjust it.
The adjustment scared me so I restained it. It looks better in person.

I put the first coat of stain on this guy.

And finally, the two together to get an idea of the color differences.

Feel free to beat me up regarding color choices, it's all new to me.
And as always, thanks for stopping by.

Nice stains on both of them!

Okay, I think I want the big one instead of the Moai. The stain on the smaller one looks cool. It's almost got a weird negative vibe to it.
Awesome stuff.

Thanks 4WDtiki, I'd love to see how you go about staining the big beasties you create, there's got to be an easier way!

Matt, you should see some of the others I've got going...

Really nice, I love the big one. Looks huge, must be sorta difficult
to move around huh?

Both are very nice, sorry to not help you more.
The carvings are simply super good.
Keep up the very good work.

Benjamin.

Aloha Heath!!!!
Great carvings my friend all the way across the carving board. I love how clean and tight you get your lines are, aloha your friend, Mooney

Conga, the log is about five feet tall, the carving about two and half feet maybe. Luckily it's five or six years old and dried out for the most part. Plus it's close to the garage door and I can just flop it over right there.

Benjamin, when do we get to see the progress on the new one?

Mooney, almost everything looks good at a distance with soft focus and mood lighting!

Seriously though, thanks guys, I appreciate the feedback!