drying time and tool info

Hi all,

Brand new to all this and just wanting some info on drying time for some palm trunks I'm going to have a slash at there about 200mm across and approx 1.2mtrs high. I just skinned them today and I'm guessing they'll take a good month to dry out,does that sound about right? Also I used a 25mm straight blade chisel to take the skin off,Any critism would be helpfull if this tool was suitable ,if not what tool is more suited to the job.

Cheers.
Adam.

Hello Adam!

Do a few searches here in tiki carving. All of the info you seek has been covered multiple times. Look for a post called "tools carvers use." Additionally, read everything posted by BenZart. Benz has several threads, some current, and some abandoned due to size/length. All of his threads contain a jackpot of information - especially for folks learning to carve palm. Good luck, and please post pics of your journey! Feel free to PM (Personal Meassage) me and ask me questions as well as I've been around the game for better than 25 years.

I'll bump some BenZart wisdom to the top for you.

-Gman

Hey Adam,
I'm a newbie to carving myself, but it seems that palm logs can take quite a while to dry out, like 6 months to a year is not uncommon. Of course if they dry too quick, they can crack. Like Gman says, there's lots of information in old posts. Some people like to carve when they're wet, some like to wait a while. :)

If the chisel worked, that's great, but most people seem to like draw knifes. Look them up. They're a little pricey for me still. There's also power tools, some people use angle grinders, and Buzzy's thread has some interesting stuff about a Ryobi Planer that I'm looking at for myself.

Hopefully this'll give you a few better words to search with to find what you're looking for.

F*#k it! - CARVE and worry about cracks when the plumber comes over! Your first carving is really just like that first hit of Crack. You will be hooked after the first one and it won't matter.

Crack Happends. Don't worry about it. Makes the piece look old. Carve and post.

JP

Adam, Welcome to TC. Come on in and relax and stay awhile. You should be able to carve palm as soon as you want without splitting. You could do like Buzzy, just Gnaw the bark off and spit out what you don't eat ( :),) Or if you listen to him he CLAIMS to use an electric planer which he says will clean a log in minutes, but I Still think he chews it off, Why Else would they call him BuZZy?