Babalu - Lapatiki 3 - The way out is the way through

Those Tikis are awesome!!
It reminds of this place that used to be in Gatlinburg Tenn.
Putt-Putt golf course with rabbits everywhere!! It was truly bizarre.
Great work!

Babalu,

Very nice carvings. Sanding is a bizzitch, isn't it? As for the wabbits, I agree. Kill the wabbits. All wabbits must die. Strike that, all hogs and wabbits must die!

-Gman

My Mom claimed that I was dropped on my head "one real good time" as a kid.....just like a watermelon....."split"...... I'll bet that's it.

Thanks for the waves all...it keeps me going.

Well, little went a little further on the alter (humm, Put-Put...tiki put put...yeah!). Had it all unclamped...I might want to toe it into side islands, that I still have to put together yet, just for added strength...but hey, she stood ground pretty well like this. The roof is held in place only by these 4 broom hooks that I bent up around a pole. Roofs is pretty light....lifts right off.

Good place for a carving...after the wedding.

I added this star burst to the design mid stride...wanted to add more stability, and I think it needed something there.

Back to the real job in the morning....bummer...I want to keep on this...nights only for a while....

Babalu

Nice altar indeed. Keep em coming. Your almost done.

Mahalo

McTiki

So when is the wedding? Will you dis-assemble the altar for transport to the bay, move it as is, or switch the wedding to your backyard? :P

Wow, What a nice way to get married. That has to be a great feeling to start a pair of lives together this way. They gotta be two Lucky peeps..

Man, this is looking AMAZING! I really love the detail pieces near the roofline, thanks for the closeup. :) I also love the roof ridge piece. Love the rope work too. I'm collecting ideas for a patio cover, I think I'm going to use some of what you're doing. :)

Very cool altar is coming on really great! Love the Tikis at the front! Great work keep going I keep watching! Congrats!! Is this going to have dead rabbits too?...lol...

Last weekend...need a big push. May have to call in "Mac and the boys" to help tie...mucho to tie.

Frostiki - If your out there, you were right dude (pg 2), running a bar down the center of the bamboo (any size) works quite well on the nodes.

Hope you all don't mind me recording this build in the carving area here? After the wedding, and as this alter starts to turn into the Babalu Lounge, I will be adding carvings to it everywhere...so, if it all goes as in my head right now, the build of this alter will be like gessoing a canvas.

Suppose to rain the next two days....bring it!

Frostiki was right....open nodes with a metal rod of some type.

On 2007-02-10 08:29, Babalu wrote:

Suppose to rain the next two days....bring it!

Looks like you were set. Reminds me of Monster House set. Not much rain here. You survive?

Buzzy

Hey Buz,

It rain yesterday and the fort held....man, I'm going to be pushing on this thing right up until it's hoisted up and over the roof on Saturday. Tons of details remain....my Pop gets in on Thursday, I'm putting him to work. I have today off, hope to get the wings completely together and the thatch on. Most of the tying is done now.

Hey,

I'm of to a wedding...will post more later...

[img]https://tikicentral.com/uploads/6025/45d8a84c.jpg[/img

Very Nice.

I hope you share a couple wedding pictures. :)

Wow, the altar looks great!!! Did you get through the wedding before the rain started? I was worried about you guys. Hope the wedding was great, tried to make it down there to see the altar, but things came up.
Can't wait to see you at the next chop chop, now that this is done. :)

Hey All,

Well, I have some of the photos back now. Here is how the alter played out in this little fairy tale....

My Pop was a huge help during this wedding...I couldn't have pulled it all off without him.

This is how the alter looked right after set up...

Isn't she beautiful!

They sailed off at the end of the night from the dock at the Bali Hai.

Ok, I guess I will throw this in too...Babalu doing his best Willy Wonka. I want to thank Ben for the moai pendant...I was very lucky, and in the right place at just the right time in order to get my hands on this. Though not as big as Buzzy's, it sure added some major class to this standard monkey suit.

Now that this is all over, the build will continue in a big way....coming soon...The Babalu Lounge.

Simply spectacular, Babalu! Impressive beyond belief! You are definitely the man!!

She is beautiful!! I love the way her veil floats behind her. I haven't posted in your thread before but I've been one of those lurkers.

I admire your attention to detail. You are a master craftsman to have pulled this off. Congratulations!! Now that the big day is over, don't forget us here.

Wow, You're a great dad to put in all that effort. Most would just stroke a check and head to the bar. I hope the altar finds a good home in your upcoming private paradise. As long as there are no murderous bunnies I can envision it being a classic.

Man, the whole event looks absolutely stunning, alter, flowers, tikis etc, oh and not forgeting the bride. Over in the UK it's cold and raining, these pics have surely cheered me up.
That reminds me, I promised my girlfriend I would marry her soon, fancy renting the set up!!!!!!!
Superb.
Pass on my Regards
Flynny

...WoW Babalu!! I've never being to friendly with the marriage concept... But now what can I say.... :o
Your daughter is really beautiful , and looks very in love with his husband, the altar and everything around looks simply Gorgeous!! The pics shows a lot of love and magic in the air, I'm very happy for you, and very glad that this kind of ceremonies exist! Best wishes to you all!! (and to grand pa too!'cause we know he had a lot to do with it :wink:)

well done! that sure turned out magnificent. there is some great work there

p.s.- that top hat is awsome

Thanks all for your nice words. I really appreciate it.

Off to find my next log....

Babalu, I can't believe how well this All came together to create a most Beautiful Wedding experience, and to top it off, the pictures were excellent. It really shows that you put Many hours of TLC into this project. Every phase and section came together in the end and I'm sure making you Very Proud. What a Beautiful creation. I am Truely Impressed!

Thanks Ben. I appreciate your words.

Wheeler,

Thanks for helping a brother in need...I think I will name this one Bill.

enough for tonight...time for dinner...

hummm...a whole different kind of carving!...the "Tiki Dog" is born! :-)

YES!! lol that is awsome. you got quite the big log there. cant wait to see what you come up with. your work is so unique.
keep posting

Rick, Tiki Dog RULES!!! :D

Well I seem to be experiencing some of the same issues as Tikidav is with this latest one...stringy - splintery fiber. Quite a bit different feel than those last two I carved...You say Miniwax wood hardener huh? I will see if I can find some.

Some of this.. http://www.minwax.com/products/woodmaint/hardener.cfm Aloha, Freddie

[ Edited by: HOUSE OF KU 2007-03-05 02:52 ]

Thanks for the link Freddie.

The wedding set turned out really great. You did a fantastic job on it. I don't think it could have been any better. Thanks for the pictures.

JP

Babalu,

That hotdog is the baddest!!!

-G

Well, it's been a while since my last post. I find that I need to switch hit between hobbies...At any rate, I'm back to the carving hobby for a minute...

That one 6' log that I was working on is just to stringy to pull off the design I had in mind for it...I will have to re-think the direction on it.

In the mean time, I picked the pace back up on number 1. It's starting to morph into something else now...still have my work cut out to try and get the crossed limbs to work on this one...have an idea...we'll see.

I'd say you recovered that one beautifully! Wow! :drink:

Mahalo

McTiki

Really original style and skilled execution of that carving. Nice!

Many thanks for the feed back McTiki and SneakyTiki...Will post more as I get a little further down the road with it.

On 2007-03-04 18:25, Babalu wrote:
Well I seem to be experiencing some of the same issues as Tikidav is with this latest one...stringy - splintery fiber. Quite a bit different feel than those last two I carved...You say Miniwax wood hardener huh? I will see if I can find some.

Stupid Rotten Palmwood! If you locate any Minwax wood hardener locally, let me know where you got it, eh? I wasn't able to procure any.

Nice carvings, Rick (despite the SRP)! You've got a unique style that is all your own.

Rock on, Bruddah!

Thanks Tikidav.....just cut in the eyes and nose area...I think it makes him look a little better.

beautiful.

Nice going Babalu, that extra definition made all the difference in the world. Too many times we quit on a carving when the least bit of cleanup and definition will really complete it. Your piece is a perfect before and after photo of that wee bit of action gaining Huge changes. Very well done!

Babs, is this whole thing done with power tools? 'Cause it's coming out real sweet. Is that some kind of mini angle grinder there??? 'Scuse my ignorance. When do you use the chisel? Or have you evolved beyond it????

You gotta bring it to the next Chop Chop, cause we all want to see you work on it in person!

Morning Benz....Glad your starting to feel better man! Keep drinking that Florida Orange!

Thanks for the props on this guy...he still has a long way to go yet. I have plans for many more of those little details you mention. The Babalu Babes brought me a 4 piece knife set, and a small palm set for my birthday...I'm very anxious to put these new tools to the test. I wanted to start off taking the face down on it, and popping the eyes in first...for some reason, it makes the whole thing easier for me to work on after the eyes have been roughed in. Will try to make some head way on the scull and hands this weekend....Babe no.3 said, "he is starting to look like the Cat in the Hat gone over to the Darkside". :-)

Thanks Benella...this fellow was somewhat influanced by this stone carving that I stumbled across while walking around in a blur on the streets Amsterdam last year....in your neck of the woods.

Cammo...will do man...I’ll save some of him for the next Chop. I’ve been switch hitting with chisels and power tools on this guy. I don't think I've evolved from anything...more the opposite...coming from kind of a metal back ground, I am comfortable with grinders. It’s my new chisels that I need much more practice with.
Below is the Babalu arsenal to date...that orange $45. Harbor Freight dye grinder is a fun tool to play with. Hope I don’t have to wait until my next birthday for one of the Babes to buy Daddy a chain saw.

Peace.

This is gonna be a great one Babalu! Looks a little "outside the box" and its
very cool. Love the bottom lip and what you are doing with the hands and the other
"figure." Looking forward to updates on this one.

Wow, how did I miss this thread? Great work Babalu! Loved the photo’s of creating your Tiki alter. Great carving too. Your style is unique, I like that. How’s the Babalu lounge coming?

Smiles, Mrs Hoptiki

Right on Congatiki....I'm digging on these new knifes of mine. Hey, if people can wear tiki's, tiki should be able to wear people...right?

Thanks for the compliment Mrs. Hoptiki...Unfortunately, I've put the Babalu Lounge on hold until after I've reskined this 1947 Aero Flite Falcon of mine with new aluminum (it's been to long in the waiting for me)...this ground up restore is the other project of mine. Promise, as soon as the last rivet goes in the Falcon this summer, I'll start on the Babalu Lounge. The plan for the Babalu Lounge (which that alter is a small part of ) is to basically build a traveling party....Babalu Babes 2 and 3 are both bartenders, and I did a stint at bartending myself...it should be fun times! ;-)

Peace

babalu, that is a FINE piece of detail you are pulling out of that old log and I'm Sure it isn't just Handing it over to you either. This is a MUST see constant update progress more shots and I'm getting dizzy in anticipation so HURRY!