Geedavee is posting carvings.

Hello everyone.

For those of you who don't know me, I have been to about 3 of the chops,
2 Tiki Oasis', and a few SFV events. I have been out of the picture for a bit due to health reasons and I am ready to go back to carving.

I carve on my balcony and I have done about 5 tikis.

I am by no means a traditional style tiki carver, and I usually
decorate my pad with my work or give it as gifts.
Here are a few.

Here is a progress pic of my current carving.

Any comments would be appreciated.
I can't seem to grasp the whole 3-D thing.

Thanks.
Still coming up with a fancy signature file.

They look great!

[ Edited by: Tucson Tiki 2008-12-11 07:35 ]

Hey Dave, you just keep doing what you're doing and don't worry about sanding or any of that crap, you're on a natural progression to get where you're happy with what you've made, and each one will get easier for you! Some folks would argue that the ancient works weren't overly sanded, moreover they were rough as hell! There are plenty of examples of tiki's in the rough here that are amazing! And you made some nice, deep cuts into several of them already, you know where you're going dude! You're doing a fine job laddy!

Tucson, I don't make a lot of posts, but your critique came off a little like a Mister Know-it-all, for a self proclaimed "Rookie" carver. The one thing I've noticed about how folks here comment on others work is to look for the good points in someones work and focus the encouragement and praise to help guide them on, not make them feel like crap! Maybe I should have PM'ed you on this but it's bugging me! Sorry.

Right on both parts, Your tikis are looking great for your first ones and Much better than Mine did at this stage. Just search here and the 'net for tiki images, the more you have to look at the more you figure out how to do the features that work best for you. Most of all be safe and have FUN! That's what it's ALL About. :lol: :P :D :o

Dave, I like that in progress tiki a lot, just the way it is. I'm patial to the rough-hewn look.

I am sorry if I sounded a little rough. I was a little buzzed last night. Your stuff is great like I said. Make yourself happy with your carves. That's the most important part of this hobby is enjoying what you do. Again I apologize. Sorry. Keep at it and you will progress with every one.

Looking good, Davee!
Hope you are okay. Come carve with us again sometime.

Bowana

Tuscon Tiki's comments were edited before I got a chance to see them so no harm no foul. It looks like it had to do with sanding.

What do most people use to do their sanding?
I have a flat palm sander which I find doesn't work well. (Paper tears)
I use a flex shaft tool with drum sander attachments to get in the cracks.
I have been thinking about getting an angle grinder with a sanding disc.

For inspiration, I use Tiki Magazine, "Tiki Modern", and "Tiki Style", or other
people's tikis I see online.

Thanks for all of your responses.
I hope to make it to the chops again.
I would host one if I could fit more than 2 people on my balcony.

hey geedavee
you can really see the progress in your tikis
you should make it a point to make it to the chops,they
really help me
i use an electric palm sander,it almost makes sanding fun

On 2008-12-11 19:09, buzzard wrote:

i use an electric palm sander,it almost makes sanding fun

Don't lie to the man! :lol:

One of my favorite tools to use is my 4" grinder with 36 grit sandpaper. It removes a lot of material in short order. You still have to sand after you use it, but it can smooth out chisel marks easily.

Hey they look great. They have a lot of character probably due to the rough hewn finish. I think it's cool. 8)

On 2008-12-13 10:12, blindy the pirate wrote:

One of my favorite tools to use is my 4" grinder with 36 grit sandpaper. It removes a lot of material in short order. You still have to sand after you use it, but it can smooth out chisel marks easily.

Amen to that! Once I discovered this, I was able to make alot of progress with my large tikis. Still not done them yet though...

Looks like you have a nice spot to carve there Geedavee! I'm jealous. Especially since a horrible winter snowstorm has just crippled my city.

I just picked up an angle grinder at a local pawn shop.
(good place for power tools). Now I need to learn how to use it.

Unfortunately, it is raining in the LA area this week so carving
may have to be postponed. (54 degrees today Brrrrr!) :wink:

I figure that outdoor tikis look better with a rough look,
but if they are indoor tikis, I need to start sanding more.

Thanks again for all of the input.

I hope you are feeling better. I have found that most people at this site are really freindly and helpful. I have just recently joined and people just to very encouraging. While i don't have much to offer I thought I would throw out some help. I have a great deal of power tools from cabinetry work that I do on the side. They have been useless for me in carving! One tool that I have found helpful is a porter cable profile sander. The sander comes in a case and you can attach different sanding heads to match your profiles. The sanding heads are small and can fit into tight spaces. I don't light to use the tool itself, but the heads are helpful. The heads are made from some sort of rubberized material. They can be easily nicked or lost. Porter cable may actually sell the tips as replacements independent of the tool. If sanding is a concern, they might be helpful. Although I wouldn't advise buying the profiles and the sander as it can be expensive. Using them by hand also cuts down on dust, especially breathing it in. Good luck and health

I finished that progress tiki and I have moved on to the next one.

It's kind of raw, but I have purchased some new sanding bits
so I can get some smoother tikis.

How can I carve very deep but narrow lines? Like 2" deep.
I have troubles going really deep and narrow with chisels..
Do I need a chainsaw or a lancelot/squire attachment? or a router?

I want to carve the lines on this guy very deep.

Any input would be helpful. I hope to make it to some chops soon.

A chainsaw would work. :wink:

There's a chop this Sunday, check the events forum!

DOUBLE POST

[ Edited by: drasticwagon 2008-12-30 19:42 ]

On 2008-12-30 19:40, drasticwagon wrote:
Nice Job Man , Keep It Up !

look for the good points in someones work and focus the encouragement and praise to help guide them on

I love that !

Here is my latest.

I tried something different with this one.

I am getting the sanding down better, but when I burned it, it
didn't look right so I painted the lines black.

I kind of like the look. I like them cartoony.

I am trying to do more with the sides and the back.

I also need to graduate from flat tops.

Nice Dave! Looking good and making your own call on your direction to go next! You can do it!

Lookin good, Dave. What stain is that, I love the warmness it has.

Thanks for the input.
The stain I used is 3 coats of Varathane in the Cabernet color.
The teeth are a dark walnut, but I wish I had left them unstained.

The photo on this one is unsealed. I added Spar Varnish which I find
too gloppy.

What do you guys use to seal your tikis?

Time to start the next one.

Lookin good Davee and getting better by the tiki. I find for the first few coats, just plain Shellac works best for me because it dries very fast, you can put in on fairly thick and then sand it down before the next coat. You can layer 3 coats in a couple hours , sanding between (Important for nice finish!) coats. Then follow that up with 3more coats of varnish, poly or whatever you want, Sanding between coats and letting it dry according to mfg recommendations. Make SURE you don't Glop the spar on,, just coat it as Thinly as possible with the brush, very dry but total coverage. When you finish the last coat, don't sand, just let it dry and you will have a purely beautiful finish that looks like it grew on the piece.
Hope this helps and remember, this is just One method as there are a dozen methods for every dozen carvers. :P

Your Tikis seem to vary in style all over the place - thats good! What would help you to grasp the 3d thing is to take what you feel are successes and build upon them. Look for a style in a series perhaps. But there is no substitute for the process of gaining experience! You can see that you are getting better. Working with other, and better. carvers will go along way!

Well I finished another one. This is based on some I saw on 4WD's thread.
All I need to do is learn how he does them so fast.

He is holding a Himalayan Salt Lamp which adds a nice glow when illuminated. I also have a surround sound speaker that will fit in there as well.

Thanks to Benzart's advice, I am doing the multi coats of shellac instead of one sloppy coat of Spar Varnish. It makes a huge difference.

I am still making mistakes, but I am learning. I still need to improve my skills and try a few other styles before I develop my own style.

Nice job, keep them coming and I don't know how 4WD kicks
those suckers out so fast?

nice job, really like the salt lamp he's holding. keep it up.

bd

Great job Dave, I'm flattered! How long did it take?

LOOOOOKING GOOOOOOD!

This took about 20 hours of total work.

I need to do more of the big stuff with the chainsaw.

Thanks for all the input.

I just finished my latest tiki. Now that the weather is improving, I hope to do more carving.

I found someone that can provide me with a few bigger logs so I can start adding bodies and head-dresses.

Kind comments welcome. Still looking for my own style. This one was based on a drawing I saw.

Nice job, i like the mouth and teeth on this guy.
Cool that you are thinking going full sized.

I am currently trying to do a tiki that actually has a carved body and it looks like I have made a few errors.

Does anyone have any suggestions on what to do with his face/head/chest?
I know his legs are a bit thin, but I don't think I can do anything with that without risking him losing one.

Right now he looks like one of those guys at the gym that just work out their upper body.

[ Edited by: geedavee 2009-05-11 16:57 ]

Aww,Gee, lemme See, I wold just start working on the features and detail, rounding out the arms, shaping the body, shaping the head/headdress and then some finer finish tats or whatever fits in.
This in Paint with a mouse who has not yet had breakfast. Just a suggestion. There is Always a lot you can do to a piece which is in the rough-out stage seemingly over cut and messed up. When you work your way out of these problems it makes the carving special and makes you a better carver. So Just start shaping and have fun!

Thanks so much for your input. I did my best to take your advice.

I still have more shaping to do. I broke off the nose, but wood glue took care of it.
Also this wood smells like ammonia. I am hoping it isn't some cats urine.

Thanks again.

I'm using a TouchPad and Paint, so my sketch is crude as well. He still looks a bit heavy in the chest since his legs are on the thin side. Like you said, I wouldn't mess with his legs as you might lose one, but you can work on his chest and arms more.

If you were to remove the material in Red (maybe carve as deep as you did at his neck), and smooth out the area in Blue, you could make his arms look like they are bent at the elbows with his hands touching at his stomach/belly. This would also give him some nice pectoral muscles. :wink:

Thanks for the advice TikiMango, but I couldn't redo the arms without having to deal with the fingers I already carved so I decided to finish up on this one and move on to the next one.

Here it is with the first coat of shellac.

I am hoping that 3 coats of shellac and 3 coats of Poly will be enough to cover up the ammonia smell.

I learned that I need to work with taller logs if I am going to do full bodies.
This one is only 19" tall. I have to keep the logs size small because I work on my balcony.

Thanks again.

On 2009-05-12 19:54, geedavee wrote:
Also this wood smells like ammonia. I am hoping it isn't some cats urine.

Dave, if it's fan palm, some pieces do reek like that.

Well I finished another one. This makes number 12.
I am slowly getting better and making fewer mistakes.

Space limitations only allow me to work on small logs for now.

I am currently adding 3 coats of shellac, then 3 coats of varnish.
Is that sufficient for coating a tiki?

I seem to be having some issues with my shellac or poly in that after a few weeks, it is beginning to peel. See the yellow parts that look like bad dental hygiene?

I know I am doing something wrong.
I figure it is either improper sanding between coats, or I am putting it on too thick.

Any experts out there want to tell me where I am going wrong and what can I do to fix the damage?

Any advice would be helpful.
Thanks.

I've never used shellac, but is it drying fully between coats? Is the wood fully dried before sealing?

What kind of shellac are you using?

The shellac I am using is called Zinsser Bulls Eye Clear Shellac.

I then follow up with 3 coats of either Marine Spar or Polyurethane.

I did seal the bottom of the tiki so any remaining water wouldn't have a place to drain.
Should I leave the bottom untreated?

These are indoor tikis so I started tacking neoprene to the bottom of them.

On 2009-06-08 11:18, geedavee wrote:
The shellac I am using is called Zinsser Bulls Eye Clear Shellac.

I then follow up with 3 coats of either Marine Spar or Polyurethane.

I did seal the bottom of the tiki so any remaining water wouldn't have a place to drain.
Should I leave the bottom untreated?

These are indoor tikis so I started tacking neoprene to the bottom of them.

Here's my guesses - In your last picture you posted, the buildup does look pretty thick around the teeth. It may be that you are applying too much at once. It's always better to go light and do more coats. 3 coats are plenty, especially for indoor tikis when one coat or no coat is fine too. Indoor tikis don't generally have to be protected from the weather. I have carved tikis that I've never put polyurathane on and they look exactly the same as they did when I finished carving and staining them years ago.
Also, is there a reason why are you using so many different types of sealant on the same tiki? They may not be bonding correctly - even with light sanding between coats. I suggest sticking (HA!) to one type of sealant. They all work fine on their own.

YES still seal the bottom of your tiki, and put several coats on that. Not only does it help in drying, but it also helps keep critters out (termites and whatnot). Neoprene is fine to attach to the bottom of your tiki (I'm sure it makes it easier to slide around your house). I may suggest just checking under there every so often (until the tiki totally dries) for mold. It does happen occasionally.

Hopefully that helped. Let us know if you have any other questions! Have fun carving!

PS - I like that big mouth guy!!!! It looks like he has a lot to say (or eat!!!)

----EDIT----
as far as fixing it....you're probably going to have to sand it off. You may have to re-stain it as well, as the sanding will probably remove some of it.

Polynesiac - putting the "F" back in "ART"

[ Edited by: Polynesiac 2009-06-08 19:36 ]

I think I may be putting the shellac on a little too thick.
I will sand it off and fix those two tikis.

I was under the impression that the shellac is a sealer and the polyurethane or the spar will protect it from scratches.

So if I only apply a few layers of shellac or only a few layers of Polyurethane or Spar, the tiki will be okay for indoor use?

I put three coats of shellac on the big mouth guy so I guess he is done except for the bottom.

So for outdoor tikis, what would I use?

Thanks for all of the info

Three layers of either will be fine for outdoor use. For indoor use, no coating is needed, unless you want the gloss look.

I guess I have been really overcoating these things.

Thanks for your help once again.

I hope to make it to a chop as soon as there is one on a Saturday.

Thanks again