Carving Tiki Moldings

Here's a question for all you talented & experienced carvers:

If I want to try my hand at carving Witco-style moldings, what's the process like?

Are they usually hand-carved or chainsaw-carved? And how is that textured / grainy feel achieved? It almost seems like some type of wire brush or something was taken to them to get that texture, then somehow smoothed out.

And then are they blowtorched after to get that charred effect?

If I stick to my plan for my basement tiki lounge, I'm going to need a lot of this kind of molding, so I figured I'd give it a shot, but I'm not sure where to start.

Thanks!

Luki

P.S. I did a search on "carving molding" but didn't find anything that really seemed to go over the process

Luki, no responses yet. I'm no expert by a long shot - more like a casual observer. But I'll stick my head out here, maybe someone who knows something will pop in to correct me :D

As I understand, Witco was produced assembly line style mostly by chainsaw and probably other power tools, not so much with mallet & chisels. The wood was cedar, which has soft wide grain.

I would suggest a little experimentation. Many of the conifer woods (pine, fir) have similar grain to cedar, they are less expensive and more readily available. Try some sample carvings then brush them, sand blast them, burn them, try different combinations until you find the look you like. In my limited experience, you get deeper grain texture if you burn it first then use a power wire wheel brush. You can burn it again to add more dark color after you have brushed off most of the charred wood if you like. Be sure to get a wire wheel, not a wire cup brush.

Edit -spelling

Be good to yourself and to the ones you love

[ Edited by: MadDogMike 2011-08-28 21:37 ]

Luki - use a router (even a dremel with a router attachment if you don't have a full router) rather than a chainsaw. easier to control!

If you want the grain patterns of witco and can't find ceder, redwood is a good substitute. Be sure to choose boards that have crazy grain patterns, usually the "b grade" lumber from home depot.

have fun!

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

[ Edited by: Polynesiac 2011-08-29 10:10 ]

Thanks! All very good advice.

Guess I'm going shopping!

If anything comes out good I'll post pix :wink: