My First Tiki

Hey Everyone,

I joined this forum a little while back and have been searching through posts. Last week I decided to break out the chisels and go at my first tiki.

I started by chiseling off the bark. Then put a sanding pad on my grinder and sanded down the wood. Then I just drew a design that I liked with pencil and started carving using a few flat chisels I had bought from harbor freight. After chiseling, I sanded, stained, polyurethaned, sanded, and polyurethaned again. For my first one I think it came out great.

I would love to make more, but this one took me about 14 (spread over a week or so) from start to finish. I would like to purchase an electric chainsaw and go at it. Anyone have any ideas on chainsaws? I don't want to spend too much at the start (maybe later if I get more into carving I'll buy a better one). I looked at the Homelite 14 in. 9 Amp Electric Chainsaw from HomeDepot and Poulan 8-Amp 14-in Corded Electric Chainsaw from Lowes. Leaning towards Homelite because it's auto oiled and 9amps, but Poulan is a pound lighter. Any ideas/suggestions?

Let me know what you think!

Thanks!

P.S.- That last picture makes it look glossier than it really is. I took this picture as soon as I put on the second coat of poly.

I purchased an electric chain saw but only use it now to cut the ends. I found that a grinder is much easier to handle. No oil replenishing needed either. Harbor Freight has a carving blade designed to fit grinders (mini chainsaw). The blade runs about $36.

Pierre

Yeah, I seen those online. But heard they could be very dangerous. This article made me not want one :/

Poor guy

http://www.talkbass.com/threads/lancelot-blade-safety-reminder.834022/

yes, lancelots are extremely dangerous. I know a dude who just about cut his hand in half with one recently...

I haven't touched mine in years...

anyway, nice firstie...

now carve deeper! :wink:(

Nice job on the tiki, keep up the good work. Mine seem to take forever, too - I feel your pain.

I remember seeing that post on TB when it was first posted. As he says, it was really user error that caused the problem. I use the Lancelot blade and it can save huge amounts of time. But you really have to treat it with respect. Always (always, always, always) have two hands on the grinder and make sure the piece that you're carving is clamped down tight. It will absolutely grab hold of a piece and either fling it across the room or run the grinder in some random direction very quickly. You can't let your mind wander while using the Lancelot - even if it doesn't do something like injure you, it'll carve an unwanted trench into your work so fast it'll make your head swim. It does make you better at figuring out how to make stuff look like you MEANT to make that particular gouge in that particular place.

Carve more!

Cheers!

On 2014-05-07 12:10, pjc5150 wrote:
anyway, nice firstie...

now carve deeper! :wink:(

Thanks! I wanted to carve deeper, but since it was my first one and I was only using chisels I figured I would see what happened. Worse comes to worse, for my next one, it will just end up in the bonfire and I'll grab another chunk of wood!

Wow! I can tell it has that ability to jump and have given it full respect because of that. The electric chainsaw that I have is a Makita. It has plenty of power and is quiet so my neighbors don't hear me. I picked it up at a tool supply store. Because there was no demand for electric chainsaws they marked it down 40% to make sure that I'd buy it. Hopefully you can have the same luck.

I agree, cut deeper! You'll appreciate the extra detail.

DHTiki,

Yeah, I hear most of it is user issues. And knowing me, I have a beer here and there when chiseling away. Maybe if I get into carving more I'll think about buying one.

well DH, let's face it... just about ALL tool accidents are user error... lol...

I don't care how vigilant one thinks they are, mistakes will always be made.. we're human... and one little mistake with a lancelot could mean very serious injury...

I also know a guy who had a lancelot grab his sleeve, and ride right up it, and was heading for his neck, and luckily he got control of it before it cut his throat...

besides, that makita electric with a dime bar will out-perform that lancelot for detail any old day of the week, so I don't really see the need for one, especially given the danger. :wink:

On 2014-05-07 12:39, Tiki Republic wrote:
Wow! I can tell it has that ability to jump and have given it full respect because of that. The electric chainsaw that I have is a Makita. It has plenty of power and is quiet so my neighbors don't hear me. I picked it up at a tool supply store. Because there was no demand for electric chainsaws they marked it down 40% to make sure that I'd buy it. Hopefully you can have the same luck.

I agree, cut deeper! You'll appreciate the extra detail.

Thanks. I think deeper makes them come to life, just need to try again on the second one. What model Makita do you have? And did you buy a different blade/chain for detailed work, or do you just use it for the "rough" cuts, then go strait into chisels?

On 2014-05-07 12:47, pjc5150 wrote:
well DH, let's face it... just about ALL tool accidents are user error... lol...

I don't care how vigilant one thinks they are, mistakes will always be made.. we're human... and one little mistake with a lancelot could mean very serious injury...

I also know a guy who had a lancelot grab his sleeve, and ride right up it, and was heading for his neck, and luckily he got control of it before it cut his throat...

besides, that makita electric with a dime bar will out-perform that lancelot for detail any old day of the week, so I don't really see the need for one, especially given the danger. :wink:

Good point pjc!

Do you guys have suggestions of models of makitas? And what is a dime bar? I'm assuming it's a separate blade to mount on the chainsaw?

I have a UC4030A model Makita. It has power but is heavy thus will wear on your back after bending over after awhile. The bar is what the chain glides on. A dime bar has a narrow or small tip for getting better detail for carving. Bars are interchangeable. I see a few different Makitas on Ebay. Stihl is also a reliable brand.
I use the chainsaw, grinder and chisel depending on what I need to get done. Rough grit sand paper designed for the grinder works real fast on smoothing.

[ Edited by: Tiki Republic 2014-05-07 15:51 ]

I'm actually about to buy one of those new STIHL 150 tree climbers...

comes with a carving bar and it's so light I could hang the little fucker on my keychain... :)

On 2014-05-07 17:07, pjc5150 wrote:
I'm actually about to buy one of those new STIHL 150 tree climbers...

comes with a carving bar and it's so light I could hang the little fucker on my keychain... :)

This is a gas saw right? Do they make them electric?

stihl does make electrics...

but I already have a makita electric, and although I love how it works, I recently kinda fell in love with a buddy's stihl treeclimber... amazing power & weighs half what the makita weights...

On 2014-05-07 17:07, pjc5150 wrote:
I'm actually about to buy one of those new STIHL 150 tree climbers...

comes with a carving bar and it's so light I could hang the little fucker on my keychain... :)

I'm trying to find one of those - is this the one?

http://amzn.to/1oxZVhV

haha. Cuts like butter