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Aloha Texas Tiki !!

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If you're checking out this thread for the first time you will be able to see the evolution of my carving from beginning (circa2004) to current pieces. Earlier pieces will have shallow cuts and less adherence to classic design. As rhe thread continues you'll see the carvings evolve and improve.

The first tiki I ever carved (2004). Oak. Mallet and chisel only:

The 2nd tiki. Cedar. Mallet and chisel only :

Here's a 9 footer done in 2004


http://www.facebook.com/AlohaTexasTikiCo
instagram:alohatexastikico
Twitter: @AlohaTxTikiCo

[ Edited by: AlohaTexasTikiCo 2017-07-06 05:56 ]
A

Here's a 2 footer 2014..


http://www.facebook.com/AlohaTexasTikiCo
instagram.com/alohatexastikico/
Twitter: @AlohaTxTikiCo

[ Edited by: AlohaTexasTikiCo 2017-07-06 05:58 ]
A

Green moai? Whaa??!!
(oh, and do you see that amazing Texas sky again?)


Bringing more Tiki to Texas and more Texas to Tiki...

http://www.facebook.com/AlohaTexasTikiCo
instagram.com/alohatexastikico/
Twitter: @AlohaTxTikiCo
http://www.clouseaux.com

[ Edited by: AlohaTexasTikiCo 2014-12-20 20:16 ]
WC

You're in the right place now.
Let's see how they do it in Texas.
A

Still developing my marquesan chops.

I hit this mask with some ebony stain which I must admit I dig a lot. Ebony isn't for every tiki but i like it on this guy...

http://www.facebook.com/AlohaTexasTikiCo
instagram: alohatexastikico
Twitter: @AlohaTxTikiCo
http://www.clouseaux.com

[ Edited by: AlohaTexasTikiCo 2018-01-22 18:19 ]
L

Your tikis are lovely and I appreciate how much you need tikifying in Texas. I hail from New Jersey which is completely devoid of all things tiki. I feel your pain!

I wish I could carve like you. Well done!
A

You can carve too Lori! Start small and let your passion guide you. You only live once. Go for it..
just think you could be the "Jersey Girl" of tiki... :wink:
A

Here's a simple moai design. Sometimes simple is best...
S

Great stuff ! , and I agree Lori you should start carvin it up in New Jersey. There's plenty of talented carvers here on TC that are more than willing to share their knowledge and experience!
A

Flaming Diamond Head


Bringing more Tiki to Texas and more Texas to Tiki...

http://www.facebook.com/AlohaTexasTikiCo
instagram.com/alohatexastikico/
Twitter: @AlohaTxTikiCo
http://www.clouseaux.com

[ Edited by: AlohaTexasTikiCo 2014-12-21 06:23 ]
A

My mom has been asking for a tiki for some time now so I decided to crank one out for her Xmas present. She recently converted to judaism so I thought she would dig a star of David. Here's what I've got done so far...




Finished of w/some sweet cherry stain... Hope she likes it!

Bringing Tiki to Texas and Texas to Tiki...

http://www.facebook.com/AlohaTexasTikiCo
instagram.com/alohatexastikico/
Twitter: @AlohaTxTikiCo
http://www.clouseaux.com

[ Edited by: AlohaTexasTikiCo 2015-01-30 19:52 ]
A

Here's a 9 foot beast that I did for my father-in-law's back yard oasis. He's about 10 years old. I like the grey weathered look it's taken. I think a squirrel has built a nest in it's head now. Nutty.
A

Black diamond mask...
A

moai...
A

Happy Holidays y'all!
C
cy posted on Mon, Dec 22, 2014 7:28 AM

Nice work ATTC, keep them coming!
A

T

Nice work ATT! Surely you have more pics than this?? Sounds like you're pretty close by, we'll have to figure out how to get together... :)
A

Hey Big T! I heard about you through Greg Lee on FB which led me to restart my Tiki Central account after many years of hibernation. I've been checking out your work. Very rad! I do have some more pics but not many. I just recently got to carving again. Taking a break till New Years and then sawdust will be flyin. We should definitely hang. I'm up in Spring. You?
A
amate posted on Tue, Dec 30, 2014 6:19 PM

ATTC. Better double check the spelling on Greg's last name. :D
Good to see you're back carving so keep them coming!
A

Oops. Greg L. Gee. Thanks for the correction.
PG

I've answered to worse names than that, Amate.
N

Tiki Texas! Nice work welcome to TC! Your in the right place I have learned so much since I have been here. Going on 4 months. Even though I have carving back ground wood is a total new medium for me and every body has been very helpful. Keep the pics comming
A


Bringing Tiki to Texas and Texas to Tiki...

http://www.facebook.com/AlohaTexasTikiCo
instagram.com/alohatexastikico/
Twitter: @AlohaTxTikiCo
http://www.clouseaux.com

[ Edited by: AlohaTexasTikiCo 2015-01-02 19:07 ]
A

A

mondo toro loco 1&2

Bringing Tiki to Texas and Texas to Tiki...

http://www.facebook.com/AlohaTexasTikiCo
instagram.com/alohatexastikico/
Twitter: @AlohaTxTikiCo
http://www.clouseaux.com

[ Edited by: AlohaTexasTikiCo 2015-01-02 19:18 ]
A

Anyone have a crane?!

Well unfortunately my human body was to small to capture this beast in its swampy nest but I was able to find a nice 12 foot piece down the road. Cut up nicely into 3 4ft pieces so it fit in the old Mazda. ...we do what we can...

Bringing Tiki to Texas and Texas to Tiki...

http://www.facebook.com/AlohaTexasTikiCo
instagram.com/alohatexastikico/
Twitter: @AlohaTxTikiCo
http://www.clouseaux.com

[ Edited by: AlohaTexasTikiCo 2015-01-07 17:24 ]
N

Nice Pile . lots of wood to work with, what kind of wood is that.
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amate posted on Thu, Jan 8, 2015 5:33 PM

Let me guess...East Texas Loblolly Pine. I've still got a six foot log, 14" diameter, TheBigT gave me a few years back. One day I'll get around to carving it! Have you been to the Lei Low over in the Heights? http://leilowhtx.com/
A

Nicework it's pine. It's no palm but it's in abundance here and it's free!
Amate I have not been to Lei Low yet but I really want to hit it up. I heard one of my buddy's Brad is involved with it. Don't you have some work in there? We should meet up for a cocktail there sometime. I heard they just got Mai Tai's on draft. (Whaaa?!)
A

Brooksie came out today to help me fill this order with his new chainsaw Santa brought him! Let the indoctrination begin!
I lost a couple fingers but I'll be alright. Don't fingers grow back?

Got in between the raindrops today and worked a little more...


And a little more....

Put up my pop up gazebo thing today so rain, you can go get bent! Added some cherry stain, not a fan but I'm not about to sand this guy down again. I've read some threads where people will sand stain and repeat ad nauseum until they get it perfect. I guess I would do that too but I'm on a tight schedule and the customer likes the color so...

Brooksie admiring his work...

Bringing Tiki to Texas and Texas to Tiki...

http://www.facebook.com/AlohaTexasTikiCo
instagram.com/alohatexastikico/
Twitter: @AlohaTxTikiCo
http://www.clouseaux.com

[ Edited by: Alohatexastikico 2015-01-11 20:17 ]

[ Edited by: AlohaTexasTikiCo 2015-01-11 20:23 ]
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amate posted on Sat, Jan 10, 2015 8:28 AM

On 2015-01-08 17:41, AlohaTexasTikiCo wrote:
Nicework it's pine. It's no palm but it's in abundance here and it's free!
Amate I have not been to Lei Low yet but I really want to hit it up. I heard one of my buddy's Brad is involved with it. Don't you have some work in there? We should meet up for a cocktail there sometime. I heard they just got Mai Tai's on draft. (Whaaa?!)

ATTC
I have several large pieces at LeiLow...some better than others.
I usually get down your way in April but stay pretty busy visiting family etc.
I'm getting to that age where I don't think I could pass a field sobriety test even when stone sober! :D
D

Love it. Especially good work on the mouth...

I can usually get the stain where I like it, but then sometimes the poly or spar will change the color enough to where I think "meh..."

Keep up the good work...
T

Great new round of photos. Cut that out with a chain saw eh? Impressive. Give me a shout when you make a trip to lei low! :)
A

On 2015-01-12 09:37, DHTiki wrote:
Love it. Especially good work on the mouth...

I can usually get the stain where I like it, but then sometimes the poly or spar will change the color enough to where I think "meh..."

Keep up the good work...

Thanks DH.
The customer came and grabbed it today. I'm so glad too because that guy was drinking poly gloss like mad. I hit it with 3 coats and it was still looking dry as a bone. But worst of all that stain was killing me. I couldn't stand it. I looked a some of timbercove's stuff on FB today and holy Ku, that cat can stain. Beautiful finishes. I have to learn that. The funny thing is that the customer loved it though. She totally dug it. Go figure.
A

On 2015-01-12 10:17, TheBigT wrote:
Great new round of photos. Cut that out with a chain saw eh? Impressive. Give me a shout when you make a trip to lei low! :)

Thanks T. I did my first few carvings with chisel and mallet with the whole purist mindset and then I tried a chainsaw and angle grinder combo on the next one and I never looked back. I would love to explore some new tools though. There are certain things you just can't do with my poor man's set up. I use a dremel for some smaller stuff but I'm finding that it's poorly made. The sanding rings pop off so much I just wanna smash it with my mallet. Anyway we definitely need to do lei low soon!! I'm coming into town for a Clouseaux show Wednesday. We're opening for Los Straightjackets at the continental club. Let me know if you want to come I'll put u on the list.

Bringing Tiki to Texas and Texas to Tiki...

http://www.facebook.com/AlohaTexasTikiCo
instagram.com/alohatexastikico/
Twitter: @AlohaTxTikiCo
http://www.clouseaux.com

[ Edited by: AlohaTexasTikiCo 2015-01-12 19:40 ]
A

Met EnchantedTikiLounge Brian today. He came over and dropped off some sweet cedar left over from his backyard tiki wonderland. These are left over palapa poles
Check it:

Now it's my task to turn that log on the right into this:

I'm gonna need to unfreeze Walt Disney from his cryogenic chamber for assistance on this one!

Bringing Tiki to Texas and Texas to Tiki...

http://www.facebook.com/AlohaTexasTikiCo
instagram.com/alohatexastikico/
Twitter: @AlohaTxTikiCo
http://www.clouseaux.com

[ Edited by: AlohaTexasTikiCo 2015-01-12 19:38 ]
A

Latest work...




Still working on shaping this guy. Should be ready to drink some poly tonight..
T

Someone has a power sander... :) Looking good.
A

Here's another little guy that came by for a visit..
TR

Nice!!! I definitely like the retro.
A
amate posted on Fri, Jan 16, 2015 4:08 AM

LOVE the eyes on that marq! I may have to "borrow" that idea.:)
Those palapa poles should make an interesting carve. I've got a small piece of Eastern Red Cedar around here somewhere I need to do something with. May have to bust it out come spring.
I still haven't figured out how you managed to find pine logs that were not tunneled through by borers!
A

Thanks Republic. Your work is looking good! How's Az?

Amate yeah I've been having problems with those pesky borers too. Sometimes we meet face to face during a carve and I'll have to pull him right out of his home. Makes for a tasty snack for as you know carving can whip up a mean appetite. This new set of 4footers is the cleanest pine I've ever seen. It's absolutely flawless. Thanks for the compliments on the eyes.

[ Edited by: Alohatexastikico 2015-01-16 06:16 ]
N

Great stuff. I see that most your work is in wood. What Kind is it. Well I just started this tiki journey,You have been a great help, We are each otheres eyes and ears,You asked me why I paint my tikis. I had mentioned to you why I paint them because of the influence I have had here in Orlando. But looking at your pictures It hit me why other carvers paint the TIKI. I have only been carving palm.
Washiontonian and Sabal . What i have noticed in the past 15 carvings is that when i debark the palm it is dicolored, black gray green and red stains on them and they do not look that good, But What i noticed from looking at your pictures that wood is a solid nice natural grain with no discolorations. I do at times find a palm thats clean, I get alot of my palms from a privite land fill, Showing my gratitude to the owner I have givin him a few carvings and he told me I can have Cypress free for the taking, I still have about 30 palms in my garage, I am holding back on the Cypress I feel like it would be best to buy a gas stihl 150 . I use a stihl 140 electric and some times its not powerful enough for dried up palms, some times i get some palms and they carve like butter. Aloha station decribes it as carving apples and he hit that one on the nail thats what it cuts like. But thank You aloha for posting pics and sharing the Passion, Have a Exciting day.

As you can see the top of the palms are discolored that runs through the palm when cutting I think thats why other carvers painted the tikis to hide the discolorations I have even seen tikis painted a wood color it did not make since but it making a little more since to me now. Practice makes progress
A

Holy snappers Laz!! I would give my left chisel for a stash like that!! Congrats on the treasure trove of palm.
Where I am palm is hard to come by. At least I haven't found a good source yet. The pine I use sometimes kicks out a greyish color that I'm not too fond of but sometimes it gives it good character. I'm learning to really try and make use of whatever the particular piece has too offer colorwise. A lot of the pine I use has a nice reddish golden tint underneath the bark that I like to include in the finished product if I can. I'm headed to Roundtop TX tomorrow with my uncle to help him down some cedars on his property. I'm excited to beef up my stash as I'm running low. I'll post pics later. Keep on keepin on Laz, you're headed down the right track. As a wise carver once said, "practice makes progress"
A

Met my projected deadline on this guy...on to the next
N

Good stuff,Its all about relationships. Show me who your friend is and I will show you who you are, A wise man once told me. The only way I can be a better carver it to be associated with Better carvers Thank You
T

On 2015-01-16 06:27, AlohaTexasTikiCo wrote:
Holy snappers Laz!! I would give my left chisel for a stash like that!! Congrats on the treasure trove of palm.
Where I am palm is hard to come by. At least I haven't found a good source yet. The pine I use sometimes kicks out a greyish color that I'm not too fond of but sometimes it gives it good character. I'm learning to really try and make use of whatever the particular piece has too offer colorwise. A lot of the pine I use has a nice reddish golden tint underneath the bark that I like to include in the finished product if I can. I'm headed to Roundtop TX tomorrow with my uncle to help him down some cedars on his property. I'm excited to beef up my stash as I'm running low. I'll post pics later. Keep on keepin on Laz, you're headed down the right track. As a wise carver once said, "practice makes progress"

Jay, I also have a stack of various kinds of logs (mostly pine), but if you run short of logs let me know.

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