A Tiki Carver's Studio Space

Since we are sharing finished product and methodology, how about a thread for the nursery where these tikis are born? Carvers, if you could, please share some insight into your workspace, organization skills and wood storage...

I'll start us off... My wahine and I rent in an older duplex but I'm glad for the basement space I have to work in, in the summer I work back in the garage and driveway...

My small but cozy workspace...

Tool layout on a quick little shelf I put up...

Raw materials: No palms in this northern carver's stash, pine, birch, linden, basswood and whatever else I can get my mits on...

Long wood pile... including a few straight 12 foot pines that are going to become poles like the one's in Trader Vics...

Thicker wood pile and some "in progress" tikis...

Sanding booth for finishing...

Home sweet home!

[ Edited by: Lake Surfer on 2003-12-01 01:12 ]

great space! my space sucks! I work in my drive way. As soon as I get a house then I'll get a studio. Do you have heat? must be cold during the winter! HO! wish i had da large logs you got layin around. da bigga da mo betta!

On 2003-12-01 12:01, GECKO wrote:
great space! my space sucks! I work in my drive way. As soon as I get a house then I'll get a studio. Do you have heat? must be cold during the winter! HO! wish i had da large logs you got layin around. da bigga da mo betta!

I wish I could work in your drive way.

Good idea, Lake! I'll put some shots of "The Volcano" up soon(In which all my things tiki are forged)...

Gecko... that little grey thing under the Rip Curl poster is my little electric heater... it adds a little warmth in the cold basement... but ya just gotta swing that hammer faster to stay warm!

I gotta go with freddie on his comment... I would kill to have your driveway to carve in... I'll trade you for my cold basement!

freddiefreelance, you are FUNNY!

Why would you want to look at my view of two waterfalls with green lush jungle with mist hovering over the mountains and the sounds of exotic birds doing anoying bird calls all day sipping on tropical drinks while you carve tiki's in a pair of shorts and slippahz?? I hate waterfalls!

I would rather be in da lakes freezin basement with that mother of all heaters.....ahhhhh paradise.

ok, I guess I shouldn't complain.
You've seen my drive way enough so heres a couple pics of a friends work shop up da street. He works with foam. those are some 12ft tikis that he rents out. He's made better

pics around my exotic jungle I call home

that is my work shop view.

How can you guy's work in such "Clean" studios??? Actually, I swept a few weeks ago. Baby steps! Baby steps!

Clean? What's that mean? Here's a few snaps of the volcano...the chisel caddy...the 7 1/2 foot pole for Hale Tiki (same theme as the little guys), the rickety old furniture, the weapon blanks about to become deadly instruments...Hey, do you see that pottery Chinese divider on the chair? (looks like the old Trader Vic's green dividers but russett orange) Anybody know where how or where I can recast these?

[ Edited by: Basement Kahuna on 2003-12-01 23:58 ]

Very nice Gecko... inspiration all around you, and a rich history to soak in!

BK... I'm small time compared to your estate there... the pole looks great so far!

Lake surfer, nice! I love the stand you use to hold the soon to be tikis. I carved mine sitting in my back yard, my back still hurts!

Gecko, that compound looks awesome, what a cool place, and the scenery, man the scenery! Maybe I'll be fortunate enough to visit some day.

Basement, damn! :D

Mahalo
Original Art by Flounder

http://www.flounderart.com

[ Edited by: FLOUNDERart on 2003-12-02 09:26 ]

I'd still rather have Gecko's joint....

Gecko, BK, you'll like these! This was today's pickup in the 'ol 4 door Accord... my arborist friend brought down three 40 foot blue spruce yesterday...

I'm headed back to the country club where he works tomorrow morning to get most of the rest... they'll sit in the garage until I can get to them and debark... lotsa work ahead of me but I'm stocking up for the long cold winter...

tikitony, you should see the Honda with these logs hanging out as I go down the road... poor car...

[ Edited by: Lake Surfer on 2003-12-02 23:29 ]

Killer.

Those are all just killer.

What enviable skills!

You guys should all open Tiki Central Forum Shops. I bet the riff raff here would keep your sales brisk!

My studio.
In the background near the palm trees you'll see where I've been digging in the dirt. (It's what I do best) I'm building a pond there.

you musta been way lOw riding in that hOnda Lake. Jungle trader, whats the deal, I thought you'd have a freakin jungle for a back yard? just joking man.

hey jt~

must be nice to have a clean canvas to make your new primordial bog/tiki jungle retreat! we just fixed our primordial bog today! (aka: sprinkler leak from hell)

:)

Hey tikitony, tikicleen.

Tikitony, this is my new backyard. My other backyard/house is up for sale, it was the very first Tiki Jungle. (The Nicklaus residence image on my website) sniff, i'm goin' to miss it. Looking forward to building this one Bigger and Better/New and Improved

Cleen, we gotta get Luckydesigns back up here, he lived in Stockton for a number of years. We'll let Mick play Tour Guide.

The rabbit in the middle of the image will be a sacrifice to the tikis. mmmmm

"If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much space." Lou Whitaker

[ Edited by: jungletrader on 2003-12-07 22:54 ]

Great!

Whew! Been busy lately with holidays and finishing Mele Kalikimaka signs and I haven't had a chance to post or carve tikis. I got some great gifts for Christmas to add to my carving studio... thought I'd share them with some tips...

The lovely Mrs. Lake got me this tool chest that now stores all my supplies. I lined the bottom of the drawers with some of that rubber stick mats so the chisels don't slide around...
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My Dad got me these great diamond sharpening stones for keeping the chisels sharp. They are supposed to last a lifetime of sharpening... pricy at $50 a piece...
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This I picked up myself... a new mallet with a industrial urethane head... I like it better already! I had a maple one but it split up and chipped... I love the new one... quieter and less shock on my arms... retails for about $40...
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Scored some new Henry Taylor chisels too... but kinda bummed my local Woodcraft has discontinued them... they are going with some more pricy Swiss made...

Happy Carving!

[ Edited by: Lake Surfer on 2004-01-05 22:45 ]

Well, here is my humble little space in my garage.That is an old Wax Carving bench and foredom that I never sold for some reason.I have half the 2 car garage so is isn't bat. Not like my old Chekee hut I had for my business though
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All I can do is Look at it now for a week or so.Dammmmit.

Nice... I can see all the essentials there... and then some! Best wishes for quick healing so you get back in that chair there!

Thought I'd share too...though after seeing geckos views...wow...
Here's my little carving spot:
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I lug all my tools in and out of the house everytime I carve or do wood working. I usually flip the horses over to raise the palm wood off the ground and to give it some stability from moving around. The raised portion of the deck acts as a workbench too. The other nice part about working outside (other than it's outside and So-Cal, so it's usually warm) is I get to soak in a view of LA harbor (and on a -rare- clear day the mountains) while I work.
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Tain't no gecko view, but you gotta take what you can get, no?

OK, Thats a nice view. Maybe not a Gecko view, but better than my Garage door view. Your tikis there are looking mighty good too.

Hey Benz,
You got any pictures of that "old Chekee hut"? It sounds intriguing!
Thanks for the kind words!

"Hey, at least I'm housebroken."

[ Edited by: polynesiac on 2004-03-11 23:45 ]

BK
I know quite a bit about mold making. A better pic would be helpful berfore I pitch in my 2 cents. also could use to know how many pulls you would hope to get from the mold. what material you want to use for reproductions, etc. Undercuts are a big concern so the close up photos would help alot. one more thing, is that sucker two sided or what's the deal, I must admit I have no idea what it even is but I'd bet I could mold the little bugger.

Yes I do have Pix of my old tiki/cheekee Hut...Somewhere. I will find them and post for sure. I know it was about 20'X30' and I Loved it. When I left carving and the nursery, they Bulldozed it down. I cried.
Found the Pix butthe sleep medication call is stronger. Tomorrow I'll show where I Used to make sawdust.

[ Edited by: Benzart on 2004-03-12 21:22 ]

OK, here is where I Used to carve at Kraft Nursery in Deerfield Beach, FL
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And before the tiki/cheekee Hut
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Definately brings back strong memories and lights the ol' Fire.

Finally got around to posting pics of my backyard/studio. Hope you like it. I'm in LA and it's spring so it's looking pretty lush. Come summer it will be a different story.
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I got the little fern palm (damnit, Sabu, I forgot AGAIN what they are called!) froma carver on the Big Island. I take no credit.
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I take no credit for this guy, either. He just showed up at the pond one day. I should have put a dollar beside him because he is big.
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This last pic is a tribute to the inspiration I received from Puamana and Selector Lopaka's yard. The stone trail was fast, simple, and naturally beautiful. (It was also very very heavy. Waaahhh!)

Tikifille, thats a beautiful space you have there. Looks very peaceful and it drips with creativity. I really love it.
Also some Nice moves in the tiki detail

[ Edited by: Benzart on 2004-04-12 15:24 ]

Great home you got their, will have to get goin on mine...

What an inspirational place! Tikis EVERYWHERE!
I love the "fallen" tiki in the third to last picture. Cool place...so when's the party did you say?

:)

Here are most of the tools I use for my carving. Ofcourse there are some in drawers that you cant see here but this is basically it.
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There is another thread about Carvers spaces I'll find and bump up front. This should really be in there.

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you guys are all so lucky to have such great work spaces. i live in a 1 bed room condo, so all i have is a sheet on the living room floor by the sliding glass door or the small balcony when it's light enough outside to work. someday i will have a great place like the ones one here. you all have given me inspiration for the future and something to look foward to.

go man go! carve in your room, at a friends house, on a beach, by a lake, carve carve carve, for goodness sake.

Yeah, tiki 5-0, I work until the sun sets. I have no space inside to carve, just do it with what you got!

Here’s my So Cal carving space in Rancho Santa Margarita. My garage is a poster child for one of those self-storage commercials, so I do all of my carving in the back yard. Weather pretty much always permits around here.
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This is where I do my carving. The canopy helps a lot in the summer.
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It’s hard to see, but there’s a terrace wall with a built-in seat in the corner there. I’m planning on building a 4-post open carving hut with a thatched roof there.
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I’ve got a few tikis hanging around. Not nearly enough, though…
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"Ah, good taste! What a dreadful thing! Taste is the enemy of creativeness."
-Pablo Picasso

[ Edited by: Aaron's Akua on 2004-09-16 14:13 ]

[ Edited by: Aaron's Akua on 2004-09-16 14:14 ]

Looks good Aaron. Can't wait to see your thatched roof carving hut.

Here's an aerial view of my carving spot. It's too small to call a space! All I use is this thing that was being thrown out at work. It is a wooden pallet which is sort of built up to form an open sided shipping crate. I guess it is sort of like a Work mate bench but it was FREE! Anyway, it has worked fine so far. I will probably relocate it to the garage for winter. In the photo you can see my trusty assistant who is removing bark from a pine log.
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I've been doing all of my work sitting on the concrete hunched over my carving and sometimes it's kind of hard to straighten up if ya know what I mean. I'd love to come up with a nice rig to hold the logs at a comfortable position for carving. I'm too old for this! Has anyone come up with a nice carving rig that's solid enough for chiseling, adjustable, and fairly ergonomic? (That looks cool, 8 ft., but it's hard to see how it's built) I can't sue myself for worker's comp if I ruin my back! It sucks getting old...(just turned 40 this year, and full of self pity :( ).

A-A

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"Ah, good taste! What a dreadful thing! Taste is the enemy of creativeness."
-Pablo Picasso

[ Edited by: Aaron's Akua on 2004-09-18 21:02 ]

Calm down now Aaron. 40 isn't fatal. Just don't act your age and you'll be fine. Now about the working platform. I suggest you simply build one for yourself. If you can do drafting and drawings, you can surely design yourself something simple and portable. Get some scrap lumber and get it done. Your back will thank you. Otherwise we will change your user name to Hunchback tiki.

Carving + back pain + martini + ibuprofen = whining 40 year old carver. I'm definitely gonna build something to get my butt off the ground. But that's a different post altogether...

Now back to "A Tiki Carver's Space".

Who's next???

A-A aka Hunchback Tiki :)

When I had my shop unter the tiki Hut, I used the bottom of 2 light poles that were 20 inches wiide and cut to3 feet tall. I cut a wide fairly shallow v into the top of each one and for large logs used both and for short logs just one would do. Just lay your piece into the V and work away.I also had V's cut into the sides for ues with thick logs. Worked well for me.

Whenever I try to complicate things, Ben comes up with simple solution. I'm gonna run over to the local firewood lot, pick up a couple logs & saw some "V's" in 'em. Done! These will fit in real nice in that open carving hut, whenever I get around to it.

Digging for buried treasure...

Love the old threads... History lies within...

I do my art at my over cluttered table in my bedroom (I generally can fit an A3 size piece of paper on the 'clean' section, depending upon how long since I last cleaned it). Carving is done in the carport, with the windows and doors of the house open to carry the tunes out to me.

Cool thread to resurrect.

I work in my side yard all hunched over like an idiot. My bar oil kills my grass and my back kills me all night. Isn't carving GREAT! I wouldn't have it any other way.

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-Gman

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