How to carve Witco style?

Hello,

I would like to try a carving in the Witco style. Does anyone have any info, insight, on how to get that Witco look? What type of wood to use, how to stain, etc.. If this has been mentioned before, just point me in the right direction.

Thanks!

Witco. Then you'll want to talk to Kiegs.

There's an old book out there somewhere by Witco that tells you how to carve in that manner. It's all chainsaw. It even shows you how to carve the Islander looking fountain. Pretty sweet stuff.

Cool, thanks for the ideas! Any idea what the name of the book is or where to buy it?

Thanks!

[ Edited by: keigs20 on 2004-03-18 14:09 ]

chainsawing is the first step and then i use a propane torch to blacken the wood, after wich i give it a good scrubbing with a wire brush after that a good high gloss varnish looks great.

how to stain,- TJ writes...

do you mean FLAME??????

How to carve Witco style? If you want to dead-on nail it first you get a chainsaw, then you hire Keigs to sling it for you. PRESTO!

Try doing it with an oldschool chainsaw as well. The damn things were so heavy they had to use a pully system to hold them up.

yeah, those were some Monsters. I used to have the Biggest ChainSaw made by Stihl. an 0.90 I think. I sold the 9 foot bar and bought a 6 foot bar which was more manageable. It is what was used on the Big guy(Irrevrently called "God of Constipation"by locals.) at the Tropicana

I was looking for a link you(FLOUNDERart) posted some time back of Bosco or Keigs carving Tikis, but couldn't find it.

[ Edited by: Benzart on 2004-02-24 06:56 ]

Keigs

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=5741&forum=7&34

Hello Everyone,

Thanks for all the info on Witco stuff. I went to a lumber yard and picked up a cedar plank. They had no big pieces. Anyway, I went to Home Depot, and they said varnish was the same as shellac? Not sure, if someone could confirm. I need to play around with the technique for awhile, so wish me luck.

Thanks!

Varnish is NOT the same as shellack.

Anyway, I went to Home Depot, and they said varnish was the same as shellac? Not sure, if someone could confirm.

I'll confirm that, you should not listen (or go) to Home Depot!

Somebody needs a good shellackin'.....

On 2004-02-24 20:27, jungletrader wrote:
Somebody needs a good shellackin'.....

I got one of those at Home Depot a few years back. Got nailed, unaware, by several 50lb boxes of tarps from the top shelf! I learned to never get up if this happens again. They suck when it comes to getting floored in their store. I got "Shellacked" in every way from that place! Should have stayed on the floor and then I could have "Varnished" them with High Gloss!! arrrrrrr!!!

good luck on the witco stuff, also when you do the burning (flame),its a good idea to have a spray bottle of water close by to keep it under control , if it doesnt look quite witco the first time burn it again until the wood grain stands out as much as you like

Try the burning on a scrap piece of wood same as you will be carving. Burn a little and Brush with the grain using a medium stiff wire brush. Burn a little, brush a little. Keep going at it 'till you get the effect you want. The object is to burn and brush away the Soft Inner grain, leaving the Hard grain lines standing. You'll see when you burn the first piece. Hope this helps.

[ Edited by: Benzart on 2004-02-25 07:52 ]

the burning also smooths and rounds off the hard lines and rough edges, it can make a crappy carving look like a work of art. cant wait to hear how this works for you. i use this on all my bars and masks, on my way to do it right now.

forgive my minimal knowledge of witco...

is this witcoesque in any way?

it was practically free... but the imagery is a bit obscure... mahalo for any input, j$

its witco like, but not witco. i have seen a lot of witco carvings so obscure you cant even tell what they were meant to be. nice piece though.

On 2004-02-26 08:57, chisel slinger wrote:
its witco like, but not witco. i have seen a lot of witco carvings so obscure you cant even tell what they were meant to be. nice piece though.

mahalo, cs!

Cool! I found the book about carving by William Westenhaver after calling a bunch of bookstores. Finally found it on the net, so it should be here shortly. I did my first Tiki Mask. I'm just waiting for the varnish to dry. I will probably add another coat. I will post pics soon!

Tahiti Jim

Okay,

Here is my first Witco type carving. I think I might have burned it to dark, but hey, on to the next one.

I used a dremel to carve into the wood. I wasn't sure what else to use. I would like it to have more depth instead of being so flat looking.

The other two pieces next to the Tiki were my test pieces.

Anyway, off to try again!

Tahiti Jim