New Tiki carver on Marco Island, Florida

Hi all,
Great Forum!!!
I'm pretty new to carving Tiki's.
Any help on doing it right would be greatly appreciated.
I have some freshly cut Sable Palms.
Do I need to dry them out prior to carving?
Is a chainsaw taboo for carving?

I have some pics of my first tries at:
http://www.shutterfly.com/view/choose_album.jsp?re=/view/pictures.jsp

How do I post a picture directly in the comment area so you can see it without going to shutterfly?

Thanks in advance for the help.
Majik Mike

Majik Mike Messina
Marco Island, Florida

[ Edited by: majikmik on 2004-05-26 10:57 ]

Welcom majikmik, You can find how to embed images in the Help section here-https://tikicentral.com/faq.php#embed
It isreally pretty easy, just remember when you open a picture in Shutterfly to open ot all the way. If you copy the link to a Thumbnail, thats what we see here. So open the pic and then copy the props and add "![](" in front and ")" on the end of the string and we will see it.
Click on "edit" at the bottom of a post that has pictures in it and you will see how the strings are made.
You don't need to let the sable palm dry much at all, just go to it. Chainsaws are oK I guess (I used to use them)but you get much better detail and finish with chisels and gouges. Use any tools you have really...
Good luck and can't wait to see your work

Hey, majikmik!

don't forget to do a search:
http://www.tikicentral.com/search.php
on all the questions you asked - because a TON of information can be found in the data base! Also be prepared to sit and gawk for hours on end at the creations you will find too!

Post those pix so we can all see 'em bro!
Welcome to the forum!

Yeah, what Benz said.............

T.F.

Let's see if this picture of my first tiki works...

Well Mike, it worked just fine and your first tiki is really good especially for your "First Tries". That sharp detail is Not available using a chainsaw, but you could remove some wood and finish with chisels and get it. Well done. You gonna fit right in here...

Thanks for the positive comments...
Here's the second one I did.

I found a palm trunk that carpenter ants finished using as a home.The trunk was very light.
This was like carving shredded wheat, but was a great learning expereince.
I'm going to use more depth on my next try.

Thanks for looking.
Majik Mike

Welcome, majikmik! I was at a work conference on Marco Island a while back and stayed at the Marriott, there are a few tikis there that are simple but kinda cool. Nothing polynesian about the place, but if you're bored and walking along the beach you may want to check it out if you haven't already.

Pictures of tikis on Critiki

Hey that second one looks cool! that old palm has a nice texture to it that makes him look like a wrinkly "old man tiki" (with flames coming out of his head)

keep 'em coming!

The effect of having the teeth in the Bark gives them an Old Mottled look that is really nice.Keep up the good work.
COme on up to Port Saint Lucie and carve one day.

As a new carver of palm, I fully understand the shredded wheat comment! My sentiments exactly! My buddy located a dumping ground of old palm trunks....some are good and others not so good but I like the price! Great work!

With the dry palm and its shredded wheat texture what I find when i carved my tree fern stump is that the best thing to use is on of those chainsaw attachments for an angle grinder. You can almost just shave it away and then use chisels on the harder inner core. I don't know if palm is that similar but its an idea.