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A-A… Some Stuff I'm Working On |
seeksurf
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Sep 27, 2007
Posts: 2144
From: Buckley, WA
|  Posted: 2009-07-17 6:59 pm Permalink
Very cool. thanks for the pics and read.
Way to hit the back roads. The tikis are incredible.
The weathered tiki was my fav.
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Benzart
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jan 09, 2004
Posts: 10309
From: Port Saint Lucie, Florida
| Posted: 2009-07-18 03:03 am Permalink
WOW. Uncle Larry was a Terrific find, there aren't many like him around. Thanks for taking us with you to meet him but I still have about a thousand ?'s for him..  
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surfintiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Sep 30, 2004
Posts: 1566
From: S. Chatham, MA
| Posted: 2009-07-18 06:00 am Permalink
Great stuff AA. Thanx!
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surfintiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Sep 30, 2004
Posts: 1566
From: S. Chatham, MA
| Posted: 2009-07-18 06:06 am Permalink
Now go back and get a shot of the bowl when it's finished!
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big daddy
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Oct 02, 2008
Posts: 325
From: houston
| Posted: 2009-07-18 07:47 am Permalink
great story and wonderful pics.
bd
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Aaron's Akua
Grand Member (8 years) 
Joined: Jul 09, 2004
Posts: 1594
From: Rancho Santa Margarita, CA
| Posted: 2009-07-19 5:24 pm Permalink
Seeks, yeah those were some interesting day trips. Super cool to meet some real Hawaiians and trade stories with them.
Ben, I agree. I felt like I scored just on meeting this fellow and spending an hour or so talking with him. You don't often meet someone that's been around and carving for so long. If he's really been carving for 50 years, that's longer than I've been alive. And by the looks of that mallot, it's looks quite possible. I wish I could just take a month off work & go hang out & carve with Uncle Larry on Waimea beach...  *POP* Okay, daydream over!
SurfinTiki, Yeah I'd love to see that bowl when it's done.
Thanks, BD!
So what gets me about Hawaii is all of this awesome wood laying around. It's no problem to get wood over there. Everything grows like crazy and I guess all you've got to do is hook up with some tree trimmers. Monkeypod, Milo, Hau, it's all pretty easy to get. Unfortunately the airlines are charging a bundle for checked luggage, so it's hard to bring back. Here's a monkeypod tree out in a parking lot. There's tons of these trees around the island:
I was given this piece of Hau (Wild Hibiscus) by a friendly Tongan carver a couple trips back when we stayed on Maui:
I didn't know what the tree looked like till we had some pointed out on a tour on this trip to Kauai. After that I noticed it growing just about everywhere, along rivers, roads, etc. so I had to get some pics. It's more of a really big bush than a tree, but it grows pretty tall and some decent diameter pieces can be found.
A close up:
Another nice score - Koa. I saw this place one day while we were driving around.
Notice the sign above the door: "Koa Lumber - Short Lengths". Okay then, quick U-Turn!
I learned some about the different grades of Koa. Here's a sign that explains it all.
The top of the line is "Ultra Premium Curly", but it costs an arm and a leg. The grain is wavy and translucent with a beautiful 3-D effect when you look at it from different angles. This rocking chair is made from Ultra Premium Curly.
A little rich for my blood, but they had these prepackaged boxes of "Bargain" and "Super Bargain" Koa that were ready to ship. I picked up a box of 8 pieces for $31.41 + $10 shipping, and it arrived home the same day we got back. Some boxes were $25, some $ 40 or $50 depending on the board foot and the grade of the pieces. What I got wasn't premium Koa, but it ain't no pine either! Beautiful color and grain, just not the super bitchin' curly stuff.
I also picked up one nice board of the Premium Curly for a special project. That piece we brought back on the plane.
I talked to the manager and learned that you can just call them and they'll review the list of boards, sizes, etc. with you over the phone if anyone here is interested. Contact Candice Agustin store manager at The Koa Store (800) 245-7917. It's in Lihue, Hawaii. Unfortunately this would be "sight unseen", but all of the pices were good and seemed pretty straight up in line with the grades listed on the sign on the wall.
Okay, I'm ramblin' again! Thanks for the replies...
Aaron
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surfintiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Sep 30, 2004
Posts: 1566
From: S. Chatham, MA
| Posted: 2009-07-19 6:19 pm Permalink
You, my friend, are a true dedicated tiki-phile! Thanks for stockpiling that info for us!
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8FT Tiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 30, 2003
Posts: 1175
From: Kansas City, MO
| Posted: 2009-07-19 7:08 pm Permalink
Aaron, nice finished logo board!
It's always great to hear and see more of your Hawaiian adventures so that I can live them through you. (it's a lot cheaper for me). Keep 'em comin' my friend. 8FT
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Aaron's Akua
Grand Member (8 years)
Joined: Jul 09, 2004
Posts: 1594
From: Rancho Santa Margarita, CA
| Posted: 2009-07-19 9:38 pm Permalink
SurfinTiki - Sure, my pleasure. Always on the lookout for good TC info. 
Thanks Paul! Hopefully we'll be back to Hawaii in a couple of years. Maybe the big island or Kauai, but we're pretty fond of Maui so we may be headed back there again next time.
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Well, I decided on my next project...
I tried to figure out dimensions, etc. by hand based on the BOT pic, but decided to take the easy route and drew it up at work on the computer one day at lunch.
The tough part is figuring out what the side and back should look like. I thought there might have been an actual tiki that the Logo was based on, so I asked Bigbro about it and this was his take:
"Nope, sorry. I assume it existed, but no photographic record has appeared so far. There is that table lamp, but I don't own one, and as far as I remember it is not an accurate depiction, probably just an interpretation from the menu rendering... I peg this Tiki to be a Andres Bumatay carving, mainly because of its eyes, and his arm position. But then again, Milan Guanko used those arms-in-the-lap too, and the chin lines are found in some of Guanko's work. It's a puzzling piece, and I bet it'll be a challenge to have it make sculptural sense in 3D. It's not very "pretty".
It does sound like a challenge. I chose this weathered palm log that Tikimecula gave me right before he moved. It's 5 foot 2 and about the right shape.
It was a good powertool day, just roughing out to do, so I got to use pretty much everything: grinder, lancelot, dime tip "Kieg-erator" and my trusty old Makita.
It doesn't look like much yet, but most of the big profile cuts are done and it's past the "where do I start" stage. That's always my biggest hurdle.
You won't really see the Tahitian tiki yet even if you squint. Lots more cuts to do...
Cheers,
A-A
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"Ah, good taste! What a dreadful thing! Taste is the enemy of creativeness."
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Lake Surfer
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Oct 21, 2002
Posts: 3322
From: Milwaukee, WI
| Posted: 2009-07-19 10:49 pm Permalink
Aloha Aaron!
Thanks much for sharing the story! A great read and a great adventure!
Nice start on the Bumatay tiki!
A perfect shaped log for it, and I can see you've got the ins and outs of this one figured as usual.
Always the perfectionist with you, and that's a good thing! 
Good luck with it, I look forward to watching the progress!
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hewey
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Sep 14, 2004
Posts: 4270
From: Sydney, Australia
| Posted: 2009-07-20 03:00 am Permalink
Love your travel stories mate, very cool. Although I wonder what Uncle Larry would make of all this CAD voodoo stuff
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Cammo
Tiki Socialite
Joined: May 18, 2006
Posts: 1827
From: San Diego
| Posted: 2009-07-20 05:13 am Permalink
"The Koa Store" - I can just see you doing a double-take driving by! Only in Hawaii!!!!
Those Monkeypods look like great shade canopy trees, wonder if ya can get them in San Diego anywhere...
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seeksurf
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Sep 27, 2007
Posts: 2144
From: Buckley, WA
| Posted: 2009-07-20 7:00 pm Permalink
Keep rambling! I might find or lean something new.
The tiki is looking sharp! Way to go about it.
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tikigap
Grand Member (8 years)
Joined: Jan 19, 2006
Posts: 834
From: Arlingtron Virginia
| Posted: 2009-07-21 10:59 am Permalink
Sweet! What a great trip to Kauai! Next time I'm there (and there *will* be a next time), I hope I get to visit Uncle Larry. His mallet says it all. A favorite tool for him for many years.
Just by the way, I asked a carver in Honolulu where he learned to carve, and he said in the state pen. He also said that's what they do in prison instead of making license plates. I suppose you've got to be on your best behavior before they'll let you have sharp chisels.
Nice work Aaron!
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TheBigT
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Feb 27, 2006
Posts: 1183
From: Fabulous Houston
| Posted: 2009-07-21 1:39 pm Permalink
Great new statue coming along. Thanks for the How-To's and step by step's!! Much appreciated!
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