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Buzzy's work: Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate |
Bay Park Buzzy
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 07, 2006
Posts: 2714
From: West Bay Park, San Diego, CA
|  Posted: 2006-04-08 2:46 pm Permalink
Here is my third tiki attempt. I tried to solve the problems that I had with the body on the last one. I also wanted to try to carve in deeper, but still hide the cracking that would occur within this type of wood. This one was done with another coco/queen palm. I started by chainsawing the mouth to depth and then used my new chisel set to round it out.
This is a picture of the mouth and face partially finished. I used the same layout/style as my second tiki for the face with a couple minor changes.
here it is after the body is finished and it is burned
face closeup
and after staining
I like this one more than the second one butit still seems too flat to me. This type of tree doesn't work well with deep cuts. I was able to hide the cracking in the center by burning the mouth and blending the cracks with the burned black.
Up next, tiki #4 Rabbitiki! Traditionalists beware....
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Bay Park Buzzy
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 07, 2006
Posts: 2714
From: West Bay Park, San Diego, CA
| Posted: 2006-04-08 3:01 pm Permalink
For my next trick, I'll pull a rabbit out of a log...
The story behind this one is: My mother likes to look out at her flower garden and see the rabbits running about. They anger my father because they eat everything in sight. So I made this rabbit carving but tried to use motifs common to tiki designs and make a RABBITIKI. I snuck it into her garden and let her happen upon it. As a rabbit lover, she quite appreciated it. I told her it was the rabbit spirit protector. Then I told my dad it was to scare the rabbits away...I hope this is tiki enough for this site. I just wanted to share the results of the challenge I placed upon myself to make a log look like a rabbit. This one too was done on a queen/coco palm.
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Bay Park Buzzy
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 07, 2006
Posts: 2714
From: West Bay Park, San Diego, CA
| Posted: 2006-04-08 3:04 pm Permalink
oops! here's the picture that should have been last
showing a little tail...
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Bay Park Buzzy
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 07, 2006
Posts: 2714
From: West Bay Park, San Diego, CA
| Posted: 2006-04-08 3:41 pm Permalink
posting pictures of these chairs so new owners can see them before delivery
here's all three finished
showing the sides and back to get an idea of how they are
now the back
for TC guys, I have step by step photos I'll post later on and I'll discuss issues such as overall weight, strength, and carving depth that I encountered while making these.
How do I cahnge the title of my thread?
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Bay Park Buzzy
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 07, 2006
Posts: 2714
From: West Bay Park, San Diego, CA
| Posted: 2006-04-08 8:02 pm Permalink
Tiki #5 was the first time I used a fresh mexican fan palm. I picked the design from a candle that I found online and he was named AHU KAI(historians please verify.) The log was four feet nine with an eleven inch diameter. I carved it with a one inch wide flat chisel. I never really used chisels before so I used a log that was cracked on the ends. Not knowing anything about logs yet, it didn't occur to me that if the ends are severely cracked, the middle will be too. It fooled me at first because the outer surface was uncracked and appeared solid. After carving in about 3/4 inch, all exposed wood was cracked or would crack within thiry minutes of being exposed to the air. Since I didn't know what I was doing, I charged on just to see what happens when you have few skills and a messed up log. Here it is:
here's a close up of the cracking
here it is after burning. I never even bothered to stain it. I thought it might just turn into a crack and disappear into some sort of vortex/void phenomena and I'd never have to worry about it again.
What I learned from this one:
1. Chisel technique differs from wedge log splitting technique: It's not a good idea to hit the chisel straight into the wood as hard as you can hit it.
2. It's really hard to dislodge a chisel used inappropriately(while carving)
3. Split ended logs are not magic and will not heal themselves in the middle for you.
4. I need to be more precise in my original drawing on the log. If it's drawn right, it's easier to carve right.
5. It's better to take your time.
6. The angle that the chisel hits the wood is important and should remain consistent
7. Don't send the chisel blade deeper than you want to carve. When it dries, a large border crack will appear where it dried faster than the non cut area dries
I take this new found knowledge as I continue on....
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Bay Park Buzzy
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 07, 2006
Posts: 2714
From: West Bay Park, San Diego, CA
| Posted: 2006-04-08 9:01 pm Permalink
Tiki #6
Carved from a 5 foot tall 14 inch diameter mexican fan palm
Learning from my mistakes, I spent more time drawing out the face and made sure my measurements were symetrical. First I drew it out roughly with chalk and looked at it for a long time. I went back with a grease pencil and drew the final lines. Here it is right before carving the first cut:
close up from side showing layout revisions
bottom carved
face
whole thing
stained, burned, with his little brother
This was the first one that I was really happy with. My carving improved and I liked working in this scale. It was after this one that I had my chainsaw accident and almost quit carving. I'm glad that I did this one right before the accident because I was real excited after I did it and I carried that enthusiam through my recovery. I'll tell the story on my next post and answer any of your questions that I have not answered soon. It was also after this tiki that I found this site and started taking more pictures of the step by step process, from raw tree to tiki. Lots more to come, never enough time...
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Bay Park Buzzy
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 07, 2006
Posts: 2714
From: West Bay Park, San Diego, CA
| Posted: 2006-04-08 10:13 pm Permalink
GMAN was real close to what happened with my accident. Specifically what happened was that I was holding the saw at waist level spotting a cut I was about to make. I use a 4hp 16 inch electric McCulloch saw. When I hit the trigger button, I felt something hit me in the face. It was a shock and I couldn't figure out what hit me. I thought that something came flying in and hit me. My head hurt and I took a quick inventory of what happened. I remember asking myself what I could have been hit by. I yelled a bad word when I realized the only thing that could have hit me was the saw. I looked to the ground and saw a huge pool of fresh blood. What happened was that a rope from my tarp blew into the saw sprocket. It ran up the rope as I took my finger off the trigger. After disengaging the trigger, the saw still spins for a few rotations while shutting down. The saw continued up the rope and was now between shoulder and head high. When the blade hit the tarp, it cut the tarp right down the center. When the tarp was cut, it lost tension and caused the whole tarp to drop about ten inches towards me. Unfortunately, my face was only about six inches away at this time. The blade struck me in the forehead at my hairline and made four parallel cuts all the way down through my eyebrow. It then continued further down, taking three sizable pieces out of my nose. Additionally, I had a small gouge on my cheek. I was able to drive myself to the emergency clinic for first aid. I got right in, bleeders have priority, and received my stitches. I was back home in less than an hour. I don't know how they count stitches, but I had about 22 visible threads with around 46 separate stitches. So, I got somewhere between 22 and 46 stitches total. They stayed in for about 10 days. I did not take any pictures at the time because I was mad and depressed and thought that I did not need any other souvenirs than my new set of scars. In hindsight, I should taken a couple, not for myself, but for others as a warning about safety and how quickly things can change. I was wearing safety goggles at the time and they probably saved my eye. I found them when I got home later and there was a big gash in them and the corner was cut off. Like the doctor and everyone else said, it could have been a lot worse. thankfully it wasn't worse, it could have easily been. I have since added a hard hat to my safety supplies and fixed my tarp.
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Bay Park Buzzy
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 07, 2006
Posts: 2714
From: West Bay Park, San Diego, CA
| Posted: 2006-04-08 11:31 pm Permalink
After cutting myself, it was about a month before I started carving again. I was very nervous with the chainsaw and needed to get over my fear. I decided to make some quick chainsaw only carvings.
tiki #7: nothing to write home about. I just wanted to get through it with all body parts intact. I used a piece of queen/coco palm and left all the outer bark on. My idea for this one was to use it as a prototype for a bar stool I would make later. I wanted to see how to lay it out quickly and not waste a good log. The finished result sucks as piece of work but was very useful in learning how to become a better carver.
tiki #9 was the same idea. Chainsaw only. Queen/coco palm with the bark left on. I used a design I found on the web somewhere and modified it slightly. At this time, I was still trying to find a way to make a good piece out of this type of wood. I like the natural texture and shallow carving kept it from cracking and warping too much.
face close up
For tiki #10, I used another queen/coco palm, but this time with the bark removed. It was inspired by a tiki I saw at a friend's house. He paid a fair amount of money for his and it looked to me like some dude spent about 20 minutes freehanding it with a chainsaw. So I went home and tried to replicate it best I could. I think I want to make these for a career because based on the original piece's price, I can get paid about $480 an hour to make these...if only there was a larger market for twenty minute tikis. After this one, I was over my power tool fears and was ready to get back to improving my skills.
I don't have a picture of #10 yet, so here is a spider that was by me while I was carving it. I'll change the picture as soon as I find it.
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Bay Park Buzzy
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 07, 2006
Posts: 2714
From: West Bay Park, San Diego, CA
| Posted: 2006-04-08 11:44 pm Permalink
So now it's Dec 05 and I decided to kick up my productivity a couple of notches. I had a big delivery of Mexican fan palms dropped off at my house. I spent about a week solid getting the logs prepped.
Here is what my work area looked like during this time:
As you can see, I have a lot to do...
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hiltiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jun 10, 2004
Posts: 2775
From: Reseda, calif.
| Posted: 2006-04-09 12:00 am Permalink
Very interesting story and nice pictures, keep it up you are doing a great job with all your carvings.
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Bay Park Buzzy
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 07, 2006
Posts: 2714
From: West Bay Park, San Diego, CA
| Posted: 2006-04-09 10:46 am Permalink
Hiltiki: I don't carve fast in my opinion, however, once I start a piece it's hard to walk away from it. I'll spend 6-7 hours carving in a day and quit around sunset. Usually what happens though is that I drag the piece inside and work on it in my living room until I pass out. There have been a couple of times where I worked a few 12-15 hour days in a row. For some reason I have this overwhelming compulsion to finish a project by working non-stop once it is started. Some times needing sleep is annoying but working all night sure has cured my insomnia.
Benzart: I'm not really a tool guy, more like a drafting guy. I think the most important thing for myself in designing a piece is the actual drawing itself. If I get the line drawn exactly where I need to cut, I make no mistakes so far as placement once I start carving. I figure why fix something later when you can do it right the first time. I kind of chuckled when you asked about being a tool guy. If you saw my tools you'd know I'm definitely not a tool guy- all I used for about my first 20 were Four flat chisels-$19.99 at Home depot, a mallet, and my pencil(most important.) I did look at one of your old posts about tools and just went out and bought a set of gouges: my first real carving investment. I wish I would have them months ago.
I took four years of mechanical and architectural drafting in high school( real hands on drafting, not CAD)so I can use the tools of that trade quite well-now its just a matter of trying to master another set of them. I'll post some pictures of the drawing layouts on the logs later on.
I've been posting all my Tikis chronologically and am now up to #10. After #10 I really started taking a lot more pictures of the process so brace yourselves, I have a ton of stuff to share with you goes. Don't abandon me now, it's just starting to get good...
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Tiki G.
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Feb 28, 2005
Posts: 380
From: Jacksonville Beach, FL
| Posted: 2006-04-09 2:29 pm Permalink
Glad for your enthusiam, and for your willingness to share your entire carving experience with us. Very interesting, please continue.....
[ This Message was edited by: Tiki G. 2006-04-12 12:20 ]
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Basement Kahuna
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Oct 14, 2002
Posts: 3587
From: Jawja Province, Isle of North America
| Posted: 2006-04-09 11:18 pm Permalink
Yeeps...480 an hour? Me and everyone else I know get around 150.00 a foot. By that standard OA is cheap!!
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hiltiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jun 10, 2004
Posts: 2775
From: Reseda, calif.
| Posted: 2006-04-09 11:26 pm Permalink
We won't abandon you, carry on with your interesting work and keep us(me!) posted.
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AlohaStation
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Sep 27, 2004
Posts: 2003
From: So FL
| Posted: 2006-04-10 06:56 am Permalink
Holy crap - I don't check the web for a few days and look at what pops up. Nice collection and interesting story. I'm glad to see that the accident didn't stop you. I look forward to seeing more of your work because we all get better the more we carve and it looks like you have many more to share with us.
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