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Redwood Burl Moai Profiles |
SCTikiShack
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Aug 02, 2004
Posts: 151 |  Posted: 2006-04-12 4:04 pm Permalink
I have a little story I'd like to tell about Redwood Burl that carves so well. Stripes of colors, swirls of gold, prove to me backyard art can be sold.
The first one went to my sweet, sweet wife on her office wall protecting her from strife.
Hopefully, Moai gods don't come to bite me for carving their profiles while being a Haole.
Enough of the poetry.
One day while up at a friends ranch to pick up a big ten foot * two foot log, I came across this thin slab of Redwood burl.
It was just screaming out to me to make it a Moai profile, due to its unusual shape.
It has been super soggy in my neck of the woods this year so I was looking for some little carving action to do in my backyard while my little one is napping.
I am fortunate enough to have two carving days a week, but lately those have been spent up in my mountain carving retreat, in the pouring rain, carving 3 ten footers for a large order.
The neighborhood gets a little edgy when I chainsaw carve for hours on end. Therefore, I try to keep the noise level to a minimum amount of time. These little mask are the perfect solution since I can keep the noise factor to 30 minutes. After the noisy part, it is mostly hand sanding and oiling.
Thanks for reading,
Will
sctikis
[ This Message was edited by: SCTikiShack 2006-04-12 16:05 ]
[ This Message was edited by: SCTikiShack 2006-04-12 16:16 ]
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JohnnyP
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 23, 2005
Posts: 1689
From: Attica, MI
| Posted: 2006-04-12 4:16 pm Permalink
Your tikis and carving style are always so crisp and clean. Every line, and deep at that, just flows gracefully to where it needs to be. Impressive.
JP
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Benzart
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jan 09, 2004
Posts: 10309
From: Port Saint Lucie, Florida
| Posted: 2006-04-12 4:56 pm Permalink
Nice stuff Will. I have Missed seeing your carvings, where ya' been?
Beautiful redwood burl, great Moai.
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finkdaddy
Tiki Socialite
Joined: May 11, 2004
Posts: 2050
From: Wisconsin
| Posted: 2006-04-12 5:08 pm Permalink
Those Moai look beautiful. The stain on the dark one is perfect.
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GMAN
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jul 14, 2005
Posts: 2994
From: My Island
| Posted: 2006-04-12 5:22 pm Permalink
Dude, that's the Sh*#!
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congatiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jun 01, 2004
Posts: 2409
From: wisconsin northwoods
| Posted: 2006-04-12 5:37 pm Permalink
gotta agree and toss my comps in here too....very cool TikiShack....and the big tikis look
like they're gonna be very nice too....keep em coming.
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poptiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 05, 2005
Posts: 182
From: Loveland, CO
| Posted: 2006-04-12 5:44 pm Permalink
That is really fine work. VERY VERY NICE. You have what it takes. Thanks for the post and pics.
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Polynesiac
Grand Member (first year) 
Joined: Jan 29, 2004
Posts: 2057
From: San Pedro, CA
| Posted: 2006-04-12 5:47 pm Permalink
THose burl carvings are awesome and those 10 footers are the FO-shiznit!
What I find interesting is that whenever I look at the redwood burls I have in my back yard, all I can think about are table tops. It NEVER dawned on me that you could carve a tiki relief from them. I think I need to step out of my little box.... Great work, man seriously top notch!
You cruzin' down to oasis?
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Howland
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jan 30, 2006
Posts: 749
From: Folly Beach, SC--'Follynesia'
| Posted: 2006-04-12 6:07 pm Permalink
Great wood!....Great work!.......schhhhwweeeeeeeeeeetttttt! How does one just happen up on a piece of burl??
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SCTikiShack
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Aug 02, 2004
Posts: 151 | Posted: 2006-04-12 9:03 pm Permalink
JohnnyP,
Thank you, luckily you aren't looking at them closely. It seems like I can sand forever and there are always still places that have imperfections.
Benzart,
I have been working like a dog. Everyday I am either sanding or carving. Lately there has been a lot of demand for larger tikis in the 10-20 foot realm. It has been challenging moving around 1000-200o lb tikis. Fortunately, I have access to these logs and to some heavy equipment. You will see more of me in the future and I have several other tikis that I will post soon.
Finkdady,
For some reason the shape of the Moai is very elegant. I have been enjoying being able to seal these burls with danish oil. It seems to bring out the colors and is a lot less toxic than polyurethane or marine varnish.
GMan,
From one chainsaw carver to another thank you. I think that we have proven that you can bust out a clean tiki with a chainsaw and lots of sanding.
Congatiki,
I love the comps. Large tikis seem to be the way my carving is heading. It is a good feeling burying your saw into a nice large chunk of wood. The large tikis in the pics aren't as deep as I would normally make them because they have to be split in half and wrapped around a 6 inch support beam.
PopTiki,
I always try to make every new tiki better than the last one. Unfortunately, sometimes they just don't seem to cooperate, but these ones are coming along. Thank you, it is people like you that keep me posting topics onto this forum.
Polynesiac,
How has the little left off of the rock at Royal Palms been? Up here it has been a lot of stormy victory at sea stuff. You should definitely make a tiki out of the burl. The finer you sand it the better the swirls come out. I have been going up to 1500 grit. What's great about burls is that a little danish oil seems to do the trick of sealing it. Have fun with your new project. I will be heading down there sometime soon. I made my sister a 6 footer for her wedding present and the year marker is about due. I'll look you up.
Surf-n-turf,
Fortunately, one of my friends does salvage logging. He is always pulling large fallen trees out of ravines or off of the beach. Occasionally he will come across a burl. About a month ago he had a huge stack of burl slabs and I was able to cherry pick a few of them. It is amazing the difference between the slabs, some only have swirls while others have birdseye and metallic wavy patterns. Once it dries up here a little more he will probably be milling some more. Drop me a line, I can hook you up.
Thank you all,
Will
sctikis.com
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Lake Surfer
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Oct 21, 2002
Posts: 3322
From: Milwaukee, WI
| Posted: 2006-04-12 9:31 pm Permalink
Stoked!
Nice work Will!
Beautiful burls and love the Big Gulp sized tikis!
The last big tiki I worked on was a 10 footer a few years back... all chisels.
A chainsaw would have helped!
Unfortunately I have the same kind of neighborhood... I can barely get logs cut to size before the neighbors are looking out their windows.
Even the angle grinder sets them on edge.
Can't wait to see the big guys in their final home.
You're not alone with storm surf... we've had nothing but sloppy easts here which makes for unorganized short period waves.
We also have a problem with warm air in the spring... we may have a good wind blowing but warm air doesn't get 40 dgree water moving very good.
Hopefull we'll both get some good swell soon!
Keep up the great work!
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tfisherart
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Oct 08, 2005
Posts: 179
From: Satellite Beach FL
| Posted: 2006-04-13 01:26 am Permalink
Fantastic work, the wood is beautiful. Awesome job on those big boy's.
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Unga Bunga
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jun 06, 2003
Posts: 5738
From: CaliTikifornia
| Posted: 2006-04-13 08:19 am Permalink
Hi SCTiki,
Great art.
I live in Carmel.
Is your gallery open to the public?
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J.S.G.
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Apr 10, 2006
Posts: 39
From: an island in washington
| Posted: 2006-04-13 11:43 am Permalink
Beautiful Redwood carvings.
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SCTikiShack
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Aug 02, 2004
Posts: 151 | Posted: 2006-04-13 9:00 pm Permalink
Lake Surfer,
My prayers have been answered, I actually got some fun waves this morning. It was rather crowded like it normally is in Santa Cruz. I almost had to give someone the bad manners speech for trying to paddle around me. Lately, I have been kind of an enforcer out in the water to surfers who try to catch everyones waves.
Those pesky neighbors. Don't you love passive aggressive neighbors who won't say anything. They sure seem to like to dole out dirty looks and let their dogs poop everywhere. I'm about ready to confront one such neighbor and see what his issue is.
It must have been quite a challenge carving a ten footer with only chisels. I wouldn't know where to start. Check out the progress pics of the third big boy.
Hopefully our paths will cross one day and we can score some waves.
tfisherart,
Thanks, I love being able to use redwood. It is a nice soft wood to work with and cuts like butter. The only drawback is that they are super toxic and will destroy your lungs over time if you fail to use a respirator.
Unga Bunga,
Unfortunately, I don't really have a studio. I do a little carving in my backyard, but mostly my work is done in the Soquel Mountains. Whenever you make it up here, I can take you on the sc tiki tour and up to my mountain retreat if you so desire.
J.S.G.
I appreciate the plugs. By looking at your website it looks like you like to use Redwood too. I love the chair that you made, is it out of one chunk of wood? One day, I have this dream of carving a tiki so big that I can use its mouth for a chair. The tongue will be shaped ergonomically to make it comfortable.
Thanks again,
Will
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