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Tufa Tikis |
alexdog1
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Jun 04, 2008
Posts: 18
From: NC
|  Posted: 2008-06-04 5:19 pm Permalink
I'm new to this forum and have interested in the Tiki style for a few years. I've been interested in carving my own tikis but it's hard to find palm trees to carve here in North Carolina. I decided to create my own logs out of hyper-tufa. Here are my first 4 attempts. The lighter colored one was my first attempt. Let me know what you all think.
I borrowed designs from magazines and web sites.
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Toataiaha
Tiki Socialite
Joined: May 26, 2008
Posts: 248
From: Otautahi , Te WahiPounamu
| Posted: 2008-06-04 10:25 pm Permalink
Alexdog ,
they look grand .
I have no idea what hyper-tufa is and what tools are need to work it tho.
Can it be coloured , or glued ?
Tell us more , I'm interested about if it can be turned on a lathe.
cheers again .
Jock
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In the heart of my soul . I would that I had been born in Celtic lands
But I was born here . A Celt in Maori lands . And my heart is content
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Tamapoutini
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Aug 30, 2006
Posts: 1529
From: Aotearoa (New Zealand)
| Posted: 2008-06-05 02:11 am Permalink
Quote:
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On 2008-06-04 17:19, alexdog1 wrote:
I decided to create my own logs out of hyper-tufa..
I borrowed designs from magazines and web sites..
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Kia ora Alex - welcome to TC!
Well I know what hyper-tufa is; a friend of mine used to operate a small business making cast garden ornaments from the stuff. Im assuming you pre-cast your 'logs' before carving into them?
Heres an explaination they'll understand Alex: 'tufa' or 'tuff' is the common term for the aerated volcanic rock that Easter Island is formed from.. 'Hyper'-tufa is just formed a lot quicker..  Very similar to 'hebel'..?
You seem to have a knack for reaching in and pulling Tikis out of nothingness - but if I may be so bold (no insult intended), your design-sources suck! Once again, welcome to TC - Youll find far better reference/inspiration/info here that anywhere and if you stick around Im sure your Tikis will thank you for it! And you might even discover the perfect Mai-Tai recipe while youre at it..
Ill leave you with the log-doctors, theyll help you out. Im not much use in the technicalities of larger work as the scale I work on is microscopic in comparison.
Happy carving!
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Tama
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GMAN
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jul 14, 2005
Posts: 2994
From: My Island
| Posted: 2008-06-05 05:51 am Permalink
Alex,
Welcome. I can help you with some source images of artifacts if you are interested. Just email or PM me. Hope to see ya around...
-G$
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alexdog1
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Jun 04, 2008
Posts: 18
From: NC
| Posted: 2008-06-05 10:07 am Permalink
Hyper-tufa is a mix of portland cement,spagham moss and vermiculite. I poured the mix into cardboard cylinders used to set fence posts and let it sit for about 5 days. After that period, I cut the form off and began to carve. The tufa was still soft enough to use wood chisels (no mallet needed) and some other homemade tools. I let it sit out in the sun for a few days after carving and then sprayed with concrete sealer.
I can handle the blunt criticism but I have a question. Do my sources suck because the tikis aren't traditional or authentic enough ? I was aiming at something that I could put on my deck that wouldn't freak out the wife too much. She's not a real big fan of tikis.
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Benzart
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jan 09, 2004
Posts: 10306
From: Port Saint Lucie, Florida
| Posted: 2008-06-05 11:13 am Permalink
It's alright, your tikis are great for first tikis . You can see improvement from the first to the third. True, Source may be an issue but so is the medium however, Keep doing what you're doing and you'll be OK. The stuff will certainly last a long time which is a Lot better than most palm tikis. Just keep reading these posts and posting your photos and you'll see a Marked improvement as you go along.
Welcome to TC, Come on in and Stay awhile.
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Tikilizard
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Aug 19, 2006
Posts: 369 | Posted: 2008-06-05 12:19 pm Permalink
They are looking good! The first one is almost art-deco tiki. Interesting medium. What do you use to carve into those beasts.... jack hammer? lol. I would never have tought of using post hole tubes and that matterial. wow, that's thinking! You don't have to use the more traditional Palm only for tiki's. It's the design and not so much the material used. Pine, walnut, oak, maple etc. are available in NC and are just fine.
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mieko
Tiki Socialite
Joined: May 01, 2006
Posts: 531
From: San Diego
| Posted: 2008-06-05 2:15 pm Permalink
Welcome alexdog1!
My mom has done some tikis with hypertufa, Look for Musubi Mom under this thread:
http://www.tikiroom.com/tikicentral/bb/viewtopic.php?mode=viewtopic&topic=20594&forum=18&start=135
Those are the ones she did with molds, but she's also carved some, we even did some in the during our March San Diego Chop Chop:
http://www.tikiroom.com/tikicentral/bb/viewtopic.php?mode=viewtopic&topic=27510&forum=17&start=225
One thing I see with your tikis that Tama might be noticing is that your stuff is kinda flat right now, either carved deep, or not at all. Start experimenting with some in between depths - make the teeth a little deeper than the lips, but not as deep as the inside of the mouth.  The toes on the bottom guy looks really good.
But then again, it does give them an art deco, clean look.
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seeksurf
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Sep 27, 2007
Posts: 2144
From: Buckley, WA
| Posted: 2008-06-05 2:40 pm Permalink
Welcome Great looking first few tiki, nice clean lines great
design. I really like the look of the cement or harder looking
tiki they will last forever i think? I think most of the palm
tikis are because of the higher carving population live in
these areas. Any local wood will work well if you are interested
in trying a wood tiki.
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alexdog1
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Jun 04, 2008
Posts: 18
From: NC
| Posted: 2008-06-06 06:49 am Permalink
Thanks to everyone for all of your input. I've got some new ideas for some more projects. I have carved some small tikis out of basswood. I'll post some pics when I get a chance.
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Tamapoutini
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Aug 30, 2006
Posts: 1529
From: Aotearoa (New Zealand)
| Posted: 2008-06-06 7:11 pm Permalink
Quote:
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On 2008-06-05 10:07, alexdog1 wrote:
I can handle the blunt criticism but I have a question. Do my sources suck because the tikis aren't traditional or authentic enough ? I was aiming at something that I could put on my deck that wouldn't freak out the wife too much. She's not a real big fan of tikis.
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No offence intended Alex, please excuse my sledgehammer tact. I wasnt dissing your skills at all, just the reference pieces you started with for inspiration. Being a newcomer its only fair to try to point you in a better direction early in the game.
I believe the examples you started with are basic versions of a US phenomenon known as 'Poly-Pop', which are basically a simplified & cheery version of Polynesian Tiki-poles/posts. I understand that nowdays they have become a 'genre' in themselves but they still manage to raise a few hackles around TC due to their lack of tradition/authenticity.
Sure, theyre argueably easier on the eye for wives/kids/guests/pets, but thats not what Tiki is about - do you have a 'Man-Room' where you could hide the realy scary/sexy/drunken ones..?
Its all an evolution anyway - if you keep carving you will inevitably try new things and find your own style/taste. Please take the time to check out what some of the other carvers are up to; not all will suit the medium of hyper-tufa but Im sure a look around would lead to some good ideas.
Cheers
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Tama
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Tikilizard
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Aug 19, 2006
Posts: 369 | Posted: 2008-06-06 10:55 pm Permalink
Alex, What do you use to carve that stuff? You had a very nice learning curve progression from your very first tiki and we can see great things still to come. Looking forward to the next one. Happy Carving!
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[ This Message was edited by: Tikilizard 2008-06-10 07:47 ]
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Tucson Tiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jan 27, 2008
Posts: 178 | Posted: 2008-06-09 5:11 pm Permalink
Cool medium. You stated the ingredients to do it but what about mix ratio. I am interested in this. Can you please expand on this topic. Never heard of that stuff before.
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alexdog1
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Jun 04, 2008
Posts: 18
From: NC
| Posted: 2008-06-11 12:50 pm Permalink
I buy the moss and vermiculite in 8 qt bags. My mixture is 8qts of moss, 8qts vermiculite, 8qts portland cement and 8qts of water. If you want a more cement like color, you just need to cut back on the moss. More water can be added to get the mixture the way you want it. You could also add concrete coloring if you want a specific color.
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alexdog1
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Jun 04, 2008
Posts: 18
From: NC
| Posted: 2008-06-30 10:32 am Permalink
Some new stuff.
http://www.tikiroom.com/tikicentral/bb/viewtopic.php?topic=28917&forum=18&start=last&
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