A Moment of Tiki Episode 70: 11-Foot Tiki Carve

[@TommyDye]

Outstanding!

[@LagoonofMystery]

Thank you!

[@pattywhitlock7941]

Wow! Love it!!!!

[@LagoonofMystery]

Thank you, Patty!

[@raffrayonsky2042]

NICE! I really enjoy your intrepidness and innate sense of how things can be done.

[@LagoonofMystery]

That's a VERY nice way of saying "Making it up as I go along!" 😅

[@justinmartin1493]

Jayme!! For not having carved a tiki like this before, this looks amazing!! So much detail and work went into this! Once again you have outdone yourself!! I hope it lasts a long time!

[@LagoonofMystery]

Thank you! I had to evict a colony of carpenter ants but other than that it's holding up well!

[@SailorSolomon]

The work and thoroughness of this video is admirable. So inspirational!!! Great work. 👊

[@LagoonofMystery]

Thank you, Sailor Solomon! I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[@BRLPodcast]

This channel has inspired and give me the confidence/knowledge to do so many things!

[@LagoonofMystery]

I am happy to hear that!

[@juliestockton8079]

He turned out great!!! Awesome work!

[@LagoonofMystery]

Thank you!

[@thetravelinghappyhour182]

Wow what an amazing project. Another great video. Hopefully I will get to see your tiki carving one day.

[@LagoonofMystery]

Thank you for the kind words! The next time y'all are visiting San Antonio give a shout!

[@glennkoenig6078]

Wow, great job! - I love the tiki face design you chose. The lighting at night is also very special. Some flame tiki torches around it would add that extra ambiance. Regarding that wood rot, if it ever progressed too much, I was thinking that you could always cut the statue off the base and treat the bottom accordingly. You can certainly save the head to enjoy for a very long time in protection of the backyard area.

[@LagoonofMystery]

Great minds think alike, Glenn! I figure if it ever becomes unstable I'll cut it where the rot is and move the surviving piece to a sheltered location away from weather exposure. It's holding up well thus far!

[@kenzent9778]

Very cool carving, learned a lot from this one.

[@LagoonofMystery]

Thank you! Glad to hear it!

[@michelleduprey6661]

Jayme, I wanted to watch this episode yesterday, but waited until last night so I could watch it with my husband. Your tiki came out GREAT!! It's awesome! We really appreciated the time you took to show your process and it inspires me that I can do one myself. (Been putting it off). Sadly, we don't have palms up here in New England, so it would need to be on a local hardwood. We have two large maple trees which will need to come down in our backyard and I've been thinking about turning them into something tiki(ish). We'll see... I've never used a chain saw, but I did get a small (manageable) sized one.

[@LagoonofMystery]

Yes, you can carve any wood--I just happened to have this dead palm on hand. Be aware that maple can be some of the hardest wood out there, so it'll be a different kind of challenge carving it. On the bright side, it should hold fine detail very well!

[@alanhoare9138]

Absolutely brilliant

[@LagoonofMystery]

Thanks for the kind words!

[@davidbales8053]

lovely work, the chainsaw left a nice faceted texture, but still really smooth! plus, love the use of the torch to even out all the detail. have you tried traditional hand tools, chisels, planes etc on palm? curious how that would handle the fibrous nature of the material.

[@LagoonofMystery]

I am building up my collection of chisels and gouges. I've got some mallets and have used the hand tools on various projects for specific details. My sharpening skills need to be refined, however. At some point in the future I'm going to carve a tiki using only those hand tools, just to learn how to do it. I'm not sure when that will be, but it's on the agenda!

[@glennkoenig6078]

I am not an artist/carver at all, but an engineer, I couldn't help but think if that was me doing this project, I would have to pull out every tool in the shed, so to speak, and fight my way to find the most comfortable and productive way to do the carving. There was a time when I carved a 3ft tiki out of a discarded wood log using whatever Dremel bits I had on hand. I had no idea what I was doing. The hardest part was trying to think in 3D, that's where an artist would blast this out in a fraction of the time with no mistakes. It certainly looks like you found the best cutting burrs for control and speed. I need to purchase some. How well do they hold up (keep their cutting sharpness)?

[@LagoonofMystery]

The burrs I use the most come from Kutzall and Saburrtooth. I have never had to replace one yet, so yeah, they're durable (as opposed to the little steel Dremel bits which need replacing regularly). There are minor differences but broadly speaking Kutzall and Saburrtooth burrs and shaping wheels are of comparable quality and price. Both produce burrs with 1/4" shanks for die grinders and 1/8" shanks for Dremels/rotary tools. They're not as cheap as Dremel bits but not crazy expensive. Get one or two to develop a feel for them and go from there if it strikes your fancy. There are a LOT of non-tiki wood carvers on KZbin that use these. One can learn a lot of relevant techniques watching them. I know I have (not enough, but still...).

[@adambhoy]

That's so cool Jayme!! Another successful endeavor in your growing portfolio. What's his name?!

[@LagoonofMystery]

Thank you! I have yet to come up with any moniker that fits him. Something will come eventually.