Thread: House number totem - WIP

I like that. You read from the bottom up, that is correct. The totems have family significance = cannot be faulted.
PacNW people might be please that you have adopted the significance of their style = a pole.

If by "shoulder" adze your meaning is the equivalent of "elbow" adze, they certainly perform like a bandsaw on a stick.
I kept mine at 55 degrees. Gregg (Kestrel) said that some PacNW carvers like 45 degrees. I haven't tried that.
Working out a large feast bowl in western red cedar. Constantly have to remind myself to slow down the strike rate!

Wood cracking. Carve right through it. That's what logs do, everywhere.

Be proud of it, Phil.

Thanks RV.

Of course I meant elbow adze, funny how the brain substitutes words sometimes!.
It was the 'bandsaw on a stick' idea that first grabbed my attention. I like that I can remove waste wood quickly with this tool, but also use it to take very fine shavings - hopefully in a very consistent manner once my skill level comes up. The other thing I am pleased with is that unlike using a regular carving tool and mallet which forces you into a somewhat twisted stance this tool is very back friendly. Also I find that as long as I keep my elbow close to my body there is no major strain on the shoulder.

Philip.

Those are the kinds of things that you must experience.
I think it reflects the popularity of the tool, at least for starting.
Sometimes, I turn mine around and push on the elbow for a shaving.
So much more convenient than to put the adze down and pick up the gouge +/- the mallet.
One surprise for me was to be able to take off 1mm at a time with the D adze.

The actual house number may pale in comparison =
"Just drive down the road until you come to the big totem pole."

You say it's a WIP. What's left to do?
Some crooked knife finishing/surface texturing?

WIP - the mantis is not yet fully formed, and I plan to paint at least some of the pole in colours to match the house.

'Just look for the totem pole' sounds so much better than opposite this or next to that don't you think!

Interesting that you say explaining from bottom up is the correct way. I got a book from the library 'Looking at totem poles' and although it stated that the bottom element was the most significant, throughout the book it described poles from the top down. Ideally I would have preferred the beaver on the bottom but that would have put the number too close to the ground.

Looking At Totem Poles by Hilary Stewart. I have that. Her drawings are exquisite. Good book to own and not expensive as I recall.
Reading direction. I recall that HS apologises for doing it backwards. I asked some friends, Haida and Kwakwaka'wakw artists/carvers.
They all said bottom to top, even in a story pole.

I have other reference books (not "picture" books) for PacNW art and carvings, if you should need some titles.
The other thing to try is to Google UBC/MOA. Just type that string of letters & slash mark.
Search the online collection of more than 40,000 artifacts by subject.
You will need at least 2 days in the actual museum. Stunning workmanship.

Will be great to see the Praying Mantis finished (hint, hint.) I had a small one that lived on my bedroom windowsill in Melbourne
all so many years ago.

A totem pole in the lanscape implies a powerful story and a dedication to history. Totems, mortuary or story.
Most everyone in the western world is aware of the poles of the PacNW.

You will soon learn the powerful influence of your pole in the landscape. I hope that it is a gratifying surprise.
Your pole appears to survey the landscape as a monument, as a marker. It will always be so.

For many years, I had a summer house in a lakeside resort. My brother did a tall chainsaw pole in a cottonwood log
to stand at the edge of the road at my house. No other identification of my home was ever necessary.
It was a rough portrait of my D1 & D2.

One last thing. Stand that pole up as if to last forever. If/when they rot, the people are likely gone.
When poles fall over, for no reason are the ever stood up again.

Yes I'm loving this ! Both the totem pole format & the tooling.
I've never used an adze but all the folk I've talked to who have really rate them highly as tools.
To my untutored eye the poles look like the real thing.
The actual poles look to have an amazingly good finish , is that straight off the adze ?
Get ready for passers-by offering you a commission ! Brilliant.
Mike

PS. Don't know what your climate is like but in the UK it greatly extends he life of a pole in the ground if before using any preservatives or chemicals on it, after the piece is shaped to go in the ground exactly cover the buried portion with a thick epoxy glue mix .

It is possible to hold the adze by the elbow and push to plane off a shaving. Even a D-adze can be pushed around like that.
A "textured" finish of fine chipping is quite common on Pacific Northwest carvings. Otherwise, the surface is shaped with crooked knives.

I've read that totem/story poles in the PacNW rarely last for more than a century. Even above ground, they deteriorate.
Freeze/thaw, rain/shine and temp swings from -20C or colder to +35 or hotter in the direct sun.

I think the best is yet to come = the Praying Mantis at the top.

The adze blades that HuonPhil and I have are made by Kestrel Tool.

as a (long lost) canadian I'd like to say that I find this very inoffensive.
especially the beav.



cheers mate,
shawn

It's OK, 2Fish. HP has done such a legitimate job of the design with totems of great family importance.
You're a very long way from the PacNW. Maybe you need a dose to recharge your spirits.

I really like the idea, much more original than a standard letter box with a couple of brass numbers. As RV said, you'll probably become known as the house with the totem pole rather than the number. A good conversation starter with your new neighbours.

Rob - it actually doesn't even have the letter box functionality. We are far enough out of Hobart that Australia Post only deliver along the main road. So purely decorative with some symbolism. Hope the neighbours don't start the conversation with what the f***

2Fish - glad your not offended. I am quite fond of the beaver myself!

RV - the best is yet to come? Not sure I am really comfortable with the sense of anticipation, hope I can deliver.

Mike - obviously the elbow adze would be of little use with the smaller stuff you have been posting recently. However for stuff on this scale, fantastic. I am still using the regular tools of course but on the larger planes, even with my limited experience it is possible to achieve an acceptable (to me) surface finish. I think back using the regular long handled carpenter type adze for shaping chair seats and ponder how much easier it might have been with an elbow adze.

Not quite. I'm looking forward to seeing your interpretation of a Praying Mantis.
Not just as a pole totem but your intentions. None of mine matter at all.
The totems that you've selected all have very significant stories attached to them.
That makes them as legitimate as any that we all have ever seen.
Just take away all the wood that doesn't matter.

Well, finally, finished painted and installed. Some cheeky bugger had placed a witches hat/ fluorescent cone over the mantis last
night so it looked like the beaver had a big orange hat on!!!


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