Tekoteko tuatahi

I started my first tekoteko today with some apprehension.  I'm so thankful that I had my bros unfinished tekoteko beside me while trying to get my head around the tinana and a 3D form.

I started with some cross cuts using my benchsaw and realised later on that I had cut them too deep and have lost some of the shape in the form.  So lesson number 1 - make sure your cross cuts don't go too deep into your form.

Once it was all cut out I then tried to get my head around starting to shape the form of the tinana.  I remembered what Kawiti and Johnny had reminded me about... draw in the centre line. 

 After that it was a matter of acquainting myself with the whao to figure out which one was best suited to the different jobs.  I found that I was using 2 whao in particular throughout and not and then I'd pull out a couple of smaller whao to 'tidy' things up.  The two popular whao were 'Hori' my v-chisel (12/10) that I named after the old chap I bought it second hand from (George Campbell) and my 2/16.  These two whao were my best friends during this task.  Now and then I'd use the 8/7 just to get into some tight places.

Another lesson I learnt was the value of not working on one side to much so that you could try and keep things symmetrical.  So moving it around in the superjaw made sure that the lines were kept true to (or as close as possible) to the design on paper).  A trick I found helpful was the traced vivid sketches I often used to keep my lines true to design also.

My traced designs on my homemade light box

I am really enjoying the wero and process of carving my tekoteko marquette and secretly wished I had the confidence in myself and used some totara instead of playing the 'safe card' and using an old treated pine bed leg.   Here's more pics of our progress...