Mrcool sculpture looks perfect, love especially the size. Yes a catch cook and carve video would be very cool, I'd love to watch! You did great on handling this worrisome situation.
Yes, I'd for sure watch that for the same reason I watch homestead channels, it hits a survivalist niche. If you haven't considered starting a new channel, that might be best since it is very different content than your art. Love your stuff btw!
I worked at an airport and we had an enormous sculpture made of wood and millions of termites living there rent-free. When they x-rayed it, you could see the nest they had produced, with many holes for getting in and out. The termites were very much alive and at our terminal, we had an irradiator machine that used low amounts of radiation to kill anything alive including eggs, even down to bacteria. It cost the importer just £40 to have this done and there were no lasting effects on the sculpture. Some airports allow you to use their facilities including the irradiator! If you get them again, ask if you can use their services.
Irradiator machine should produce insane amount of radiation to kill everything. But it's totally safe because it doesn't make items inside radioactive.
Getting the wood x-rayed to check for termites before starting a sculpture like that marvelous bear seems like an excellent idea. That would have saved a lot of work and heartache if the termites had been found and eliminated in advance.
@@JeanAmann-w1u With you on this suggestion. It would seem the only rational way to proceed in a country famous for its litigation culture. The Xray would be hard evidence in the event of a lawsuit. The cost of the process could be sold as a benefit to the customer and the relatively small cost incorporated into this luxury product.
I'm impressed you kept trying to fix the bear. The third time around of finding even more termite tunnels and a live termite, I would've burned the sculpture and tossed it in a lake
2:35 To be honest I can't even blame the client because I would be furious and want my money back if I was sent a termite-infested sculpture. Understandably it's an unforeseen and unfortunate mishap, but even if the shipping company didn't completely destroy it, it'd still be crawling with termites and be riddled with holes on the inside.
Money back? You’d have to pay me for all the trouble too. You can’t send someone something infested and act like it’s an accident. This guy has no remorse and is a joke complaining about shipping company. Own your stupid mistake. Stop using materials you can’t handle properly.
Agreed, this is just terrible and would (and did ) turn me away from ever commissioning woodwork. Client should have destroyed piece and send bill for destruction as well as moneyback
@@monkyebrainyes it’s a bad situation but how is it not an accident when it literally wasn’t on purpose and that, by definition, makes it an accident? it also slightly annoys me that he decided to act like the shipping company or the client were to blame whatsoever but at the end of the day that doesn’t change the fact that it wasn’t on purpose, therefore making it an accident. i think he did the best for what the situation called for besides a bit of complaining about the shipping of the statue. but even then i feel empathy for his annoyance, as he laboured for hours on the statue and seeing it like that could stir up emotions even if they aren’t completely rational given the situation that led to it being his fault. also mishandling of fragile merchandise by shipping companies is a real problem that a lot of people deal with. i agree that this is his fault but to act like this is unforgivable and makes him a horrible person is crazy. he went about it in a relatively good way in my opinion.
@@commonfolk663 If something is broken you fix it, which he successfully did. This mentality where something goes wrong so just throw it out is so wasteful. I skipped a bit of the video so I'm not sure if I heard the full explanation. However if the client is sending the statue back, I bet he would've paid for proper shipping if the client had a conversation about it. The client even if upset respect the property being returned. Also just because he made a mistake doesn't give shipping companies the right to mishandle packages, this a huge issue we all deal with. At the end of his rant he does admit he is at fault for using wood with termites and will own up to his mistake and fix the statue.
@@hereticsox if the termites entered the woodwork of the client's house that could have been very expensive to deal with then the stress and time taken to address it. It's an accident but after the first time you would be annoyed and don't forget it's a hassle for the client to go through having to wait for the guys to pick it up and then send it. And even then you don't know if any terminates got out and in your own house, after the second time he says "before I could think about what to do" seems like a weird thing to say. why didn't he tell us exactly how long they took to ship it out. It seems weird they would send a picture and then the same day you get a parcel. Why didn't BM Sculptures immediate ring them and say he would collect it that day and dispose of it and give a full refund. I mean if it's twice thats beyond a joke. Also we are only hearing his side of the story, and he tries to ask us who is to blame , dude it's happened twice, wait 3 times because they came back again when he tried to fix it. He should apologise and give a refund. the way he handled it was cowboy and instead of owning up to take FULL ACCOUNTABILITY even including the clients anger he tries to spin it. Clients did a good job showing what they thought of his care and professionalism.
@@blodpudding Thats unlikely though, considering it didnt have noticeable termite 'caves' in it when he was carving it. Could have been unhatched eggs in there though I guess.
It's funny because the video I watched before this was a woodworker talking about the importance of putting your wood in a kiln to eliminate anything living in the wood. Then I get this video.
- I know that this may seem like a bit of a stupid question but, if you put wood in a kiln (I.E. a furnace basically), would that not heat the wood up to the point of charring it perhaps so much as to transform a significant portion of it into charcoal, perhaps not the core, but surely the surface? While I'm sure the heat most likely would kill anything living, but at the supposed expense of damage to the wood via burning? Maybe I am mistaken but that was the first thing I thought when you said to put wood in a Kiln.
@@Arthaius Modern kilns aren't just furnaces, they're temperature controlled. There's no risk of charring the wood. Drying and sterilizing wood in a wood kiln is very ordinary. The type and thickness of the wood determines how quickly and how high the temperature can be raised without damaging/cracking the wood, taking hours or days to complete.
@@RentedRedux - Ahh I see, I assumed that for the device to kill everything that might be inside it might have needed to have the temperature raised to like over 100 at least since living creatures can (uncomfortably) tolerate temperatures lower than that, and quite a lot of insects are pretty resilient in survival, but I suppose the slow dehydration can also kill and may not require nearly as high of temperature. Thank you for the knowledge, very interesting stuff. This mans talent is pretty impressive, I think the Bear statue was quite stunning, I'd love to try and make similar things but I wouldn't even know where to begin.
Another advantage of kiln drying is liability. Right now, we don't know if the termites were already in the bear and brought termites into the house, or if the bear was clean and picked up termines FROM the house. A proper kiln treatment as described above lets you way "I KNOW I sent you a finished product, and the infection happened during shipping order at your house. Not my problem"
I just can't believe he didn't know this. Even the small time crafters I follow always talk about having to heat treat ANY outdoor wood..even pine cones before using for crafts.
On the vacuum bagging a porous item....when you pull the vacuum, it causes the air inside the item (the wood) to expand and as it expands, the air travels out of the item (the wood). This escaping air is actually taking your pesticide foam away from the interior of the wood and moving it to the exterior of the wood. Once the vacuum is established and held, there is no movement/motion other than the same wicking process you would get if you just let the foam sit on the object in ambient air. There's also an argument to be made that the vacuum causes the moisture in the foam to evaporate much more quickly which also reduces the foam's ability to move into the part like you were intending to do. However, the vacuum does make life hard for any living creature so you've definitely impacted them with that - but I argue that a single application of vacuum actually reduces the chance of the foam getting deeper into the part. If you want the foam to be pulled deeply into the wood, cycling the vacuum on and off will do it. As you release the vacuum, the air rushes back into the pores of the wood and any foam sealing up those pores gets sucked inside. If you were to soak the wood with the pesticide and cycle the vacuum on and off, it will certainly pull the foam deeper into the wood. You can see this effect if you've planned a long day of smoking meats but forgot to soak the wood chips intended for smoking (ask me how I know, lol). Put wood chips into tub of water inside a vacuum chamber - if you pull vacuum on it once, you see the bubbles coming out of the wood but the water doesn't ingress to the chips any more noticeably than if they sat in ambient pressure for the same amount of time ...but CYCLE that vacuum several times and the wood starts sinking after the third or fourth cycle. Six cycles of vacuum and ambient pressure and there is practically no air left in the wood and it's completely saturated.
well hot damn, where were you when I needed this info a couple weeks ago!? haha This. makes total sense and sounds very smart. You some kind of vacuum scientist?!?
@@BMSculptures I have seen other youtubers doing a very similar job via vacuum to "stabilise" more punky wood or even other mediums like bread if my memory serves right, using a super watery resin and cycling the vacuum. peter brown, "Stabilizing: Infusing Resin With A Vacuum" the resin is called cactus juice I think?
One hundred percent agree. Although the fumigation probably did the trick, the only for sure answer is my opinion is submersion with periodic turning. I had recovered a bunch of burls from a honey locust that were totally termite infested. My boys and I did our best to remove all the punky wood and bark. Then, I used the same stuff you used to hose down the wood. If figured there might be ongoing problems. So after seeing your video, I think now it's time to fill a tub with water and borax soap and submerge the wood for a few days. I might even get the never-used sous vide cooker to keep the water at 140-150F. Then I will let them dry naturally for a few days, coat them with anchor seal, and put them on a shelf for a couple of years.
He PROBABLY has termite eggs in his wood carving handles hope his future customers are aware and don't get bugged by this , some art folk are keen on the idea of the glue goop he informed us about though@@GardenGuy1942
I feel your pain; I've had two of my custom guitars wrecked by customs when entering the US. One had 13 half inch holes drilled into the body searching for drugs. Then many of the electronics were stolen and the remains were tossed loosely into the box and forwarded to the client. The second had its Birds Eye neck snapped in half and electronics removed and stolen. Like number one, the carcass was tossed into the box and sent to the client. Neither drug search found anything. Both clients returned the guitars to me and I refunded their money from the DHL insurance. The restoration process was arduous to say the least and took a lot of creativity to hide the damages. Both instruments were eventually sold at a loss with full disclosure as to their history. I no longer ship anything to the USA.
It physically hurt to read your comment. I'm so sorry, for you and your customers, that happened. It must have been heartbreaking to get your guitars back in that condition.
I sold a rare guitar to a guy at a bargain price (it had been abandoned at my place so I decided to pass along the good fortune) and the buyer went nuts and publicly posted how my packaging was horrendous and the guitar's neck should have snapped and noone should deal with me -- despite the fact that the instrument arrived in perfect condition! I should have demanded that he return it and then sold it to someone else for what it was actually worth!
Huge respect to you man. I would have felt so defeated and demoralized after receiving the Grizzly statue in that shape (it broke my heart to see it and it's not even my sculpture!). The fact that you could push through that kind if disappointment, and move forward with such a solid and stunning repair says so much about you as a person. Truly inspiring. Thank you for sharing the ups AND the downs.
Thank you very much... Oh I was for sure defeated... But after a couple of sleeps I realized the problem started with me (termites originaly in the wood I used). So there was no other option, I had to fix it.
My thoughts exactly. I’d have reimbursed the owner, through the damn thing as far as I can and became entomophobial for the rest of my days. But not this guy! He is a real McCoy .
I know of a case where an antique piece of furniture was purchased and brought home. It was full of termites. The termites migrated to the house and caused $75,000.00 worth of damage to the house.
Exactly, this man sent them a piece of wood that could destroy their ENTIRE home. NOT acceptable for ANY reason. He'd be paying my Terminix bill for the next 2 years also.
Yeah, sorry bootlicker, but it really isn't difficult to inspect wood for termites, AND if you're putting it in someone's home, that's one of the least expectations one should have for oneself. And artists do screw people over, but not ones dependent on lykes, and I do not like how the title has shock value indicating the customer did anything wrong. If he infested my home with termites, I would have not been polite enough to just mail it back.
Someone I know that's in medical and loves to work with wood recommended to me the following when looking at larger pieces: Use a stethoscope and check all around. If you hear *anything*, it's not good. Alternatively, get it x-rayed to check or just blasting with radiation to kill anything inside. He had one project go very wrong, and started using his skills from other fields to pro-actively identify issues. They said bug bombing or even putting things into a larger chest freezer didn't work 100% when testing samples that were infested.
Wow, that sounds like an interesting friend with some interesting stories. I would flip out if I heard anything in any sculpture. Not that I could afford anything like these, so it's a moot point. But it's fun to dream.
Bug bombing can't work, especially with harder woods and bigger pieces, as it cannot penetrate properly, leaving the insides untreated. Freezing/drying work, but the temperatures need to be extreme enough to destroy any eggs, but soft enough to spare the wood itself. They require time too- can't just throw them in for an hour and expect miracles.
I'm so impressed with how you repaired the bear. With the repaired damage to his back, I could not help but wonder if you carved another bear, so it looked like they were fighting for the fish. As fantastic as the repair came out, I just can not help but wonder.
I’m afraid as the client I wouldn’t want it back, no matter how much work & expertise you put into repairing it. Every time I walked past the sculpture I would be checking for more signs of termites, so it would spoil my ownership of such a stunning piece.
@@bogwitchbrigade Petulant? More like common sense. If someone sends you a termite-infested wood once, can you really trust them to not send you termite wood again? And even if risking termites wasn't risking structural damage to a house, the amount of paranoia I'd feel knowing that there's possibly thousands of little bugs inside my wooden statue, in my house... ugh. Awful. Of course I feel bad for the artist, the statue truly is beautiful, and I have no idea what standard treatment is to prevent termites in wood so I can't even definitively say it's his fault or anything, but geez I would be extremely unhappy if I were his client.
I'd like to suggest you start looking into baking your wood before your builds. Im thinking this and got the idea from pallets lol. Im a driver and work shipping and receiving for the last 20 yeara now. We ship out of the country and anything being shipped to a different country has to be on pallets that have been baked and marked as such. They do this to kill any and every bug included termites.
On a much...much smaller scale, I have baked small pieces of wood and sticks in my home oven to sterilize them for art projects, etc. Has worked pretty well for me¯\_(ツ)_/¯ In certain cases it even dried and strengthened woods that were nearing the point of getting too wet/breaking down and otherwise I would've abandoned. That reminds me...I have a cool stick I still need to sterilize (looks like a cool wizard staff, found it at a lake).
This brings up an interesting option. I'm in manufacturing and buy heat treated pallets for export as well, it's not uncommon. I wonder if BM Sculptures would be able to work with one of these manufactures to bake his wood prior to start. Save a lot of heart ache.
I respect "The problem started with me and it's going end with me", much respect for pride in your craft. And you are amazing at your craft! Thanks for sharing the story.
Man, as an artist (not a sculptor), I would have tossed the bear and started over. I just never would have felt the termites were actually gone. Your tenacity is astounding.
The fact termites infested a wooden sculpture that is soaked and covered in resin, not to mention surviving multiple attempts to kill them all off, shows how resilient they can be. O_O
they get all the air they need from the wood itself, its not like... 100% sealed, nothing wood ever is; it breathes and the termites get plenty of air and moisture just from the wood.
He even mentions how there were no apparent holes. I wonder why. (There were waste products under it back at the client's house, so there were indeed holes, but he just didn't feel like saying it on the video.🙄) also: Wood can only soak resin up to a point. It at best creates a gradient skin around 1/4'' thick. I doubt they would go through it so easily. There were several jail-breaks only once he sanded down the resin.
The termites likely crowled out of the bear and infested the client’s house. I can totally understand his frustration. You’re in the wrong by trying to fix something which should be burned to ashes.
Honestly, it was wonderful to watch you troubleshoot that sculpture right to the end! I grew up in a home with 1890's hardwood timber floors. My parents hoping to reno, peeled back the carpets and discovered the WHOLE house was termite infested, not a single section of floor was safe, we all moved out for 6-8 weeks whilst the entire house was fumigated. When that was done they were actually rather fond of the beautiful scribbles the termites had left behind, and the wood was a honey coloured eucalypt. So they polished the boards and resin coated the whole lot. The home I grew up in had such interesting floors! I've never seen someone salvage termite timber in such a way since!
When I was growing up we had a huge dining table that was probably 100+ years old that had thermite holes all over (no live thermites luckily) and it was beautiful.
I have to be honest, if you pay tens of thousands of dollars for a sculpture, you may expect to get a reaction if you believe the termites came from within the sculpture. In the interest of fairness, it is important to get both sides of the story.
Walnut burls are well known to contain white sap wood that will contain termites are Carpenter ants. The foam is worthless, preasure treating or heat treating in a Curing oven is the only way to rid the sculpture of Termites. Professionals never would have had termite in a sculpture.
Those termites can infect his workshop and the clients house. He needs to burn it, get the shop tented, and make a new sculpture if the client will even accept or take a chance with this guy or give the money back. I love his work but seeing this video I would not buy anything from this guy but that's my personal opinion.
I don't think this sculpture was trying to get out of fixing it, but the way it was delivered was criminal and was designed to communicate the buyer's disgust, not helpful and frankly disrespectful. It is a beautiful sculpture and he didn't put termites,in it on purpose. Maybe they came from the buyers place.
I agree that the moment our clever sculptor took possession of the wood for the piece, he was 100% responsible from there on. All on him...unless he got a detailed appraisal of the piece of wood, stating that it was bug-less, before he bought it, and he could somehow prove he didn't expose it to wood munchers.
@@justice2255 the termites most likely were introduced in the shipping process. If his shop was termite infested or the piece was termite infested when it came to him, all his pieces would have termite problems. Its most likely an error on the shipping company side or the client's how had termites in his house . Also you could see an termite infestation while you carve or the client would have seen it. So most likely the termites came from the client's house since the problem acoured after 6 months
Hate to shit on people who have done hopnest work, but you sent a piece that had termites in it. Just put yourself in the buyers position, if you buy something that after delivery turns out to be infested with bugs it would be the manufacturers liability.
@@harrisonhanson2998lol quite the investigator you are! What gave it away? Was it the large comical nose he was wearing? Or the use of a completely different box? You are very perceptive though, good job!
That bear is a stunning reflection of your skills and tenacity. As a former fully licensed Pest Control Operator (PCO) in Florida, I can tell you the only truly effective way to eliminate Drywood termites is through using fumigants, e.g., Methyl Bromide, Vikane (sulfuryl fluoride), or Phosphine (not commonly used for wood destroying organisms) Also the tunneling is commonly referred to as termite "galleries". Some companies will place items within a structure already being fumigated for little to no charge. (Depending on the hassle) others and most effective as we had are vaults specifically for isolated items. Liquid fumigants are another beast entirely... and very ineffective!!! (As you now know).
@@BMSculpturesyou shouldn’t be using anything but kiln dried. Kiln dried doesn’t just kill bugs but also ensures the wood you are using is stable and doesn’t shrink like it did with this sculpture. Fumigation will take care of bugs but not moisture content. This burl wasn’t kiln dried and it shows. An unfortunate and painful learning experience for both you and your customer.
That’s clutch. Even when things go wrong you can acknowledge setbacks and keep working without any damage to the brand. I’d trust you more after seeing the dedication to make it right. It turned into a whole new sculpture. Great work
As an artist I find your resilience and persistence very inspiring! And I'm glad the story has a happy ending and that you were able to rebuild ad repair the sculpture. It looks even more beautiful now than it did before
Your sculptures in resin and wood are out of this world man. I’ve worked with wood since I can remember and only had a termite problem once in a piece. We had to cut down this huge Kiawé tree that was dying in Hawaii. (Kiawé is Mesquite), and the dead branches and limbs were infested with Formosan termites (the worst kind of termite), but I found a nice straight branch with no termites in it. Carved an elaborate walking stick with an octopus in relief that wrapped around the shaft. It turned out way too nice to go hiking with so I propped it up in a corner as a piece of art. Lots of friends really liked my carved walking stick. As usual, you get bored with pieces from the past and move on to bigger and better things. The walking stick sat there in the corner untouched for at least a year. A new friend came over for a couple beers one night. He saw the walking stick in the corner and asked, “Wow! Did you make that?” I nodded, he said, “Can I check it out?” I nodded, “Sure man, I did that a couple years ago.” He walked over and picked up from the head and the stick broke in half with hundreds of termites and their droppings spilling all over the floor. He looked at me like he’d done something wrong. As if I knew it was infested with termites and completely hollowed out on the inside. Wow. It was just a thin shell of wood now and you could just crumble it in your hands into sawdust with very little effort. Okay, that piece is gone, and I spent the evening making sure I killed every termite and egg. The formosan termite will hollow out huge beams in your house and you’d never know it. Just a shell of paint. I’ve demo’d a garage where a 4x12 looks sound but I could crush it with my hands. So I feel your pain, brother.
@@sypeiterra7613 , Yeah, Hawaii is famous for formosan termites. They just eat whole houses. Those are ground termites. Tropical termites. Mostly on the mainland you have dry wood termites. In Hawaii we have both but dry wood termites are usually in small moldings and trim. Not a big deal. Replace the trim, fumigate the area and it’s over. Ground or formosan termites are just crazy man. But we have ways of controlling them. One trick is to leave a nice tasty piece of pine in the middle of the yard. Pound a stake in the ground. If that wood gets eaten then they are there and heading for the foundation. No houses in Hawaii have a basement because that requires digging through lava rock so most houses are on stilts and foundation blocks. No need for insulation, Hawaii is hot year round and you can crawl under your house and check for termite mud trails. It’s just a fact of life over there but if you’re somewhere on the mainland, I can’t imagine termites alone would destroy your house. So relax and have fun. This is an art channel featuring one of the best wood and resin sculptures I’ve ever seen. Take care and stay safe. Aloha 🤙🏼
Man i get that it had termites and the client might not want them in their house but to ship it back in such a disasterous way is inexcusable. I'm glad it was able to be fixed, this was one of my fav sculptures of yours when you first did it. Still a fav!
I am also confused why the box was not plastered in "fragile" stickers. Perhaps the client thought because it's heavy, it does not require special handling?
@@Diluculi1 it should have been in a padded wooden box at least, not cardboard. If they have the money to pay for a comissioned sculpture, they have the money to properly ship it
The client was probably too upset and angry with the situation that they no longer care. And they probably think the sculpture is already wasted, no longer fixable at that point so they didn't care much when shipping it back.
The clean wood from before does have more character now. A statue that represents strength and resilience of the fighting spirit. With all the cross-sections before, the new piece has even more depth and personality. Doesn't look cliché. Looks like a story
Bingo!! I, too, thought that same thing. This is now part of the Bear's story, its journey. A noble bear who has survived many battles to tell his stories.
The fact that you were able to bring that bear sculpt back from oblivion was impressive and so was the logo build. The termite damage did give the sculpt more character...like an old grizzly that's been through a lot yet has survived the wild. Great stuff!
THE BUYER HAD BUYERS REMORSE AND FIGURED OUT A WAY TO MAKE IT LOOK LIKE IT GOT INFESTED WITH TERMITES, THEN SHIPPED THE BEAR UNPROTECTED SO THAT IT COMES BACK BROKEN AND THE BLAME FALLS ON THE SHIPPING COMPANY, THIS IS COMMON PRACTICE, BUYER GETS REFUND, THE SHIPPING COMPANY GETS BLAMED
Respect for fixing the issue. Doing the job the right way. And responsibly fixing an external/internal circumstance (the termites). By making the effort to do the right thing, it will bring you more business and solidify your reputation. 🙂🤝❤️
FYI. You can freeze the wood. Insecticides can only penetrate so far. But you can freeze the whole thing for a few weeks, and that will kill the termites
@niamaysing359 Now you might be a termite expert and I'm definitely not one, but from the little research I did, termites can be killed at any temperature below 25F/-4C, and most household freezers are well below that around 0F/-18C. Sure, with any normal freezer it might take several weeks to freeze all the way through, but that's also the case for most industrial freezers. And unless there's a sort of industrial freezer I'm unaware of, most of them also run in that same range, or possibly a bit colder. I'm sure there are scientific freezers that are kept significantly colder, but those are exceedingly rare and those temperatures are not required to exterminate termites. It's pretty simple to think about. Termites, like all insects are made of cells full of water. Once that water freezes their cells rupture and they die. Because they're so small, they freeze near instantly, so any temperature below freezing can quite quickly kill them.
It will kill SOME termites, there are species that can survive freezing. Cockroaches are after all social cockroaches and are tough little bastards because of that. (no really they're part of the cockroach order of insects)
@niamaysing359 Actually antique dealers do this and it is advised to freeze any wood antiques before you bring them in the house. This bear would fit in a chest freezer and they can get darn cold.
The client is probably fighting a losing battle with terminates in their home from their introduction with this sculpture. It is understandable to note their horror and frustration. Equally, getting sent back a broken sculpture is also saddening. No wrong parties, just pain all around.
@@Rhoda8002All termites are "the flying type"!! They start out as larvae, then become nymphs (I think) then proceed to hungry teenagers, then once a year the mature ones mate, lay eggs, get wings, and fly away to form new colonies. Seeing a bunch of wings laying around on the ground is a sure sign you've got an infestation. Call Orkin®️! Conversely, a natural solution are "Beneficial Nematodes". They might not have been any help in this unique situation, but in the open air, go underground where termites live and eat them from the inside out! They are microscopic, tiny little "bugs"(?) who work 24/7/365 eating termites, lawn grubs, and other soil born bad guys(hornworms!) (Supposedly they leave earth worms alone.) They form their own colony whose mission is to destroy all the bad guys. Hawaii Termites probably differ in that they live in a pretty moist environment, and many were imported from China (long before Hawaii was even a State) and other SE Asian countries, through trade activities.
I agree but what really gets me is the way the bear was packaged when they sent it back to him. It caused so much extra damage. They were so careless and inconsiderate. Who puts something like that in a simple Amazon package?
As someone who lives in an apartment with termites eating through the drywall I know how terrifying it can be to have them around. Certainly always wondered how wood sculptures were termite-proofed; absolutely crazy to see that the first fumigation didn't nuke them. Hope this updated version lasts :)
This will make you feel better I'm sure, termites are eusocial cockroaches. They are actually roaches that got organized like ants with a queen and workers and soldiers. But they are not part of the same order as ants bees and wasps and evolved eusociality independently within the cockroach order.
Not actually recommending you do this deliberately, for obvious reasons, but if you happened to get a carpenter ant infestation, they would kill all the termites to steal their tunnels and have a nice snack, and they can't actually eat wood (at least not already broken down/rotted wood) so they wouldn't eat your apartment. But then you have ants in your walls, which is its own problem.
Honestly , given the fact that the sculpture was infested from source, the purchaser will not be happy that turmites were intro there home , who knows what else they damaged. I certainly wouldn’t want the product back , and I think that’s shown by the way it was shipped . Given the damage happened in transit I would have filed a claim as that was clearly not on , refund the customer and burn it asap , the time and money involved to remove the infestation, further more the doubt lingering that it may still have infestation plus fumigation cost to the home owner , remember you would be liable for any damage caused, I know it’s heartbreaking but it’s not worth the risk
Exactly! I don't understand many other comments, praising the artist. It's his fault, not deliberately, of course, and yet... The buyer must have been horrified and furious! Who knows how much money he had to pay for dealing with the termites.
@@lisasim I believe the treatment he had done guantees that they are gone and at the end of the day, it might of cosed the buyer around $500 extra. Seeing as he took the product and went above and beyond to insure that his customer got the product he purchased doesn't really seem all that bad to me. Yes, I'm not saying who's fault it is or not but just that I don't see the outcome to be that crazy as it's a great peace and everyone is moving on from there.
I like your idea except there's a very slim chance the shipper paid for insurance considering their frustration. Even in the slight chance they did, it's very doubtful they paid for insurance that was anywhere near the value of something this pricey to write it off. He's the receiver, not the shipper.
I wouldn't be worried since turmites aren't a thing that exists and luckily they weren't at their home, they were at "there" home as in "that home right there".
Definitely, and I'd say they'd certaily be entitled to a return & getting their money back, but sending the sculpture back in a cardboard box was not really acceptable.
@@maralonent6257but it could also be the termites were already in the clients house. It’s hard to proof where it came from to begin with. Because if it was, then those termites should have been at the creator as well. Termites don’t live in a vacuum. The creators place should have had the same problem. If he didn’t, something is off. Plus if you send it back, you are responsible for that. It almost seems he used a friend, to do it, this delivery guy knew, and was disguised for a reason.
@@helenaterschegget8791 Oh my god you can't be real, the footage was a fun prank the creator of the video did, it's him, it even has an ups post it on the back, please refrain from talking like this next time.
I think having all wood heat-treated before you use it would eliminate all bugs. Chemicals only work on the outside, and I would not want to have a sculpture with dangerous chemicals in my home.
heat treating wood makes it dry and crack up, often making it worse for use in sculptures. It's better to not heat treat it since termites like this would be such a rare occurrence
@@hannanah8036 You are meant to do it to the raw materials, especially if you wanna sell to people.🙄Do it slowly over a few weeks, starting at lower temperatures and ending at 200F. If not, you cannot guarantee egg-free and non-warping pieces. When doing it for a living, a small kiln room is kinda a must. If a craftsman doesn't want to bother, then they should buy already treated materials.
Beyond anything, I love how you rectified this situation and assured yourself as well as your client. Thank you for the upload sir. Very nice projects.
I love that you saved the bear from wood's greatest enemy. I watch woodworking videos because they remind me a lil of what my dad would have been doing right now if he hadn't had his accident. It's almost a year now, since he died. But i miss him dearly, every day.
To me, the new addition of the termite holes add so much character and back story to the bear. He now looks like an elegant, wise old bear who's been through a lot in his time and wearing the scars of past battles and fights, but now he's found peace in life and blissfully walks into the sunset with a freshly caught fish. This is a true work of art - kudos to you 👏🏻
Blake… your work and skill is one thing…. World class in my eyes, but your honesty and integrity is outstanding!!! You are a credit!! And your humour is a close third… massive respect to you feller 👏👏👏👏
Now the bear has scars like in real life. He fought and lost. But got up again to fight another day. I hope all termites are now ex-termi-nated. Somehow I can't really decide which bear I like better. The first bear reminds me of a young bear that has its entire life ahead of it. The second bear is more of a specimen at the peak of life with experience and scars that have shaped him. Both are beautiful.
I was agreeing with several of the commenters stating that he should have just scrapped the bear, burned it, whatever. But after reading your comment I appreciate the real life application of the hopeless bear transformed through rough times and many struggles...
13:04 thats because of the grit and the impact of the acrylic. The higher the grit the less impactful scratch marks are left and in this case this works against that because the more pronounced the scratch marks are the more refraction they have, therefore it makes the acrylic more translucent than transparent and with that the light is distributed in a wider area. When the grit is higher the scratch marks are reduced from microscopic level to nanometric level and as such there are going to be much more scratch marks but in lesser depth and with less refraction, transmitting the image better but decreasing the area the light is going to be shown at.
I am sitting here with my mouth open how in the world did you repair your beautiful bear sculpture so flawlessly?? It’s absolutely gorgeous. You have a God given talent. I hope you prosper. ❤😊
Poor client ? It rude client.....at least send back the stuff with grace if hate that pest so much buy a like covid suit a glove than trash it......the crafter use so much soul on to it like damn
Not sure how you can be rude when you waste more money on an object than decent people in normal countries spend on a whole apartment for their family to live in... and then it's full of shit.
@@CRaZyAbOuTYuGi so i assume you always like to spend thousands of dollars and get a piece of garabage. You must be really into this submissive masochistic stuff
museums don't preserve resin and wood composite sculptures. as an art form they're only a few decades old. basically untested tech you're recommending. the wood and resin have different coefficients of thermal expansion, and one material doesn't absorb water. freezing and thawing it would probably blast it apart.
@travismiller5548 Honestly, this would have been the perfect opportunity to try out "untested tech." If not a project like this w8th so much damage already done, f*ck it, why not?
My cousin Jerry had some storm damaged oak trees and he had just purchased a home recently that did not have a mantle over the fire place …. The home was modern so thing like a mantle or base around where wall met floor wasn’t used . But however they painted a 3.5 inch silvery gray strip where the base would be … anyhow so the whole summer he is working on this oak mantle 5 inches deep and 5.5 feet long and 16 inches wide . He sawed cut and shaved the wood with a hand plane until perfect then he finished it then hung it . And over the Christmas holidays my family made cit over an$ got pictures with his beautiful mantle! Until I noticed worm holes in the finish hundreds of tiny perfect round holes . Well then he did like you insecticide vacuum sealed waited weeks filled holes and refinished! Only to have the holes return 2-3 weeks later . This was his winter project ! Finally when spring arrived he borrowed my hog roaster and 40# of kingsford charcoal he fired it up and placed his beautiful mantle in closed the lid and let the charcoal burn out and cool down a couple of days and he called me over to assist it removing it and helping him flip it around so he could put on the final finish . The mantle was still very warm I commented that my aching back would love to lay on that that super warm piece of wood so the next day I’m waiting for him to arrive from work . When we opened the lid to our suprise the mantle had developed a very high arch like a 7 inch arch in the center ! Well what happened next was like a seen from a murder scene he had me help to put it on the driveway hey went into the garage and returned with a axe 😂the words that came out of this man were well harsh , he took too screaming chopping kicking yelling and finally pushed off the driveway and set on fire ! I told Jerry to have a good night and drove home . We don’t talk about the no mantle over the fireplace anymore. Ever .
Wow. Sounds frustrating. Maybe your friend needs to curb his impulses and try the artist's approach. In the end, the piece came out even better. I'm still unclear whether the client finally took the sculpture or a refund.
All he had to do was put it outside during winter for a week under a roof. (If you actually have a proper winter, that is.) Well, that would fix the termites, but since he didn't (slowly) heat-treat/dry the raw materials before ever working on that piece, the high heat cycles from the fireplace could have distorted it anyway. Poor Jerry was doomed from the start.
After you discovered termites, why in the world would you continue fooling around with that wood ? Having been in my own business I've had to eat humble pie a couple of times. I would have apologize to the customer and made him another while I watched the original go up in flames.
Absolutely AMAZING!!!! Both sculptures are incredibly beautiful! After you found the live termite I was thinking "I think you should give this one up". Wow! Was I wrong. Thank you so much for sharing all this. You are a Master Carver! Brilliant!
It's truly a stunning piece. Ironically, it is also a tragic yet informative reminder of one of the many reasons why we heat treat wood before working it. Beautiful and educational!
What do I think about this sculpture? It is so original and you are more than a talented sculptor. It is the most beautiful animal carving I have ever seen. And, the mixture of epoxy and wood is almost unbelievable. What a gifted mind you have. This is my original thought and I can't wait to see how you solve this problem. I know you will succeed beyond all expectations.
I really admire how you took the client's word about the termites being in the wood. It would have been easy to defend your position and argue that the termites came from his property, but you chose to listen instead. I'm also thrilled that you were able to remediate the carved bear-it looks incredible!
I love the fact that it looks like a wounded bear like it’s Been in a fighting, this gives it more character and back story of how this bear fought these little creatures. AMAZING WORK❤️
The sculpture is gorgeous and the work behind it is real art...but not treating the wood for termites before sculpting it is unprofessional. Imagine if the people you sold it to lived in a beautiful log cabin...I would be hugely pissed off.
In his entire history of running this business he’s never encountered this problem, I’m sure he sources his wood from reputable places and didn’t think it would be an issue. I’m sure he will be diligent from now on to go the extra mile. But “unprofessional” shut up, Karen; he’s gone to extreme lengths for this sculpture there’s nothing but professionalism and taking responsibility for a mistake. You must be so fucken perfect all day every day. Stones, glass houses.
I now have the perfect video to show my clients when I explain to them why using kiln-dried wood over air-dried wood is so very important! So sorry to hear about the sculpture, it was one of my favourites out of everything you have made, and I have been following you since your torso video! I love that you were able to save it in the end, and I think it has even more character now than it did in the first place. WHat will happen with the sculpture now?
What's odd is, it took 5ish months for them to notice it was infested, then another 6 after the treatment. Wouldn't they have made their presence known almost immediately if they weren't cleaned out? Like how he found two back to back in this video, one alive one not? Considering the amount of resin he used to form the sculpture, even the slow set 'low temp' versions get hot, doubly so at that pouring amount. From the heat of the exothermic reaction, to it being largely encased in epoxy before sculpting it's shape, what are the odds the client was the actual source of the infestation? Also odd, for the amount of proof the clients showed in pictures that the bugs were eating, he couldn't find any holes to source them. Edit Okay, went back and rewatched the original: He used the same base piece to form the Rhino he made previously, but as he didn't mention that one is getting chewed on here, I'm assuming it's fine. Two, he let the stump sit for a year before using it for the Bear. Didn't mention, but you'd assume he'd notice, if it was showing signs of being eaten. He cuts it in half, and doesn't show or mention any issues. He deep pours resin, but keeps it around 55 degrees. Neither hot or cold enough to wipe em out, but it was all but submerged in resin for a solid week before sculpting. There are some holes he patches, nothing bubbled up/out. So while there was a lot of room in there in theory, unless he completely missed it from start to finish, which coulda happened, until the Rhino sculpture gets sent back to him for the same reason, can't say with certainty which side is holding the hot potato.
Stunned, that you didn't put termite destruction at the very top of the list. I know for sure that I wouldn't have tried to make it pretty again before permanently ending the termite kingdom. Wow.
@@JudyJohnson-xq4ps Perfection is not the issue, due diligence, know what your material is what it's known issues are or could be. Dude, he used BURLED WOOD! Looked up the definition of what burled wood and what causes it. I will give you one guess on a major cause of burled wood...insect infestation! WOW, who would have thought to test for it?
what was that awesome tool that you had attached to your drill? was that an air-compressor mock? that would be so cool to have and i cant find what it was called
Beautiful work… however, upon the first evidence of termites a replacement should have been provided and original destroyed. This really seems like poor customer service and had it been handled differently all of this drama could have been avoided. The bear is beautiful and I’m sure it was expensive, but no one should risk their home to termites for art. Sorry.😢
I think he did great customer survive. He paid for the extermination then, I’m assuming, gave a full refund in return. Despite the damage caused. Not everything is so black and white in the world. Most cooperate art companies wouldn’t even humor a refund after a week.
I love the bear's journey. Almost like it has battle scars now. And I think I speak for most of us when I say I'll literally watch anything you do. Great work!
Pretty sure the owner has an infested house and instead of taking responsibility for ruining the expensive sculpture they bought, TWICE, decided they would throw the item back at the artist with no genuine want for it fixed and just wanted a refund. 😒 You'd be amazed how many clients try to chargeback or demand refunds from artist after they destroy the commission and don't want it anymore. We're not a mass-produce shops people we're individuals that spend hours to years on our pieces - no refunds for your sht life decisions🙃
The most charitable explanation would probably be that the client didn’t really expect him to be able to repair it. If the client figured he’d have to carve a new one and replace it, what did it matter if the old one arrived in pieces?
@@acct5910There would’ve been sign on the wood he worked with of termites. Wood rot, cracking, water damage and etc. None of that was seen when he was working with the raw materials. Only when the customer returned it have damage. It wasn’t the artist at fault. (Some of his others commissions should have termites, but they don’t.)
I built my brother's unborn son a little chair made it of an old sump. I ran into the same issue and I went through the same issue of trying the bug spay, putting more varnish on it, etc. Nine of it worked so I smoked it. I literally put in on the meat side of a horizontal smoker. I smoked it all day. When I took it out, not only did the bugs never come back but the smoked turned the chair to a very cool color.
I really hate to be a pessimist but there’s no way they got rid of the termites, especially in the part encased in resin. That sculpture has 6 months to live. 😢
I agree. Plus, fumigation only gets the outermost layers of the wood and interior channels up to the point where the dead termites block the fumigant from reaching the rest of the nest. The proper thing to do would have been to drill down into the wood and shoot the termite killing expanding spray. But even that isn't a sure fire cure. Termites are insidious. In theory one could cut the sculpture into several slices through its wooden part, check/treat for termites, then join back together.
Would you want to watch a Catch Cook & Carve video????
Mrcool sculpture looks perfect, love especially the size. Yes a catch cook and carve video would be very cool, I'd love to watch! You did great on handling this worrisome situation.
@@trinityriley_ Thanks Trinity!
i'd 100% watch
Yes, I'd for sure watch that for the same reason I watch homestead channels, it hits a survivalist niche. If you haven't considered starting a new channel, that might be best since it is very different content than your art.
Love your stuff btw!
Hell yeah! 🎣🍳🔪
I worked at an airport and we had an enormous sculpture made of wood and millions of termites living there rent-free. When they x-rayed it, you could see the nest they had produced, with many holes for getting in and out. The termites were very much alive and at our terminal, we had an irradiator machine that used low amounts of radiation to kill anything alive including eggs, even down to bacteria. It cost the importer just £40 to have this done and there were no lasting effects on the sculpture. Some airports allow you to use their facilities including the irradiator! If you get them again, ask if you can use their services.
Irradiator machine should produce insane amount of radiation to kill everything. But it's totally safe because it doesn't make items inside radioactive.
Getting the wood x-rayed to check for termites before starting a sculpture like that marvelous bear seems like an excellent idea. That would have saved a lot of work and heartache if the termites had been found and eliminated in advance.
Yep, that would have fixed the live termine problem, but not the structural damage they have done...
@@JeanAmann-w1u With you on this suggestion. It would seem the only rational way to proceed in a country famous for its litigation culture. The Xray would be hard evidence in the event of a lawsuit. The cost of the process could be sold as a benefit to the customer and the relatively small cost incorporated into this luxury product.
The heat in the sun will do it, keep the wood over 220F for a few hrs and there won't be any thing left.
I'm impressed you kept trying to fix the bear. The third time around of finding even more termite tunnels and a live termite, I would've burned the sculpture and tossed it in a lake
hahaha yeah, we got em all though!
NGL I was there at the unpacking the sculpture part, I seriously expected a bonfire scene after the 'unboxing'
And started over?
*volcano
It’s five weeks’ worth of work
Nothing like bringing a statue filled with termites into a woodworking shop
He already had it there and then shipped it to the customer.
@leocurious9919 the termites came from the customers house. That's why there is no holes on the sculpture
@@Jack-xy4fythen how did they get INTO the wood 🤯
@@Jack-xy4fy So how did they get back to him when there are no holes...? Same argument. He initially closed those holes.
They chew into the wood, it seems unless he sources wood from tons of different places like theyd be in all his works 😊@mnicholl93
2:35 To be honest I can't even blame the client because I would be furious and want my money back if I was sent a termite-infested sculpture.
Understandably it's an unforeseen and unfortunate mishap, but even if the shipping company didn't completely destroy it, it'd still be crawling with termites and be riddled with holes on the inside.
Money back? You’d have to pay me for all the trouble too. You can’t send someone something infested and act like it’s an accident. This guy has no remorse and is a joke complaining about shipping company. Own your stupid mistake. Stop using materials you can’t handle properly.
Agreed, this is just terrible and would (and did ) turn me away from ever commissioning woodwork. Client should have destroyed piece and send bill for destruction as well as moneyback
@@monkyebrainyes it’s a bad situation but how is it not an accident when it literally wasn’t on purpose and that, by definition, makes it an accident? it also slightly annoys me that he decided to act like the shipping company or the client were to blame whatsoever but at the end of the day that doesn’t change the fact that it wasn’t on purpose, therefore making it an accident. i think he did the best for what the situation called for besides a bit of complaining about the shipping of the statue. but even then i feel empathy for his annoyance, as he laboured for hours on the statue and seeing it like that could stir up emotions even if they aren’t completely rational given the situation that led to it being his fault. also mishandling of fragile merchandise by shipping companies is a real problem that a lot of people deal with. i agree that this is his fault but to act like this is unforgivable and makes him a horrible person is crazy. he went about it in a relatively good way in my opinion.
@@commonfolk663 If something is broken you fix it, which he successfully did. This mentality where something goes wrong so just throw it out is so wasteful. I skipped a bit of the video so I'm not sure if I heard the full explanation. However if the client is sending the statue back, I bet he would've paid for proper shipping if the client had a conversation about it. The client even if upset respect the property being returned. Also just because he made a mistake doesn't give shipping companies the right to mishandle packages, this a huge issue we all deal with. At the end of his rant he does admit he is at fault for using wood with termites and will own up to his mistake and fix the statue.
@@hereticsox if the termites entered the woodwork of the client's house that could have been very expensive to deal with then the stress and time taken to address it. It's an accident but after the first time you would be annoyed and don't forget it's a hassle for the client to go through having to wait for the guys to pick it up and then send it. And even then you don't know if any terminates got out and in your own house, after the second time he says "before I could think about what to do" seems like a weird thing to say. why didn't he tell us exactly how long they took to ship it out. It seems weird they would send a picture and then the same day you get a parcel. Why didn't
BM Sculptures immediate ring them and say he would collect it that day and dispose of it and give a full refund. I mean if it's twice thats beyond a joke.
Also we are only hearing his side of the story, and he tries to ask us who is to blame , dude it's happened twice, wait 3 times because they came back again when he tried to fix it. He should apologise and give a refund. the way he handled it was cowboy and instead of owning up to take FULL ACCOUNTABILITY even including the clients anger he tries to spin it. Clients did a good job showing what they thought of his care and professionalism.
The resiliency of the termites was as impressive as the sculpture.
They are little terrors
Yeah they could have been in the wood for more than a year before you even got to carve it.
@@blodpudding Thats unlikely though, considering it didnt have noticeable termite 'caves' in it when he was carving it. Could have been unhatched eggs in there though I guess.
Are there termites where the wood came from or could the sculpture have been infested at the customers home?
Not termites!!!!!!
It's funny because the video I watched before this was a woodworker talking about the importance of putting your wood in a kiln to eliminate anything living in the wood. Then I get this video.
- I know that this may seem like a bit of a stupid question but, if you put wood in a kiln (I.E. a furnace basically), would that not heat the wood up to the point of charring it perhaps so much as to transform a significant portion of it into charcoal, perhaps not the core, but surely the surface? While I'm sure the heat most likely would kill anything living, but at the supposed expense of damage to the wood via burning? Maybe I am mistaken but that was the first thing I thought when you said to put wood in a Kiln.
@@Arthaius Modern kilns aren't just furnaces, they're temperature controlled. There's no risk of charring the wood. Drying and sterilizing wood in a wood kiln is very ordinary. The type and thickness of the wood determines how quickly and how high the temperature can be raised without damaging/cracking the wood, taking hours or days to complete.
@@RentedRedux - Ahh I see, I assumed that for the device to kill everything that might be inside it might have needed to have the temperature raised to like over 100 at least since living creatures can (uncomfortably) tolerate temperatures lower than that, and quite a lot of insects are pretty resilient in survival, but I suppose the slow dehydration can also kill and may not require nearly as high of temperature. Thank you for the knowledge, very interesting stuff. This mans talent is pretty impressive, I think the Bear statue was quite stunning, I'd love to try and make similar things but I wouldn't even know where to begin.
Another advantage of kiln drying is liability. Right now, we don't know if the termites were already in the bear and brought termites into the house, or if the bear was clean and picked up termines FROM the house. A proper kiln treatment as described above lets you way "I KNOW I sent you a finished product, and the infection happened during shipping order at your house. Not my problem"
I just can't believe he didn't know this. Even the small time crafters I follow always talk about having to heat treat ANY outdoor wood..even pine cones before using for crafts.
On the vacuum bagging a porous item....when you pull the vacuum, it causes the air inside the item (the wood) to expand and as it expands, the air travels out of the item (the wood). This escaping air is actually taking your pesticide foam away from the interior of the wood and moving it to the exterior of the wood. Once the vacuum is established and held, there is no movement/motion other than the same wicking process you would get if you just let the foam sit on the object in ambient air. There's also an argument to be made that the vacuum causes the moisture in the foam to evaporate much more quickly which also reduces the foam's ability to move into the part like you were intending to do. However, the vacuum does make life hard for any living creature so you've definitely impacted them with that - but I argue that a single application of vacuum actually reduces the chance of the foam getting deeper into the part.
If you want the foam to be pulled deeply into the wood, cycling the vacuum on and off will do it. As you release the vacuum, the air rushes back into the pores of the wood and any foam sealing up those pores gets sucked inside. If you were to soak the wood with the pesticide and cycle the vacuum on and off, it will certainly pull the foam deeper into the wood. You can see this effect if you've planned a long day of smoking meats but forgot to soak the wood chips intended for smoking (ask me how I know, lol). Put wood chips into tub of water inside a vacuum chamber - if you pull vacuum on it once, you see the bubbles coming out of the wood but the water doesn't ingress to the chips any more noticeably than if they sat in ambient pressure for the same amount of time ...but CYCLE that vacuum several times and the wood starts sinking after the third or fourth cycle. Six cycles of vacuum and ambient pressure and there is practically no air left in the wood and it's completely saturated.
well hot damn, where were you when I needed this info a couple weeks ago!? haha This. makes total sense and sounds very smart. You some kind of vacuum scientist?!?
@@BMSculptures That would be a sucky job right?
I admire your persistence!
@@BMSculptures I have seen other youtubers doing a very similar job via vacuum to "stabilise" more punky wood or even other mediums like bread if my memory serves right, using a super watery resin and cycling the vacuum.
peter brown, "Stabilizing: Infusing Resin With A Vacuum" the resin is called cactus juice I think?
One hundred percent agree. Although the fumigation probably did the trick, the only for sure answer is my opinion is submersion with periodic turning. I had recovered a bunch of burls from a honey locust that were totally termite infested. My boys and I did our best to remove all the punky wood and bark. Then, I used the same stuff you used to hose down the wood. If figured there might be ongoing problems. So after seeing your video, I think now it's time to fill a tub with water and borax soap and submerge the wood for a few days. I might even get the never-used sous vide cooker to keep the water at 140-150F. Then I will let them dry naturally for a few days, coat them with anchor seal, and put them on a shelf for a couple of years.
In Hawaii, we put termite or beetle infested wood in a freezer for a week at twenty below. Most fumigants that a homeowner can use are worthless.
Great tip.
I freeze any food or bedding before giving it to my pets. It kills any bugs that could have snuck into the bag.
Your patience to restore that bear was a labor of love. Beautiful!
Can’t believe he would use that kind of wood…………
He PROBABLY has termite eggs in his wood carving handles hope his future customers are aware and don't get bugged by this , some art folk are keen on the idea of the glue goop he informed us about though@@GardenGuy1942
hell no he should build a brand new sculpture for the client or even with partial refund
It was a labor of civil liability. That homeowner now lives in fear of their(likely also expensive) house being infested with termites now.
I feel your pain; I've had two of my custom guitars wrecked by customs when entering the US. One had 13 half inch holes drilled into the body searching for drugs. Then many of the electronics were stolen and the remains were tossed loosely into the box and forwarded to the client. The second had its Birds Eye neck snapped in half and electronics removed and stolen. Like number one, the carcass was tossed into the box and sent to the client. Neither drug search found anything. Both clients returned the guitars to me and I refunded their money from the DHL insurance. The restoration process was arduous to say the least and took a lot of creativity to hide the damages. Both instruments were eventually sold at a loss with full disclosure as to their history. I no longer ship anything to the USA.
wow that is terrible
It physically hurt to read your comment. I'm so sorry, for you and your customers, that happened. It must have been heartbreaking to get your guitars back in that condition.
I sold a rare guitar to a guy at a bargain price (it had been abandoned at my place so I decided to pass along the good fortune) and the buyer went nuts and publicly posted how my packaging was horrendous and the guitar's neck should have snapped and noone should deal with me -- despite the fact that the instrument arrived in perfect condition! I should have demanded that he return it and then sold it to someone else for what it was actually worth!
@@KenLieck My mother had a saying, here translated to English; 'If you get run over it is typically by a shit cart, not by a carriage.'
Bloody hell that would make me mad, don't customs use scanners/xray machines!!!???
Huge respect to you man. I would have felt so defeated and demoralized after receiving the Grizzly statue in that shape (it broke my heart to see it and it's not even my sculpture!). The fact that you could push through that kind if disappointment, and move forward with such a solid and stunning repair says so much about you as a person. Truly inspiring. Thank you for sharing the ups AND the downs.
Thank you very much... Oh I was for sure defeated... But after a couple of sleeps I realized the problem started with me (termites originaly in the wood I used). So there was no other option, I had to fix it.
My thoughts exactly. I’d have reimbursed the owner, through the damn thing as far as I can and became entomophobial for the rest of my days. But not this guy! He is a real McCoy .
@@BMSculptures Did the customer accept the fixed sculpture??
I agree, that was a class act on your part
Amen!
Beautiful! I can't believe you were able to restore it to an even better state.
I know of a case where an antique piece of furniture was purchased and brought home. It was full of termites. The termites migrated to the house and caused $75,000.00 worth of damage to the house.
Wow 😢
Yep I’d believe it, I wouldn’t want it back in my house personally. That person probably has termites not too.
Exactly, this man sent them a piece of wood that could destroy their ENTIRE home. NOT acceptable for ANY reason. He'd be paying my Terminix bill for the next 2 years also.
@@1aikane That’s the gamble when choosing a true antique. I got lucky with my husband. 🫶
"It started with me, and it's going to end with me" Was a cold line, I love the mentality and dedication to the right thing.
This shows how honest the artist is.
bruh he sold someone termite infested walnut, what dedication or mentality in that decision points anywhere towards 'the right thing'?
@@zhernandoz43 the dedication to not leave a customer on the hook for a mistake. There are lots and lots of people out there who'd do that.
@@zhernandoz43 Agreed. The title is also disappointing since it implies it was the client's fault any of this happened.
Yeah, sorry bootlicker, but it really isn't difficult to inspect wood for termites, AND if you're putting it in someone's home, that's one of the least expectations one should have for oneself.
And artists do screw people over, but not ones dependent on lykes, and I do not like how the title has shock value indicating the customer did anything wrong. If he infested my home with termites, I would have not been polite enough to just mail it back.
Someone I know that's in medical and loves to work with wood recommended to me the following when looking at larger pieces: Use a stethoscope and check all around. If you hear *anything*, it's not good. Alternatively, get it x-rayed to check or just blasting with radiation to kill anything inside. He had one project go very wrong, and started using his skills from other fields to pro-actively identify issues. They said bug bombing or even putting things into a larger chest freezer didn't work 100% when testing samples that were infested.
Wow, that sounds like an interesting friend with some interesting stories.
I would flip out if I heard anything in any sculpture. Not that I could afford anything like these, so it's a moot point. But it's fun to dream.
Bug bombing can't work, especially with harder woods and bigger pieces, as it cannot penetrate properly, leaving the insides untreated. Freezing/drying work, but the temperatures need to be extreme enough to destroy any eggs, but soft enough to spare the wood itself. They require time too- can't just throw them in for an hour and expect miracles.
I'm so impressed with how you repaired the bear. With the repaired damage to his back, I could not help but wonder if you carved another bear, so it looked like they were fighting for the fish.
As fantastic as the repair came out, I just can not help but wonder.
I’m afraid as the client I wouldn’t want it back, no matter how much work & expertise you put into repairing it. Every time I walked past the sculpture I would be checking for more signs of termites, so it would spoil my ownership of such a stunning piece.
Eh, sounds like a petulant problem to have
@@bogwitchbrigade Petulant? More like common sense. If someone sends you a termite-infested wood once, can you really trust them to not send you termite wood again? And even if risking termites wasn't risking structural damage to a house, the amount of paranoia I'd feel knowing that there's possibly thousands of little bugs inside my wooden statue, in my house... ugh. Awful.
Of course I feel bad for the artist, the statue truly is beautiful, and I have no idea what standard treatment is to prevent termites in wood so I can't even definitively say it's his fault or anything, but geez I would be extremely unhappy if I were his client.
@@bogwitchbrigadehaving your house infested with termites?
I'd like to suggest you start looking into baking your wood before your builds. Im thinking this and got the idea from pallets lol. Im a driver and work shipping and receiving for the last 20 yeara now. We ship out of the country and anything being shipped to a different country has to be on pallets that have been baked and marked as such. They do this to kill any and every bug included termites.
Cool
On a much...much smaller scale, I have baked small pieces of wood and sticks in my home oven to sterilize them for art projects, etc. Has worked pretty well for me¯\_(ツ)_/¯ In certain cases it even dried and strengthened woods that were nearing the point of getting too wet/breaking down and otherwise I would've abandoned. That reminds me...I have a cool stick I still need to sterilize (looks like a cool wizard staff, found it at a lake).
My company gets a lot of overseas pallets, and a lot are irradiated when we get 'em.
@@laya8880How do you bake something that big?
This brings up an interesting option. I'm in manufacturing and buy heat treated pallets for export as well, it's not uncommon. I wonder if BM Sculptures would be able to work with one of these manufactures to bake his wood prior to start. Save a lot of heart ache.
I respect "The problem started with me and it's going end with me", much respect for pride in your craft. And you are amazing at your craft! Thanks for sharing the story.
You are a genius. We are so lucky to have people like this in the world.
Man, as an artist (not a sculptor), I would have tossed the bear and started over. I just never would have felt the termites were actually gone. Your tenacity is astounding.
Even after all he did, if it were me I think I would have hung onto it for a few months to make sure they were gone
Tenacity? More like stupidity.
The fact termites infested a wooden sculpture that is soaked and covered in resin, not to mention surviving multiple attempts to kill them all off, shows how resilient they can be. O_O
The termites were already in the wood.
Thats why he should have heat treated it but didnt.
It shows that the piece needed to be burned, now thos dude is just breeding super termites.
they get all the air they need from the wood itself, its not like... 100% sealed, nothing wood ever is; it breathes and the termites get plenty of air and moisture just from the wood.
He even mentions how there were no apparent holes. I wonder why. (There were waste products under it back at the client's house, so there were indeed holes, but he just didn't feel like saying it on the video.🙄)
also: Wood can only soak resin up to a point. It at best creates a gradient skin around 1/4'' thick. I doubt they would go through it so easily. There were several jail-breaks only once he sanded down the resin.
I think you should carve a termite
hahahahaha
Asking for trouble in the form of bear infestation.
Jesus 😂😂. He could probably make it look good but I'm sure it's the last thing he wants to think about.
The termites likely crowled out of the bear and infested the client’s house. I can totally understand his frustration. You’re in the wrong by trying to fix something which should be burned to ashes.
Honestly, it was wonderful to watch you troubleshoot that sculpture right to the end! I grew up in a home with 1890's hardwood timber floors. My parents hoping to reno, peeled back the carpets and discovered the WHOLE house was termite infested, not a single section of floor was safe, we all moved out for 6-8 weeks whilst the entire house was fumigated. When that was done they were actually rather fond of the beautiful scribbles the termites had left behind, and the wood was a honey coloured eucalypt. So they polished the boards and resin coated the whole lot. The home I grew up in had such interesting floors! I've never seen someone salvage termite timber in such a way since!
When I was growing up we had a huge dining table that was probably 100+ years old that had thermite holes all over (no live thermites luckily) and it was beautiful.
I have to be honest, if you pay tens of thousands of dollars for a sculpture, you may expect to get a reaction if you believe the termites came from within the sculpture. In the interest of fairness, it is important to get both sides of the story.
Walnut burls are well known to contain white sap wood that will contain termites are Carpenter ants.
The foam is worthless, preasure treating or heat treating in a Curing oven is the only way to rid the sculpture of Termites.
Professionals never would have had termite in a sculpture.
Those termites can infect his workshop and the clients house. He needs to burn it, get the shop tented, and make a new sculpture if the client will even accept or take a chance with this guy or give the money back. I love his work but seeing this video I would not buy anything from this guy but that's my personal opinion.
I don't think this sculpture was trying to get out of fixing it, but the way it was delivered was criminal and was designed to communicate the buyer's disgust, not helpful and frankly disrespectful. It is a beautiful sculpture and he didn't put termites,in it on purpose. Maybe they came from the buyers place.
I agree that the moment our clever sculptor took possession of the wood for the piece, he was 100% responsible from there on.
All on him...unless he got a detailed appraisal of the piece of wood, stating that it was bug-less, before he bought it, and he could somehow prove he didn't expose it to wood munchers.
@@justice2255 the termites most likely were introduced in the shipping process. If his shop was termite infested or the piece was termite infested when it came to him, all his pieces would have termite problems. Its most likely an error on the shipping company side or the client's how had termites in his house . Also you could see an termite infestation while you carve or the client would have seen it. So most likely the termites came from the client's house since the problem acoured after 6 months
Hate to shit on people who have done hopnest work, but you sent a piece that had termites in it. Just put yourself in the buyers position, if you buy something that after delivery turns out to be infested with bugs it would be the manufacturers liability.
Lmao “honest work”?!?!! That was 100% him impersonating a delivery driver, so I’d say that’s 100% dishonest work!
@@harrisonhanson2998lol quite the investigator you are! What gave it away? Was it the large comical nose he was wearing? Or the use of a completely different box? You are very perceptive though, good job!
@@harrisonhanson2998that was obviously a joke?? Hes literally wearing those goofy nose glasses and kicking an empty box
That bear is a stunning reflection of your skills and tenacity.
As a former fully licensed Pest Control Operator (PCO) in Florida, I can tell you the only truly effective way to eliminate Drywood termites is through using fumigants, e.g., Methyl Bromide, Vikane (sulfuryl fluoride), or Phosphine (not commonly used for wood destroying organisms)
Also the tunneling is commonly referred to as termite "galleries".
Some companies will place items within a structure already being fumigated for little to no charge. (Depending on the hassle) others and most effective as we had are vaults specifically for isolated items.
Liquid fumigants are another beast entirely... and very ineffective!!! (As you now know).
I was so sick when I saw the bear. It was such an impressive statue when I watched you making it. So glad it was saved and beautifully so.
I'm sorry, but I would never trust that there aren't more termites inside. Call it. Carve another bear.
My thoughts exactly. I would also want my home fumigated immediately and I'd never allow that piece back into my home. It's just not worth the risk.
Guys delusional. Using infected biohazard as his materials and thinks customers what that in their home.
@@jdsbkotevjk it's wood and some (admittedly very destructive) insects, not infectious nor a biohazard
I agree
Bingo. The fact that he used this video to sell products in between?No remorse and no shame. Why would I support someone like this?
Do the termites being in the bear give you concern for the other wood you may have in stock? It looks amazing.
Luckily I do not have anymore of that specific piece of burl left... I will be fumigating all future projects that do not use kiln dried wood.
Yeah I would totally change how I store and treat wood after this.
Sorry altho beautiful workmanship personally I do not like the 1/2 wood 1/2 acrylic bear. Its very odd looking. Full wood better
@@BMSculpturesyou shouldn’t be using anything but kiln dried. Kiln dried doesn’t just kill bugs but also ensures the wood you are using is stable and doesn’t shrink like it did with this sculpture. Fumigation will take care of bugs but not moisture content. This burl wasn’t kiln dried and it shows. An unfortunate and painful learning experience for both you and your customer.
@@2ladybughippies569who cares what you think 🤔
That’s clutch. Even when things go wrong you can acknowledge setbacks and keep working without any damage to the brand. I’d trust you more after seeing the dedication to make it right. It turned into a whole new sculpture. Great work
As an artist I find your resilience and persistence very inspiring! And I'm glad the story has a happy ending and that you were able to rebuild ad repair the sculpture. It looks even more beautiful now than it did before
I’m so impressed you were able to repair the bear. That seems harder than carving it in the first place. Great work!
Your sculptures in resin and wood are out of this world man. I’ve worked with wood since I can remember and only had a termite problem once in a piece. We had to cut down this huge Kiawé tree that was dying in Hawaii. (Kiawé is Mesquite), and the dead branches and limbs were infested with Formosan termites (the worst kind of termite), but I found a nice straight branch with no termites in it. Carved an elaborate walking stick with an octopus in relief that wrapped around the shaft. It turned out way too nice to go hiking with so I propped it up in a corner as a piece of art. Lots of friends really liked my carved walking stick. As usual, you get bored with pieces from the past and move on to bigger and better things. The walking stick sat there in the corner untouched for at least a year. A new friend came over for a couple beers one night. He saw the walking stick in the corner and asked, “Wow! Did you make that?” I nodded, he said, “Can I check it out?” I nodded, “Sure man, I did that a couple years ago.” He walked over and picked up from the head and the stick broke in half with hundreds of termites and their droppings spilling all over the floor. He looked at me like he’d done something wrong. As if I knew it was infested with termites and completely hollowed out on the inside. Wow. It was just a thin shell of wood now and you could just crumble it in your hands into sawdust with very little effort. Okay, that piece is gone, and I spent the evening making sure I killed every termite and egg. The formosan termite will hollow out huge beams in your house and you’d never know it. Just a shell of paint. I’ve demo’d a garage where a 4x12 looks sound but I could crush it with my hands.
So I feel your pain, brother.
That's utterly horrifying thank you
WOOD+ PUBLISH THAT BOOK, GOOBER
@@LEELUNK-IS-A-HUNK , Derp. You’re a joke, troll-boy.
@@sypeiterra7613 , Yeah, Hawaii is famous for formosan termites. They just eat whole houses. Those are ground termites. Tropical termites. Mostly on the mainland you have dry wood termites. In Hawaii we have both but dry wood termites are usually in small moldings and trim. Not a big deal. Replace the trim, fumigate the area and it’s over. Ground or formosan termites are just crazy man. But we have ways of controlling them. One trick is to leave a nice tasty piece of pine in the middle of the yard. Pound a stake in the ground. If that wood gets eaten then they are there and heading for the foundation. No houses in Hawaii have a basement because that requires digging through lava rock so most houses are on stilts and foundation blocks. No need for insulation, Hawaii is hot year round and you can crawl under your house and check for termite mud trails. It’s just a fact of life over there but if you’re somewhere on the mainland, I can’t imagine termites alone would destroy your house. So relax and have fun. This is an art channel featuring one of the best wood and resin sculptures I’ve ever seen. Take care and stay safe. Aloha 🤙🏼
Nightmarish and haunting and I hate that I read that. Thanks.
Love the Bear. It is a great logo to begin with but you took it to the next level! Well done, your client better be over the Moon!
Man i get that it had termites and the client might not want them in their house but to ship it back in such a disasterous way is inexcusable. I'm glad it was able to be fixed, this was one of my fav sculptures of yours when you first did it. Still a fav!
I am also confused why the box was not plastered in "fragile" stickers. Perhaps the client thought because it's heavy, it does not require special handling?
@@Diluculi1 it should have been in a padded wooden box at least, not cardboard. If they have the money to pay for a comissioned sculpture, they have the money to properly ship it
The client was probably too upset and angry with the situation that they no longer care. And they probably think the sculpture is already wasted, no longer fixable at that point so they didn't care much when shipping it back.
I get it in a way. I wouldn't care much for the thing that brought termites in my house
Yes I the one who shipped the bear, sorry I was also dropped when I was kid
Those holes on the bear's back resemble a battel's scars from a fight with another bear over the fish
a grizzled grizzly
I was thinking the same thing! They look like battle scars.
yeah was thinking the same thing. it almost gives kitsugi vibes
The clean wood from before does have more character now. A statue that represents strength and resilience of the fighting spirit. With all the cross-sections before, the new piece has even more depth and personality. Doesn't look cliché. Looks like a story
Bingo!! I, too, thought that same thing. This is now part of the Bear's story, its journey. A noble bear who has survived many battles to tell his stories.
The fact that you were able to bring that bear sculpt back from oblivion was impressive and so was the logo build. The termite damage did give the sculpt more character...like an old grizzly that's been through a lot yet has survived the wild. Great stuff!
THE BUYER HAD BUYERS REMORSE AND FIGURED OUT A WAY TO MAKE IT LOOK LIKE IT GOT INFESTED WITH TERMITES, THEN SHIPPED THE BEAR UNPROTECTED SO THAT IT COMES BACK BROKEN AND THE BLAME FALLS ON THE SHIPPING COMPANY, THIS IS COMMON PRACTICE, BUYER GETS REFUND, THE SHIPPING COMPANY GETS BLAMED
If the delivery cam is accurate the delivery company deserves the blame!😂😂😂😂😂@@LEELUNK-IS-A-HUNK
Respect for fixing the issue. Doing the job the right way. And responsibly fixing an external/internal circumstance (the termites). By making the effort to do the right thing, it will bring you more business and solidify your reputation. 🙂🤝❤️
FYI. You can freeze the wood. Insecticides can only penetrate so far. But you can freeze the whole thing for a few weeks, and that will kill the termites
You would need an industrial freezer normal ones don’t get cold enough
@niamaysing359 Now you might be a termite expert and I'm definitely not one, but from the little research I did, termites can be killed at any temperature below 25F/-4C, and most household freezers are well below that around 0F/-18C. Sure, with any normal freezer it might take several weeks to freeze all the way through, but that's also the case for most industrial freezers. And unless there's a sort of industrial freezer I'm unaware of, most of them also run in that same range, or possibly a bit colder. I'm sure there are scientific freezers that are kept significantly colder, but those are exceedingly rare and those temperatures are not required to exterminate termites. It's pretty simple to think about. Termites, like all insects are made of cells full of water. Once that water freezes their cells rupture and they die. Because they're so small, they freeze near instantly, so any temperature below freezing can quite quickly kill them.
It will kill SOME termites, there are species that can survive freezing. Cockroaches are after all social cockroaches and are tough little bastards because of that. (no really they're part of the cockroach order of insects)
@@niamaysing359took them three days to thaw out carbone for the autopsy.
@niamaysing359
Actually antique dealers do this and it is advised to freeze any wood antiques before you bring them in the house. This bear would fit in a chest freezer and they can get darn cold.
The client is probably fighting a losing battle with terminates in their home from their introduction with this sculpture. It is understandable to note their horror and frustration. Equally, getting sent back a broken sculpture is also saddening. No wrong parties, just pain all around.
In Hawaii, we live w/ termites...flying type and those that are "subterranean" All kinds.
@@Rhoda8002All termites are "the flying type"!!
They start out as larvae, then become nymphs (I think) then proceed to hungry teenagers, then once a year the mature ones mate, lay eggs, get wings, and fly away to form new colonies. Seeing a bunch of wings laying around on the ground is a sure sign you've got an infestation. Call Orkin®️!
Conversely, a natural solution are "Beneficial Nematodes". They might not have been any help in this unique situation, but in the open air, go underground where termites live and eat them from the inside out! They are microscopic, tiny little "bugs"(?) who work 24/7/365 eating termites, lawn grubs, and other soil born bad guys(hornworms!) (Supposedly they leave earth worms alone.) They form their own colony whose mission is to destroy all the bad guys.
Hawaii Termites probably differ in that they live in a pretty moist environment, and many were imported from China (long before Hawaii was even a State) and other SE Asian countries, through trade activities.
I agree but what really gets me is the way the bear was packaged when they sent it back to him. It caused so much extra damage. They were so careless and inconsiderate. Who puts something like that in a simple Amazon package?
No, he obviously sold them and infested piece of wood.
@@pdmacguire That's what NouraZahle was saying.
As someone who lives in an apartment with termites eating through the drywall I know how terrifying it can be to have them around. Certainly always wondered how wood sculptures were termite-proofed; absolutely crazy to see that the first fumigation didn't nuke them. Hope this updated version lasts :)
This will make you feel better I'm sure, termites are eusocial cockroaches. They are actually roaches that got organized like ants with a queen and workers and soldiers. But they are not part of the same order as ants bees and wasps and evolved eusociality independently within the cockroach order.
@@atomicskull6405 Good news - you've been invaded by communists and not Nazis.
@@atomicskull6405 I thought you were joking (because of your profile picture), but wow, it's actually true 😮
Not actually recommending you do this deliberately, for obvious reasons, but if you happened to get a carpenter ant infestation, they would kill all the termites to steal their tunnels and have a nice snack, and they can't actually eat wood (at least not already broken down/rotted wood) so they wouldn't eat your apartment.
But then you have ants in your walls, which is its own problem.
@@samarnadra There was an old lady who swallowed a fly...
Omg. I’m so glad your video came across my feed. You’re real talk and explaining things has kept my attention the whole time. Consider me subscribed!
I can't believe you made it look better, those termite holes added more character to the sculpture.
Next up: GitaraMaker constructs a termite and epoxy guitar.
The epoxy & wood sculpture is probably one of the most beautiful art pieces I have ever seen! I am in awe!
You can literally post anything and I’ll watch. Do what you like!
ANYTHING!? ....
@@BMSculptures 🍆??? 🤣
@@BMSculpturespretty much 😁🤣😁🤣
Incredible workmanship! Beautifully done! Yes a catch cook & create video would be fun!! For us as much as for you hopefully! ❤
Drywood termites can lay dormant for a year or more so good luck. I hope you got 'em all.
I was thinking maybe some eggs survived fumigation and insecticide
Honestly , given the fact that the sculpture was infested from source, the purchaser will not be happy that turmites were intro there home , who knows what else they damaged. I certainly wouldn’t want the product back , and I think that’s shown by the way it was shipped . Given the damage happened in transit I would have filed a claim as that was clearly not on , refund the customer and burn it asap , the time and money involved to remove the infestation, further more the doubt lingering that it may still have infestation plus fumigation cost to the home owner , remember you would be liable for any damage caused, I know it’s heartbreaking but it’s not worth the risk
Exactly! I don't understand many other comments, praising the artist. It's his fault, not deliberately, of course, and yet... The buyer must have been horrified and furious! Who knows how much money he had to pay for dealing with the termites.
@@lisasim I believe the treatment he had done guantees that they are gone and at the end of the day, it might of cosed the buyer around $500 extra. Seeing as he took the product and went above and beyond to insure that his customer got the product he purchased doesn't really seem all that bad to me. Yes, I'm not saying who's fault it is or not but just that I don't see the outcome to be that crazy as it's a great peace and everyone is moving on from there.
I would have either given the money back or made another , poor customer service
I like your idea except there's a very slim chance the shipper paid for insurance considering their frustration. Even in the slight chance they did, it's very doubtful they paid for insurance that was anywhere near the value of something this pricey to write it off. He's the receiver, not the shipper.
I wouldn't be worried since turmites aren't a thing that exists and luckily they weren't at their home, they were at "there" home as in "that home right there".
I would be pissed that termites were introduced to my house ! So I totally get how the customer was not happy !
Definitely, and I'd say they'd certaily be entitled to a return & getting their money back, but sending the sculpture back in a cardboard box was not really acceptable.
totally agree - if the client ends up with termite damage to their property, i'm sure there would be a lot more issues!
@@Vousieit had termites, which makes it garbage. “Not acceptable” doesn’t even qualify. It’s the artists fault.
@@maralonent6257but it could also be the termites were already in the clients house. It’s hard to proof where it came from to begin with. Because if it was, then those termites should have been at the creator as well. Termites don’t live in a vacuum. The creators place should have had the same problem. If he didn’t, something is off. Plus if you send it back, you are responsible for that. It almost seems he used a friend, to do it, this delivery guy knew, and was disguised for a reason.
@@helenaterschegget8791 Oh my god you can't be real, the footage was a fun prank the creator of the video did, it's him, it even has an ups post it on the back, please refrain from talking like this next time.
I think having all wood heat-treated before you use it would eliminate all bugs. Chemicals only work on the outside, and I would not want to have a sculpture with dangerous chemicals in my home.
heat treating wood makes it dry and crack up, often making it worse for use in sculptures. It's better to not heat treat it since termites like this would be such a rare occurrence
@@hannanah8036 You are meant to do it to the raw materials, especially if you wanna sell to people.🙄Do it slowly over a few weeks, starting at lower temperatures and ending at 200F. If not, you cannot guarantee egg-free and non-warping pieces. When doing it for a living, a small kiln room is kinda a must. If a craftsman doesn't want to bother, then they should buy already treated materials.
Beyond anything, I love how you rectified this situation and assured yourself as well as your client. Thank you for the upload sir. Very nice projects.
I love that you saved the bear from wood's greatest enemy. I watch woodworking videos because they remind me a lil of what my dad would have been doing right now if he hadn't had his accident. It's almost a year now, since he died. But i miss him dearly, every day.
sending you love and strength Xx
@@christinabellamoore thank you.
"It started with me & it's gonna end with me!".
Awesome efforts and gorgeous finalized result.🎉
To me, the new addition of the termite holes add so much character and back story to the bear.
He now looks like an elegant, wise old bear who's been through a lot in his time and wearing the scars of past battles and fights, but now he's found peace in life and blissfully walks into the sunset with a freshly caught fish.
This is a true work of art - kudos to you 👏🏻
Exactly what I thought.
Me too
The story would make me scared to buy it.
@@tmo4330 Reading it back now, it does have a slightly sinister undertone...
I guess it all depends on the way you look at it 😄
“Back story”. Heh
Blake… your work and skill is one thing…. World class in my eyes, but your honesty and integrity is outstanding!!! You are a credit!! And your humour is a close third… massive respect to you feller 👏👏👏👏
Those termites (and rough-handling) were heart-breakers. Glad you revived that masterpiece. Thank you.
Sending clients termites is not cool
You say that as though he intentionally did.
Too bad
Now the bear has scars like in real life. He fought and lost. But got up again to fight another day.
I hope all termites are now ex-termi-nated.
Somehow I can't really decide which bear I like better.
The first bear reminds me of a young bear that has its entire life ahead of it. The second bear is more of a specimen at the peak of life with experience and scars that have shaped him.
Both are beautiful.
I was agreeing with several of the commenters stating that he should have just scrapped the bear, burned it, whatever. But after reading your comment I appreciate the real life application of the hopeless bear transformed through rough times and many struggles...
Total dedication to bring back that sculpture. Even more beautiful for its lived experience. You are a master sculptor.
13:04 thats because of the grit and the impact of the acrylic. The higher the grit the less impactful scratch marks are left and in this case this works against that because the more pronounced the scratch marks are the more refraction they have, therefore it makes the acrylic more translucent than transparent and with that the light is distributed in a wider area. When the grit is higher the scratch marks are reduced from microscopic level to nanometric level and as such there are going to be much more scratch marks but in lesser depth and with less refraction, transmitting the image better but decreasing the area the light is going to be shown at.
I am sitting here with my mouth open how in the world did you repair your beautiful bear sculpture so flawlessly?? It’s absolutely gorgeous. You have a God given talent. I hope you prosper. ❤😊
Glued wood can be so miraculous, as long as you match up the parts perfectly, the grain does all the visual work of perceived perfection.
And in another 5 months is going to be broken again. Those bugs are not death.
I like the bear with all the holes it adds character/ as long as the bugs are dead
I agree. Thanks!
There's still one alive in there for sure 😂
Poor client, I would have been worried that the termites jumped ship and are now eating your client’s house
Poor client ? It rude client.....at least send back the stuff with grace if hate that pest so much buy a like covid suit a glove than trash it......the crafter use so much soul on to it like damn
@@CRaZyAbOuTYuGi so im assuming you are usually happy paying thousands of dollars and infest your house with bugs? you are a real beta cock lol
Not sure how you can be rude when you waste more money on an object than decent people in normal countries spend on a whole apartment for their family to live in... and then it's full of shit.
@@CRaZyAbOuTYuGi so i assume you always like to spend thousands of dollars and get a piece of garabage. You must be really into this submissive masochistic stuff
@@oaktharas its clear the termites came from the client and not him. Several factors point to that if you actually thought about it. but you didnt lol
Joinery is not Boring, its the best part of woodworking
Should have thrown it in a deep freezer for a few weeks. The termites would die. That's what museums do to preserve wood artifacts.
museums don't preserve resin and wood composite sculptures. as an art form they're only a few decades old. basically untested tech you're recommending. the wood and resin have different coefficients of thermal expansion, and one material doesn't absorb water. freezing and thawing it would probably blast it apart.
@travismiller5548
Honestly, this would have been the perfect opportunity to try out "untested tech." If not a project like this w8th so much damage already done, f*ck it, why not?
@@travismiller5548 sure, but he could at least freeze the wood before making the sculpture to avoid this problem in the future
its the easiest and cheapest but gamma radiation is what is used is for high end stuff
@@richardthomson4693 Hulk-Bear?
My cousin Jerry had some storm damaged oak trees and he had just purchased a home recently that did not have a mantle over the fire place …. The home was modern so thing like a mantle or base around where wall met floor wasn’t used . But however they painted a 3.5 inch silvery gray strip where the base would be … anyhow so the whole summer he is working on this oak mantle 5 inches deep and 5.5 feet long and 16 inches wide . He sawed cut and shaved the wood with a hand plane until perfect then he finished it then hung it . And over the Christmas holidays my family made cit over an$ got pictures with his beautiful mantle! Until I noticed worm holes in the finish hundreds of tiny perfect round holes . Well then he did like you insecticide vacuum sealed waited weeks filled holes and refinished! Only to have the holes return 2-3 weeks later . This was his winter project ! Finally when spring arrived he borrowed my hog roaster and 40# of kingsford charcoal he fired it up and placed his beautiful mantle in closed the lid and let the charcoal burn out and cool down a couple of days and he called me over to assist it removing it and helping him flip it around so he could put on the final finish . The mantle was still very warm I commented that my aching back would love to lay on that that super warm piece of wood so the next day I’m waiting for him to arrive from work . When we opened the lid to our suprise the mantle had developed a very high arch like a 7 inch arch in the center ! Well what happened next was like a seen from a murder scene he had me help to put it on the driveway hey went into the garage and returned with a axe 😂the words that came out of this man were well harsh , he took too screaming chopping kicking yelling and finally pushed off the driveway and set on fire ! I told Jerry to have a good night and drove home . We don’t talk about the no mantle over the fireplace anymore. Ever .
I gave my Brother a cherry log which he had a saw mill cut into a mantle for his house, it turned out beautiful.😊
@@stevedingman474 🤣🤣🤣
Wow. Sounds frustrating. Maybe your friend needs to curb his impulses and try the artist's approach. In the end, the piece came out even better. I'm still unclear whether the client finally took the sculpture or a refund.
All he had to do was put it outside during winter for a week under a roof. (If you actually have a proper winter, that is.) Well, that would fix the termites, but since he didn't (slowly) heat-treat/dry the raw materials before ever working on that piece, the high heat cycles from the fireplace could have distorted it anyway. Poor Jerry was doomed from the start.
After you discovered termites, why in the world would you continue fooling around with that wood ? Having been in my own business I've had to eat humble pie a couple of times. I would have apologize to the customer and made him another while I watched the original go up in flames.
That's why the planet is so polluted in so many ways, people too quick to dump or destroy rather than repair.
Logical
I think he hasn't eaten enough humble pie yet. Maybe the sunk cost fallacy is in play.
Cuz bro is cheap and also why waste a chance for free content
Yeah i would do the same man
Absolutely AMAZING!!!! Both sculptures are incredibly beautiful! After you found the live termite I was thinking "I think you should give this one up". Wow! Was I wrong. Thank you so much for sharing all this. You are a Master Carver! Brilliant!
Very beautiful ... and clever! I hope the client is now happy and all is resolved.
It's truly a stunning piece. Ironically, it is also a tragic yet informative reminder of one of the many reasons why we heat treat wood before working it.
Beautiful and educational!
Would heat treating it have even worked? He cooked that sculpture in the sun till the wood cracked and there was STILL termites living in it.
@@Ithenna it wouldnt get past 50C, less inside the wood as it's an insulator. Hot, but manegeable.
12:00 respect to his dedication to fixing the sculpture bc at that point I would have given up and broke the whole thing open out of sheer curiosity
What do I think about this sculpture? It is so original and you are more than a talented sculptor. It is the most beautiful animal carving I have ever seen. And, the mixture of epoxy and wood is almost unbelievable. What a gifted mind you have. This is my original thought and I can't wait to see how you solve this problem. I know you will succeed beyond all expectations.
Glad you fixed the infected bear. i like the extra patina the insects created and now the bear has
a cool story to go behind it.
Thanks, Glad you like it!
2:12 it’s Flynn Rider! I recognise the nose!
This really shouldn't have been as funny to me as it was😅🤣
Underrated lmao.
🥸
I don’t know. the wanted posters always, can’t get the nose right. 🤥
😂😂😂
a beautiful piece, sad about the termites. That piece of wood unfortunately infested bad, I have to say I wouldn't trust that they're not still there.
Oh no! I’m deviated for you! I loved this piece so much! Absolutely heart breaking ❤
I really admire how you took the client's word about the termites being in the wood. It would have been easy to defend your position and argue that the termites came from his property, but you chose to listen instead. I'm also thrilled that you were able to remediate the carved bear-it looks incredible!
They possibly did come from the clients property however, as each time it goes back it ends up reinfested, despite every treatment its had!
He cant plausibly deny that it isnt his fault, he never heat treated the wood, so even in a few years that bear is going to look like crap again
That bear sculpture is so beautiful. It should be in an art gallery. You’re really talented, I wish I could make something like that
I love the fact that it looks like a wounded bear like it’s Been in a fighting, this gives it more character and back story of how this bear fought these little creatures. AMAZING WORK❤️
A grizzled seasoned grizzly.
@@BMSculpturesthat was DiCaprio
Really beautiful sculpture and impressive patience!
The sculpture is gorgeous and the work behind it is real art...but not treating the wood for termites before sculpting it is unprofessional. Imagine if the people you sold it to lived in a beautiful log cabin...I would be hugely pissed off.
In his entire history of running this business he’s never encountered this problem, I’m sure he sources his wood from reputable places and didn’t think it would be an issue. I’m sure he will be diligent from now on to go the extra mile. But “unprofessional” shut up, Karen; he’s gone to extreme lengths for this sculpture there’s nothing but professionalism and taking responsibility for a mistake. You must be so fucken perfect all day every day. Stones, glass houses.
I mean that's worthy of a lawsuit
I now have the perfect video to show my clients when I explain to them why using kiln-dried wood over air-dried wood is so very important!
So sorry to hear about the sculpture, it was one of my favourites out of everything you have made, and I have been following you since your torso video! I love that you were able to save it in the end, and I think it has even more character now than it did in the first place. WHat will happen with the sculpture now?
What's odd is, it took 5ish months for them to notice it was infested, then another 6 after the treatment. Wouldn't they have made their presence known almost immediately if they weren't cleaned out? Like how he found two back to back in this video, one alive one not? Considering the amount of resin he used to form the sculpture, even the slow set 'low temp' versions get hot, doubly so at that pouring amount. From the heat of the exothermic reaction, to it being largely encased in epoxy before sculpting it's shape, what are the odds the client was the actual source of the infestation? Also odd, for the amount of proof the clients showed in pictures that the bugs were eating, he couldn't find any holes to source them.
Edit
Okay, went back and rewatched the original: He used the same base piece to form the Rhino he made previously, but as he didn't mention that one is getting chewed on here, I'm assuming it's fine. Two, he let the stump sit for a year before using it for the Bear. Didn't mention, but you'd assume he'd notice, if it was showing signs of being eaten. He cuts it in half, and doesn't show or mention any issues. He deep pours resin, but keeps it around 55 degrees. Neither hot or cold enough to wipe em out, but it was all but submerged in resin for a solid week before sculpting. There are some holes he patches, nothing bubbled up/out. So while there was a lot of room in there in theory, unless he completely missed it from start to finish, which coulda happened, until the Rhino sculpture gets sent back to him for the same reason, can't say with certainty which side is holding the hot potato.
Stunned, that you didn't put termite destruction at the very top of the list. I know for sure that I wouldn't have tried to make it pretty again before permanently ending the termite kingdom. Wow.
Wow!!! I’m sure you are perfect and have never made a mistake in your superior life.😏😏🤪🤪
@@JudyJohnson-xq4ps Perfection is not the issue, due diligence, know what your material is what it's known issues are or could be. Dude, he used BURLED WOOD! Looked up the definition of what burled wood and what causes it. I will give you one guess on a major cause of burled wood...insect infestation! WOW, who would have thought to test for it?
@@winstonsmiths2449I'm almost sure he pays a hefty price for pre-tested wood for those expensive statues.
what was that awesome tool that you had attached to your drill? was that an air-compressor mock? that would be so cool to have and i cant find what it was called
Beautiful work… however, upon the first evidence of termites a replacement should have been provided and original destroyed. This really seems like poor customer service and had it been handled differently all of this drama could have been avoided. The bear is beautiful and I’m sure it was expensive, but no one should risk their home to termites for art. Sorry.😢
Right
I think he did great customer survive. He paid for the extermination then, I’m assuming, gave a full refund in return. Despite the damage caused.
Not everything is so black and white in the world.
Most cooperate art companies wouldn’t even humor a refund after a week.
12:24 at this moment you should have make a new one.
Absolutely. That bear is firewood. Time to start a new termite-free bear.
That was an incredible save on the termite bear. I hope the termites are totally gone as the bear is stunning.
GLAD YOU CMAE UP ON MY FEED. THIS WAS SICK AS HECK!
I’m fascinated, impressed, and grossed out all at the same time. Thanks for sharing!
I have no background in woodwork or sculpting, but i found this video totally enthralling. Great work!
you are very brave to take termite infested sculpture to your wood workschop. i think i woud call it a lost and ask customer to burn it
absolutely, he should have refunded it, asked the customer to dispose of it, and offered a discount on a new commission IF the customer wants it.
Never Give Up, never surrender! Bjorn looks better than ever.....
I love the bear's journey. Almost like it has battle scars now. And I think I speak for most of us when I say I'll literally watch anything you do. Great work!
Absolutely stunning and awesome work to save that Bear!
Thank you!
Why would you send it back in a cardboard box?????? That is an absolute joke. Especially with the time and effort you put into these
Pretty sure the owner has an infested house and instead of taking responsibility for ruining the expensive sculpture they bought, TWICE, decided they would throw the item back at the artist with no genuine want for it fixed and just wanted a refund. 😒 You'd be amazed how many clients try to chargeback or demand refunds from artist after they destroy the commission and don't want it anymore. We're not a mass-produce shops people we're individuals that spend hours to years on our pieces - no refunds for your sht life decisions🙃
@@rabbitguts2518 did the client get a refund?
The most charitable explanation would probably be that the client didn’t really expect him to be able to repair it. If the client figured he’d have to carve a new one and replace it, what did it matter if the old one arrived in pieces?
Sending a termite infested product is the real joke. Can’t blame the buyer for not having concern at that point.
@@acct5910There would’ve been sign on the wood he worked with of termites. Wood rot, cracking, water damage and etc. None of that was seen when he was working with the raw materials. Only when the customer returned it have damage. It wasn’t the artist at fault. (Some of his others commissions should have termites, but they don’t.)
I built my brother's unborn son a little chair made it of an old sump. I ran into the same issue and I went through the same issue of trying the bug spay, putting more varnish on it, etc. Nine of it worked so I smoked it. I literally put in on the meat side of a horizontal smoker. I smoked it all day. When I took it out, not only did the bugs never come back but the smoked turned the chair to a very cool color.
I really hate to be a pessimist but there’s no way they got rid of the termites, especially in the part encased in resin. That sculpture has 6 months to live. 😢
I agree. Plus, fumigation only gets the outermost layers of the wood and interior channels up to the point where the dead termites block the fumigant from reaching the rest of the nest. The proper thing to do would have been to drill down into the wood and shoot the termite killing expanding spray. But even that isn't a sure fire cure. Termites are insidious. In theory one could cut the sculpture into several slices through its wooden part, check/treat for termites, then join back together.
At least, they guaranteed the fumigation.
@@waikelehawaii4409 This might be a silly question, but if the fumes can't get to the termites, how is air getting to them so they can breathe?