AusBonsai

It looks good with the irregularity of the outline. It may benefit from deepening of the carving at the edges to create depth from shadows.

Earls wood hardener applied in repeated doses should help prevent further unwanted decay/rot whilst maintaining natural colour

I Like the thinned top you have in the second image.
Aslo as Angus said above, Earls should fix it, assuming the ant problem is resolved.

Ken

I think you've done great so far and would like to see the crown shortened/reduced .

Boics wrote:Mate. No real advice from me.
Just wanted to say job well done on the carving and front placement. In my opinion you have taken this tree in the right direction and received some very sound advice.

I look forward to seeing the next steps you take on this one!

Thanks Boics. I do think I have had some great and sound advice on this one. The best bit about ausbonsai, aye? Always appreciate your comments mate.

Bougy Fan wrote:It looks good with the irregularity of the outline. It may benefit from deepening of the carving at the edges to create depth from shadows.

I think the outline is working too but you're right, bougy... Looking at the photos, the depth problem is becoming obvious. I'll get to that at the next carve. Thanks for pointing it out.

Isitangus wrote:Earls wood hardener applied in repeated doses should help prevent further unwanted decay/rot whilst maintaining natural colour

kcpoole wrote:I Like the thinned top you have in the second image.
Aslo as Angus said above, Earls should fix it, assuming the ant problem is resolved.

Ken

milly.abrahams wrote:I think you've done great so far and would like to see the crown shortened/reduced .

Ken, Angus, Milly... I think I will reduce it. Thanks for the confidence. In terms of wood hardener, is it difficult to apply to nooks and crannies (i.e. very deep holes)?

Thanks everyone again.

Cheers,

Ces.

Great progression,
Your carving job is fantastic.

Cheers,
Anthony

Mate not difficult to apply at all-at bunnings you can buy it in a small bottle with spray applicator. If your worried you could spray and tip the tree back to make sure it gets right in the grooves at the back. Spray and leave it for a few days and repeat 2-3times

Hey guys,

Once again thanks for all the comments an suggestions... really helping me decide what to do with this tree. Now that I HAVE decided I'd like to get to it but want to get rid of the ants and treat with wood hardener before wiring and finishing the first styling. So I've filled the ants' nest with mortein ant sand and spread it around the soil surface... while there is a reduction in ant activity they're still around. I think maybe they've moved into the soil. Sooooo....

WHAT THE HELL CAN I DO TO GET RID OF THEM?

I would soak the pot in a water bath but dont want to drench the new dead wood and that created by the ants. Or would this be ok as long as it was treated with earl's as soon as it dried out?

Thanks for the help guys.

Cheers,

Ces.

I would wait for the hardener to dry and then fully submerge the pot

Bougy Fan wrote:I would wait for the hardener to dry and then fully submerge the pot

G'day Bougy,

So you think hit it with the hardener even with the ants in there possibly? I haven't treated it wth earl's yet.

The hardner won't be affected by the prescense of ants. Reapply the ant sand while your waiting to submerge the pot

ok. thanks guys. will report back

Update on this Pyracantha 'Ruby Mound'.

So I managed to sort the ants out (thanks for the advice guys) and treated the carving with Earl's Wood Hardener. A couple of days ago i gave this tree its second styling. its got a long way to go but I'm pretty happy with where its heading now.

A few pics... I left the stub of a major branch on, as i was running out of wire that day and had already used the branch as an anchor for the wire on another branch before i decided to remove it. I will work the stub down at a later time, which should also improve the taper of that branch. The right side is lagging well behind the left, which I am attempting to correct with several sacrifice branches. I think I'm a few year of seeing berries on this one, as i will continue to work on the structure.

Let me know what you think guys.

Cheers,

Ces.

Wow I like this tree Ces great job on the work so far!

What's your choice for carving tool?

Inspired wrote:Wow I like this tree Ces great job on the work so far!

What's your choice for carving tool?

Thanks mate. I use a makita die grinder with various router attachments for almost all of the carving. Finishing details are carved using a dremel.

Hope that helps you.