AusBonsai

Cheers Ken, will do!

trunk chopped the big murraya two weeks ago, and today tried out the nibbler on it. The smaller one was also trunk chopped, but at the moment it's just a stick in a pot with two little sets of leaves. It's not going as well as the big one.

It looks like the 'nibbler' does a good job of cutting wood however I'm not sure about this result. Forgive m but I think it looks like a sharpened pencil
dead wood on bonsai should look like it was carved by nature.
Some suggestions you can accept or reject:
Make all of that trunk dead wood. I can't see why just the top died but the lower part sprouted. It can't even be seen from the front so is there any point ( forgive the pun I have just recognised) (apart from carving practice) to having it?
Add some more shari to the rear of the left(?) thicker trunk that links up to the rear trunk. It will look more natural and will add (visual) taper to that strong, thick trunk.
If you can get a clearer picture of the front I'll try to do a virt of what I mean if the above does not make proper sense.

I'll take some more shots tomorrow. I know exactly what you mean about the sharpened pencil!!!

Sadly I suffer from osteoarthritis and I can only work on the carving for a short time each day. Yes, it's practice only, and yes I'll do more when my hands are able to cope.

I will be doing more....and am considering getting or borrowing an arbotech to get more off it faster. The nibbler took well over an hour to get this much done, and my hands are still aching hours later.

Cheers Neil, I am still just gratified the damn thing is alive, after the hard time it had being dug up.

Mel. Not trying to be destructive, I understand it takes quite a lot of time to do this sort of work, even without Arthur Itis helping.
I think everyone carves a pencil tip first up. It takes time and practice to work out how to take more off one side or to carve out the centre of a trunk to make it look a little more natural.

I have the mini arbortech. Great for getting into smaller spaces but needs sharpening often which is a pain. The larger cutters last longer but are severely limited when trying to work between or near other trunks or branches. I assume the tungsten tipped wheels would last much longer again but still difficult to use it in tighter spaces. Your nibbler will be more useful there.

Sharpened Pencil hit me in the funny spot!
Big lolz here!

Keep at it Mel - constructive critique from Shibui as always.
I'm sure you'll improve this over time - it's no rush mate.

Definitely a learning experience, and yes, it's the mini arbortech I was thinking of. I have used one once, and found it to be quite lightweight and easy, compared to the larger die grinder (?) one. Do they not come with tungsten tips? Luckily for me I have a hubby who will be able to help with sharpening blades, so there is that.
I see they also have an extension so you can get it into trickier places as well, which would make it even more useful.

I hope to be able to bring the whole trunk down a lot more, in time, I'll also practise on the other stick in a pot. No more sharpened pencils.

Nice recovery Mel and mice trunk
the wood is very hard so will still be there in a year or 2 so you can refine the carving over a long time.
Ken

the wood is very hard so will still be there in a year or 2 so you can refine the carving over a long time.

crikey, found that out the hard way!

good to know there's no rush to finish the carving, reckon it'll be weeks before I can use my hands properly again.

Cheers Ken

Thanks Boics, I really do value everyone's help here! It's very kind on Neil to always be so helpful, many are not willing to share their knowledge, sadly!

I originally posted the shots yesterday so that Redsonic and Pierre can see how the trees are going, since we'll be getting together soon to talk bonsai. Sarah, the lady who allowed us to rip them out of her yard might also be interested. The extra feedback is always welcome and appreciated, ta.

So now I've gone out and taken some slightly better shots of the large one, in all directions, and the smaller one as well. I ordered the mini turbo today, hopefully I'll be able to bring that pencil top right down to the fork so that it's not so intrusive.

Here's a very amateur virt to try to illustrate my idea. This one is the view from the back at the moment. Just by making part of that tall, thick trunk into dead wood it is lightened and given the appearance of taper, even without carving out the wood but if you wanted to you could probably sculpt that shari to include grooves and hollows. I would take this dead wood a similar amount round to the front so you get the same feeling from that side as well.
Same concept could be applied to the other trunk to match. Dead wood goes right down to the fork to join up with the dead stump at the back.

Sounds like a plan, thanks Neil!

Thanks for the progression Mel, I think its coming along great. Not all jobs need to be done at the one time, and work done progressively will reap big rewards.
I concur with your thoughts on Shibui, champion bloke and always good sensible advice freely given.

Cheers Watto, hopefully I'll be able to keep it alive, and extend the progression for a few more years. (fingers crossed!)

I was lucky enough to be able to book a couple of hours with Tony Bebb at my place. I have a few very large plants that I just can't handle on my own.

The Murraya is one of them, so between the two of us we managed to manhandle it into the wheelbarrow, trim the roots and place it into the 600mm drum pot, and then Tony did some judicious pruning.

Edit: the front is the upside down triangle pattern on the pot.

It's coming along nicely!
I haven't worked on the smaller one yet.

If you're wondering about the wheels, I'm also very lucky to have a husband who makes things....he had some left over kwila from the deck, so put together a lot of plant holders on castors. (reckons it saves him having to help me move the pots.)