first time at carving

[astroboy76]

hey all,

this was a big jack-hum crabapple i purchased about a year ago. i performed a trunk chop as the trunk was a foot tall with no taper at all. i got two quick buds shoot a few weeks later. one at the back left corner which in the space of a week is already 4 inches long, the thickness of a pencil and where each leaf it another branch is shooting. not sure if this is because it is the first shoot after a trunk chop so all the plants energy si going into it, or if this tree is naturally a big fast grower. i think it might be cos last growing season the branches thickened up unbelievably. the second bud shot thru the healing scar on the right hand side. PERFECT!

anyways, i have a few crabs already so thought i would try something different. i have a folder on my pc of pics of bonsai i find on google that i use for ideas or inspiration. one of these pics really caught my attention so i am determined to create something similar. below is a pic of the tree that has inspired me. followed by my first carving attemp.

if you look closely u will see a tiny nub on the right hand side at the top with the first signs of new budding popping out. and you will see the thick little shot growing up from the back left. the trunk is about the size of a coke can if not a little bigger

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[kvan64]

Hi astro. A bit too serious for just one single carving. I would have done it in two goes to reduce the deadwook slowly. Nevertheless, it looks good and I like it. Looks like you're spot on with the design.
Please keep posted.
Cheers.
DK

[craigw60]

Great work Astro, the tree you have picked out to copy is beautiful. Jack hum is a great variety of apple.
Craigw

[bodhidharma]

Excellent job Astro. I hope it survives as it will be stunning. What tools were used for the job.

[astroboy76]

well so far so good. the two shoots are still strong and healthy. I took great care in not removing to much wood around them for now. the carving kit i bought from Bunnings is a Ryobi. Was only $90 with 120 peices. I bought a dremel cutting tool separate though and this i used for the carving. Not sure what its called but it has a round head and look like a honey ladel

[astroboy76]

here is a pic of the bit that i used. it is the middle one with the round head. Also attached some closeup pics as i just realised that the original pictures are quite small

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[blkrota]

Very nice work , looks great

[astroboy76]

thanks mate. hows ur mume coming along? any pics to share?

[Jamie]

nice one champ I like it, love what ya done and the tree is a great one to try and recreate.

the carving bits you have used are good! the middle one takes some good amounts out, another one that is a great little carving bit is in the dremel range number 199 it is a toothed carbide bit like those to but is a round disc similar to a circular saw, it will remove wood well when dragged across the wood and also works really well for grooves and lines, just do it slow as it will dig down if it grabs hard.

look forward to the progression!

[astroboy76]

hey everyone,

Thought i would post an update on my first carving attempt. This Crabapple is amazingly resilient. it survived a trunk chop and a complete hollowing out and has come back with brute force. The growth is so strong its amazing. Not sure if this is because its a mature tree and is still in its foam training box or if it had so much energy stored up in its roots that it is just pushing new growth out with more vigour than any tree i have known....maybe its both?

It only shot from the trunk in two places but the branches are so thick already and every node has shot out secondary branching. its due for a good wire this weekend before the branches set but here is a pic to show you all of its progress. if you look past the big leaves you will see all the secondary shoots growing in every direction. once summer comes i will defoliate and cut back the main growing branches.

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[astroboy76]

ok, so here we are, two months later and this crabapple just continues to go nuts. it is ramifying at every node and the photo below is after its second partial defoliation. I completely defoliated it a few weeks back and it caused awesome growth. this time i just defoliated the big leaves and the parts growing the strongest to balance strength of the tree. really looking forward to how this tree will turn out. not bad for a few months growth already! in winter i will fix the carving up a bit, add some character to it. for now i am just letting it grow and grow and grow

the front after partial defoliation and a bit of wiring

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view from the top

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[Bretts]

That's great work Astro but I would like to make one suggestion. I would stop defoliating. This guy needs it's leaves to create energy. It will really start to look the part when the callous starts to roll over the dead wood and the more leaves it has the more energy it will have to do that.

There will be some great advice in this Walter Pall video for you.
http://walter-pall-videos.blogspot.com/ ... k-and.html

[astroboy76]

yeh i normally dont defoliate so much but i need to slow this baby down. the branches thicken to 10mm in a week or two and they go from too soft to wire, to set rock hard in even less time. the pics dont show it well but it is sending out shoots from the base of every leaf.

as for the callous, the right hand side (if you are facing it) is rolling over already. the left hand side hasnt moved at all. should i maybe re-wound the left side and re paste it to get it rolling?

[Bretts]

should i maybe re-wound the left side and re paste it to get it rolling?

I wouldn't. Just let it grow for now but you may need to take some back in the future when it settles into what will be alive and dead.

the branches thicken to 10mm in a week or two and they go from too soft to wire, to set rock hard in even less time.

Don't try and do everything at once. With deciduous bonsai you usually concentrate on getting the trunk and leader/ Branch bases right and then work on secondary branching later.
If you look closely at Walters tree that inspired you. You can see where the largest branch has been cut say half an inch above the trunk. This is where I would be looking at cutting your stump back too once it puts on the appropriate growth.

Or you could do it as Walter suggests in the Video I linked. Use the top of the branch as a sacrifice while you keep a lower part in check to use once the sacrifice branch has been cut off.



Considering that the tree is growing real fast chopping the branches back for shape and taper may be ok in between letting it grow wild for a few months. But I would not suggest continuing defoliating. Defoliating is not really for developing trees.

[astroboy76]

hey peeps,

here is my crabapple alomst one year after the trunk chop and carving. loads of buds ready to pop, slowly getting fatter. should get some great tertiary ramification this season. it still needs a bit of work but its coming on nicely. put it in a pot today

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