My grand wiring job!

[GrimLore]

Edit.ps tree looks good! Imagine that!

Honest I would say it does not look good but has a good start. This is one of five and a few years down the journey a 5 tree planting of mixed types of well designed trees of the same species and different design will be ok... That you mentioned it that plant is "part of the picture" at 5 years old my oldest "crack Juniper" started at 2 inches now at 32 inches. It looked like an Ape of a shrub and now looks a bit thin - I want it to in order to fit the final design in a few short years. It will definitely grow longer branches and have far heavier foliage next fall - that is planned The wiring and why I did what I did with this one will save me at least one year, despite the critics. Not a worry to me as I know the outcome and don't care as others do not know what part this plant will be down the road in a planting. No worries, no hurries will prove proper

Grimmy

 

[Nwaite]

Wow...

Thanks for the link I'll look in to it asap...
Don't have good Internet right now..

I'm planning on visiting his school in maine this spring. if I can come up with the $ maby some classes or maybe see if he would do a work trade kinda this.

Just want you all to know ... I know it's a shit job and next time I'll do it with out having 4 kids running around me ( what are you doing uncle nick. Give me a turn dad ! Waaaa he hit meeee!) .... good times.

If it lives through the winter I'm going to chop off the branch that's not wired. ...

Then I'll move to the forest and wire ever TREE I CAN FIND! HAHAHAH!

 

[Nwaite]

I would like to ask you guys way keep saying he's not doing it the right way or it SHOULD NOT be raindlbowing .... one of the things that really drew me to this art is that there is not a right or rong way .... iv see plenty of trees that have branches that "rainbow" tree do meany things ... more then we can imagine some times.

 

[Adair M]

Yes, in nature, we see all kind of trees. Pretty ones, ugly ones, gnarly ones, tall, short... You name it.

But generally, each species grows in a characteristic way. You want to be consistent with that.

Also, we generally want to depict old trees. Mature trees. When trees are young, the branches grow up from the trunk. As the branches age, they become more horizontal. Then when they're old, they hang down. AT THE POINT WHERE THE BRANCHES ATTACH TO THE TRUNK. (Caps for emphasis, not shouting.). Like a hinge. The lower on the trunk, the more they hang.

Rainbow branches, unless it's a weeping species, are not natural. The tips of branches tend to be younger than the part attached to the trunk. Guess what? The tips grow UP, not down.

Also, the trunk was rather straight. The branches should be rather straight. If you have a curvy trunk, you should have curvy branches. Again, it's not consistent to have a straight trunk with drooping (weeping) branches.

Now, the kicker is that this tree was presented as a supposed "good example". I'm sorry, but it's not. The owner thinks it will suit his purpose in a forest planting. Fine. I hope it's great. But it's a poor example of good technique of wiring and bending branches.

Please, watch Colin's video on wiring. He doesn't get into styling in that video, but the wiring is excellent.

 

[Vance Wood]

The real question is this: Is the tree you are creating today the beginnings of the image you want to see tomorrow? Can you imagine this image becoming anything better in five years?

 

[Nwaite]

Thank you guys for explaining that in a more..... positive way I gess is the best way to put it.

I'll be watching the video as soon as I get on a computer.

 

[Adair M]

Thank you guys for explaining that in a more..... positive way I gess is the best way to put it.

I'll be watching the video as soon as I get on a computer.

I'm the wiring Nazi around here! I personally enjoy wiring. I'm not very fast, but I like to do it well. The idea is to use the minimal amount of wire possible, yet have it functional. I try to make the wire as inconspicuous as possible. I try not to cross wires, I would rather use 1 large wire than double up two smaller wires.

On pines, they pretty much will need to be wired their entire lives. And the wire might be on there for 2 or 3 years. So, I try to make it as attractive as possible.

 

[Nwaite]

I know I'll have a hard time larning to wire.... I get antsy as hell....

 

[Adair M]

I know I'll have a hard time larning to wire.... I get antsy as hell....

Watch Colin's video. He makes it simple.

When you put on a piece of wire. Look at it. Are the spirals even? Is the wire snug? Or real loose? Is it anchored well?

If it's too loose, not well anchored, or uneven, figure out where you went wrong, take the wire off, and rewire.

Take your time to do the job right.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

I would like to ask you guys way keep saying he's not doing it the right way or it SHOULD NOT be raindlbowing .... one of the things that really drew me to this art is that there is not a right or rong way .... iv see plenty of trees that have branches that "rainbow" tree do meany things ... more then we can imagine some times.

Good luck steering this ship. It will be easier when you learn that there actually are right and wrong ways of doing things.

 

[sorce]

I know I'll have a hard time larning to wire.... I get antsy as hell....

After watching the Craftsy, and learning how to do everything right.

I thought about how to make learning easier.

Wiring is the most time consuming physical act we use to create our images.
It is also, the most demanding as far as hand eye coordination.
And a Lot of it has to do with knowledge of copper. Knowledge of physics.

The most important thing, and probably the most difficult, is choosing the right path to lay the wire. This is everything! Which is especially difficult when trying to impart your will onto a tree when new and excited. Like Adair said, go slow.

THE TIP. STRING

Use a piece of string to first wrap your branches. Then look back at the video. (Save a screen shot?)
Are your anchor good? Will you have to cross the next one?(don't) start over. Do you have string on the outside of the bend?

When it is correct , Take a picture of how you started, where the string is. Then take the string off and apply your wire the same path. Hell you could leave the string on, and pull it out later, but not on flaky bark! Care!

One you get hardened, and in short supply, copper on your tree, it's hard to take off(mentally) , so people just leave it on and keep going. This is very detrimental, cuz if you start wrong, everything is wrong !

FIND THE PROPER PATH WITH STRING FIRST!

If I may, there is a section of the video, where he wraps a branch the opposite way of how I would.
In the beginning, going against the trunk under the branch instead of over it.
I like to go over the branch first, if bringing it down, to have wire at the outside of the bend down.

I think that the first move is important . The first wrap has to coincide with the direction you want to move it. This is why it is important to think with string before you apply!

Then think more. Visualize your moves, then make them.


You know what sucks!? You can't make the end of the branch disappear when you move it. So it always wants to be in other parts of the tree during a big bend, of course, you will eventually bend the end out of the other branch, but how to not get it stuck in the first place? Prebend the end?

Sorce

 

[Vance Wood]

I know I'll have a hard time larning to wire.... I get antsy as hell....

Some things are self fulfilling prophecies if you do nothing to change it. You get antsy because you are first uncertain as what to do. Once you start getting an idea that there is indeed a right way to do something and you realize that, "Yes I can do that!" the project becomes easier, fun and challenging. The challenges can be looked at now, through the eyes of knowing there is a way to do it. Too many people think that somehow they will figure out the right way to wire which is to some extent correct but you will come to the same conclusions that you could have picked up years earlier if you got your ego out of the way.

 

[Adair M]

Sorce,

Your post has some merit. I would suggest using thin aluminum wire instead of string. I'm not sure string would lay right. And using wire, even though it's thin, is good practice. A lot of learning to wire is learning to use the "other" hand. The one not spinning the wire. It has to hold the anchor, help move the other branches out of the way, move up to hold each new spiral as they're laid on, etc. it gets easier with practice. And you develop a "feel" for it. The really thin aluminum is cheap, and reusable. You also have to learn how to manage the long ends of the wire behind your hand as you wire. To avoid it getting tangled up.

No, Colin was correct with starting under. That first wrap is critical. It must be wrapped close to the trunk to start. Then the wire is on top of the branch at the bend point.

When wiring a tree, start at the bottom and work your way up. The lower branches should be out of the way when bending the upper branches down.

And, I don't think any special knowledge of copper and/or physics is necessary. You develop a "feel" for wiring and bending as you gain experience. The more you do it, the better you get.

And don't be afraid of removing wire you've just put on if you find it doesn't work. This happens to everyone. Take it off and do better next time. Over time you find you don't have to do this very often.
It happened to me today. I was halfway thr wiring a branch on a client's tree when I realized it wouldn't have a secure anchor. It would always wiggle. No good. So, l just removed it, and applied wire a different way.

 

[Vance Wood]

Wiring is a lot like playing a musical instrument it is a coordination between both hands.

 

[Nwaite]

Wiring is a lot like playing a musical instrument it is a coordination between both hands.

Well if that's true maby i won't have that hard of a time.
Love to play music and I can play any instrument I pick up.

Thanks agen for you input and helpful in site

 

[sorce]

Wiring is a lot like playing a musical instrument it is a coordination between both hands.

Except the trumpet. !

Sorce

 

[sorce]

And, I don't think any special knowledge of copper and/or physics is necessary. You develop a "feel" for wiring and bending as you gain experience. The more you do it, the better you get.

Not arguing. I know you know that!

I met a dude recently who didn't know what a fulcrum was, or, the difference between a fulcrum, and a fulcrum point.
Anchors, levers, rebar! This is all physics!
Knowledge and thought of these things has helped me!

When wiring a tree, start at the bottom and work your way up. The lower branches should be out of the way when bending the upper branches down.

Forgive me, but this is "elitist" lol joking.

This is only true of previously wired material! Where some organization has already taken place.

I wish I could tell a nursery Juniper, "hey, your low branches 'should be' out of the way!" Lol.

Thank you, again, for everything!
This is an excellent conversation!
From one understanding to the next!

Kindly,

Sorce

 

[Adair M]

Start wiring the bottom branches first. And position them first. Then move up the tree. You can't position the upper branches until the lower branches are positioned.

I can remember some demonstration where the artist was asked, as he was positioning some lower, wired, branches: "where are you going to put the apex?" And his reply was, "I don't know. I'm not there yet".

Words to live by!

Yesterday, I was asked to restyle the apex of this yew:


I started messing with it, moving branches around...

Then said, "You know, we can't really do that until we fix the branches..."

 

[Vance Wood]

I agree, I have worked a lot of trees for demonstrations where I said the exact same thing. Sometimes I have had enough time with a piece that I kind of know where things should go based on the shape and girth of the trunk. However; it does become an issue of getting there.

 

[sorce]

Best wire talk as of late.

So this goes here.
And while I'm on screen shots.....
@ColinFraser @Alain sent me a link to here a while back! Lets go!


Don't forget to click these links.
Even clicks help the Nut!

Sorce