Carved Root Stand

[lieuz]

I started this project with my bonsai group and during the heat of the summer when things were slow, we decided to attempt and auxiliary project during the small down time.

One of the group members have a fantastic wood workshop and that was where it all started.

Here is the beginning stages. A solid block was drilled with a wedge cut and plethora of holes o creat reference points for root cavities.


The holes were widened and the also curves were softened.

Some holes were connected to create natural cavities to draw the eye away from circles.


Here is where the stand was left off for a few months.

Picked it up a few months later to remove the base and the residual blocks within the bottom. A few roots broke unfortunately.

Gave it a few hours today to start a rough sanding to get rid of burrs and jagged stuff.

Here's the final machine sanding product. Next step is to hand sand it.

Might actually get to stain it now that I can probably just sit anywhere and hand sand it with some sanding paper wrapped around my finger or chopstick.

 

[Shogun610]

Oh very cool, what type of wood is it?

 

[lieuz]

Oh very cool, what type of wood is it?

I believe this is pine.

 

[ShadyStump]

I REALLY need some sort of wood shop.

 

[BrierPatch]

That looks fantastic!

 

[Carol 83]

Really nice, it will look great stained,

 

[penumbra]

Awesome job.
Too bad you can't train termites to do this, but they have a mind of their own.

 

[Colorado]

So cool. I have been thinking about making a root stand, the holes are a great idea for a way to get started

 

[lieuz]

It's actually been quite relaxing to work on this. Here's a tool that has helped quite a bit in the hand sanding. Its just a bamboo skewer with sand paper stuck on both sides.


You can really see the difference between the machine sanding vs hand sanding.

 

[ShadyStump]

I had the thought that maybe a large tumbling barrel could be made- like a rock tumbler for polishing stones- that something like this could be put in with a coarse medium that might do some of the work. I imagine there's a good reason something like that isn't common enough for me to know about it already, but it's fun to brainstorm.

 

[penumbra]

I had the thought that maybe a large tumbling barrel could be made- like a rock tumbler for polishing stones- that something like this could be put in with a coarse medium that might do some of the work. I imagine there's a good reason something like that isn't common enough for me to know about it already, but it's fun to brainstorm.

Pondering that right now.

 

[lieuz]

I had the thought that maybe a large tumbling barrel could be made- like a rock tumbler for polishing stones- that something like this could be put in with a coarse medium that might do some of the work. I imagine there's a good reason something like that isn't common enough for me to know about it already, but it's fun to brainstorm.

What an interesting thought!

 

[TinyArt]

Isn't there such a thing -- maybe from miniature model-making -- as sanding tapes or cords, which can be threaded through gaps to work interior surfaces? Apologies if I'm thinking of metal-working stuff. Even so, long slips of sandpaper might do it.

 

[lieuz]

Isn't there such a thing -- maybe from miniature model-making -- as sanding tapes or cords, which can be threaded through gaps to work interior surfaces? Apologies if I'm thinking of metal-working stuff. Even so, long slips of sandpaper might do it.

I'm also doing that too. It makes for a very round even body.

 

[TinyArt]

I had the thought that maybe a large tumbling barrel could be made- like a rock tumbler for polishing stones- that something like this could be put in with a coarse medium that might do some of the work. I imagine there's a good reason something like that isn't common enough for me to know about it already, but it's fun to brainstorm.

From what I've seen of metal parts being burnished or polished by tumbling, complex hollowed shapes have a good chance of getting clogged with media, and softer materials need frequent checking so the definition of details isn't lost.

Ya made me think 'til my tea got cold, too -- but I'm guessing the deal-breaker would be wood dust coating the medium and caking up inside the workpiece.

 

[penumbra]

I think the idea of a wood tumbler can work if you find the right media and monitor the work closely.
Sand blasting also comes to mind as a possibility.

 

[ShadyStump]

From what I've seen of metal parts being burnished or polished by tumbling, complex hollowed shapes have a good chance of getting clogged with media, and softer materials need frequent checking so the definition of details isn't lost.

Ya made me think 'til my tea got cold, too -- but I'm guessing the deal-breaker would be wood dust coating the medium and caking up inside the workpiece.

I know in industrial scale operations they have mechanisms to circulate the medium so fresh is constantly replacing the used, but in that case, for this scale, @penumbra's sand blaster would be to more practical option.

Anyways, we're Bogarting @lieuz's post with our hypothetical gibberish. Sorry about that.

 

[Maiden69]

Sand blasting also comes to mind as a possibility.

I have done quite a few sand blasting (media actually) in wood. For something like this I would do a fine grade and lightly... I would suggest hand sanding to get the hard lines out from the coarse paper, then blasting it. I think even a baking soda blast will make it look like real roots vs sand. Nice job, I am yet to dive into making one of this, but it is on my to-do list for sure.

 

[lieuz]

I have done quite a few sand blasting (media actually) in wood. For something like this I would do a fine grade and lightly... I would suggest hand sanding to get the hard lines out from the coarse paper, then blasting it. I think even a baking soda blast will make it look like real roots vs sand. Nice job, I am yet to dive into making one of this, but it is on my to-do list for sure.

Lots of resources out there. This is my first attempt at this and I definitely learned quite a bit. I'd love a good blasting to give it a more smooth and rounded body. Alas, I don't own such a contraption.

 

[Maiden69]

The blasting won't give you a "smooth and rounded" appearance. It will give you the fibrous, kinda muscular appearance of real roots. You can build a small set up with a decent 20+ gallon compressor. You will be limited in the amount of blasting you can do, but for small jobs like that will be enough using a hand held media blaster.