Opinions on re-doing a trident maple chop in late August.

[wsteinhoff]

I had been looking at the kutzall burrs for a while and after your post I decided to go ahead and get a couple. I'm glad I did. Thanks for posting about them! I bought the smallest sizes for my dremel and it removes wood much better than what I was using before. The only problem I have is how quickly they gum up with wood from all those teeth they have.

 

[Dav4]

I had been looking at the kutzall burrs for a while and after your post I decided to go ahead and get a couple. I'm glad I did. Thanks for posting about them! I bought the smallest sizes for my dremel and it removes wood much better than what I was using before. The only problem I have is how quickly they gum up with wood from all those teeth they have.

That is a problem I deal with, as well. I'll occasionally use a micro torch to burn away the residue... be careful not to over heat the burr or it will lose it's temper.

 

[wsteinhoff]

That is a problem I deal with, as well. I'll occasionally use a micro torch to burn away the residue... be careful not to over heat the burr or it will lose it's temper.

Have you seen this article by Harry Harrington? You wouldn't risk overheating the burr. http://bonsai4me.com/AdvTech/AT Cleaning Bonsai Tools and Wood-Carving Bits page1.html

 

[Dav4]

Have you seen this article by Harry Harrington? You wouldn't risk overheating the burr. http://bonsai4me.com/AdvTech/AT Cleaning Bonsai Tools and Wood-Carving Bits page1.html

Hmmm, looks like something I should try.

 

[wsteinhoff]

Hmmm, looks like something I should try.

It seems brake cleaner loosens the residue on the bits too if you have it on hand rather than what Harry uses. I gave them a good spray and let it sit for a few minutes and the wire brush was able to take most of it off.

 

[Dav4]

Well, no frost in sight and buds are swelling... here we go! It's obvious that the entire front of the nebari is dead now... yup! Too bad, as that root spread would have been awesome. Still, the remaining nebari is coming along nicely as the root system has finally started to act like it belongs to a trident maple. The ebihara board fell apart and that giant wooden box was too heavy and awkward for me to deal with for another year, so it went into a mica pot. I started a few approach grafts along the edge of the carved area of trunk... hope to add some interest there in time. Another year of heavy feed and no top pruning to grow out the leaders up top and build more roots.

 

[SouthernMaple]

Well, no frost in sight and buds are swelling... here we go! It's obvious that the entire front of the nebari is dead now... yup! Too bad, as that root spread would have been awesome. Still, the remaining nebari is coming along nicely as the root system has finally started to act like it belongs to a trident maple. The ebihara board fell apart and that giant wooden box was too heavy and awkward for me to deal with for another year, so it went into a mica pot. I started a few approach grafts along the edge of the carved area of trunk... hope to add some interest there in time. Another year of heavy feed and no top pruning to grow out the leaders up top and build more roots.

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what is the name of the tree? It reminds me of the alien from the John carpenter movie "The Thing"

 

[leatherback]

This thread nearly killed me. You started off with this beast. I am really sad to see the development.

Please tell me you are giving it a pause of a few YEARS rather than months now? It seems like you have repotted this tree multiple times in the 4 years in your garden, and done multiple carving sessions AND done rootgrafts on a tree which in the first posts was already concluded was not in optimal health.

 

[SouthernMaple]

This thread nearly killed me. You started off with this beast. I am really sad to see the development.

Please tell me you are giving it a pause of a few YEARS rather than months now? It seems like you have repotted this tree multiple times in the 4 years in your garden, and done multiple carving sessions AND done rootgrafts on a tree which in the first posts was already concluded was not in optimal health.

what is the name of the tree? It reminds me of the alien from the John carpenter movie "The Thing"

i mean no disrespect in my post, its a very unique tree

 

[Dav4]

edit

 

[Dav4]

This thread nearly killed me. You started off with this beast. I am really sad to see the development.

Please tell me you are giving it a pause of a few YEARS rather than months now? It seems like you have repotted this tree multiple times in the 4 years in your garden, and done multiple carving sessions AND done rootgrafts on a tree which in the first posts was already concluded was not in optimal health.

It's been planted in the garden for over a year, more because I needed to make room for other projects on my bench then anything else. Fwiw, it was the initial aggressive root reduction that ultimately caused a portion of the base and trunk to die. If you look at the initial pics of the roots, you can see how they were essentially chopped to fit in a nursery pot with mainly callus present and little or no feeder roots present. I figured a trident's vigor would allow new roots to grow there and obviously, I was wrong with this one because it wasn't strong enough. The second carving session and the root grafts were all done in an attempt to fix the damage.

 

[SouthernMaple]

It's been planted in the garden for over a year, more because I needed to make room for other projects on my bench then anything else. Fwiw, it was the initial aggressive root reduction that ultimately caused a portion of the base and trunk to die. If you look at the initial pics of the roots, you can see how they were essentially chopped to fit in a nursery pot with mainly callus present and little or no feeder roots present. I figured a trident's vigor would allow new roots to grow there and obviously, I was wrong with this one because it wasn't strong enough. The second carving session and the root grafts were all done in an attempt to fix the damage.

thanks for the update, I would really like to see the things you are working on now

 

[Hack Yeah!]

To be continued... visited Dave for his moving sale last year and he made me a deal I couldn't refuse! Lol
This one has had a happy season of growth planted out in my yard. I'll start a new thread when it's excavated.

Thanks Dave!