Would you bother make a Tanuki from this

[trickytom]

Hello friends,

This is my first post, so I hope I’m in the right place and the right section.

I’ve brought two large pieces of wood that I’m quite fond of. One of them (the lighter-colored one) might be from a conifer.

The second piece looks like it came from a deciduous branch, which tends to rot easily. It also seems to have been tunneled by an insect.

Would you go through the effort of applying a good coat of wood hardener and then doing the long process of carving out the tree vein for the graft and treating it with lime sulfur?

Or would you just abandon it, since there’s a good chance it’s from a deciduous tree?

Also, for my expert on tree identification , can you guess which tree is it from.

Thanks in advance guys!

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

I have tried about two tanuki and I can fairly certain say that from the 150 or so I've seen, only one was convincing and had me fooled.
Personally I would abandon it because it's so difficult to do well. Like, when you find the right material to lay into this piece, you might as well turn that particular plant in a bunjin or literati - equally challenging - and sell it, and use the profit to buy a fat trunk.
There are better pieces of wood to make tanuki from too, so if you're up for the challenge and want to do it well, I want to suggest you look for a beyond-awesome-looking evocative piece of dead wood. That would be worth the investment of time and effort. Something that ticks all the boxes instead of just a few.
When I made my tanuki, about 40 dollars sank into wood preservative, another 40 in a plant, another 20 in a pot, and two years of my time. Then another 40 in wood preservative. And then I gave up. If I translate my time to minimum wage, I could have bought a nice starter plant.
What I'm saying is that if you want to go for it, go for it! But make sure you don't scratch your head in two years time and condemn it to the burn pile because it was just mediocre at best.

 

[rockm]

The thing about these pieces of wood is they have no real movement and feel
Kind of heavy visually. Those broad expanses of dead wood will make the thin channels of live wood and foliage look kind of weird for a very long time.

Wood hardener used on such broad surfaces will look cloudy and odd as the polymers dry and harden. It also won’t stop rot since it’s basically just liquid plastic and not anti bacterial or a fungicide

 

[Ruddigger]

No, I wouldnt. Not enough movement. It’s just a block of wood.

 

[trickytom]

The thing about these pieces of wood is they have no real movement and feel
Kind of heavy visually. Those broad expanses of dead wood will make the thin channels of live wood and foliage look kind of weird for a very long time.

Wood hardener used on such broad surfaces will look cloudy and odd as the polymers dry and harden. It also won’t stop rot since it’s basically just liquid plastic and not anti bacterial or a fungicide

Thanks for your input.

How much time are we talking if I use the wood hardener in your opinion. Like it will be preserved for a couple years, couple months?

 

[trickytom]

No, I wouldnt. Not enough movement. It’s just a block of wood.

It’s mostly to get some experience out of it. But still, after all this effort I still want it to last at least 10 years ish … is it feasible with wood hardener in your opinion

 

[leatherback]

I would not. Use more exciting wood to start with.

 

[trickytom]

I would not. Use more exciting wood to start with.

View attachment 621005

I should have been more precise in my question, want I really want to know is how much time I can expect the deadwood to hold on with wood hardener, like 1 year, 5 or 10 years

 

[leatherback]

First make the line to graft. Then treat with wood hardener.

The right impregnation leveil will in pinciple protect it forever.

 

[darzuo]

Wood hardener should let the wood last many years, but I think for any convincing tanuki with this wood would have to be carved very dramatically. I personally don't think it would be worth the time and effort compared to finding a nicer piece of deadwood. That being said, if you choose to do the carving make sure to have it "finalized" before applying hardener

 

[rockm]

Thanks for your input.

How much time are we talking if I use the wood hardener in your opinion. Like it will be preserved for a couple years, couple months?

Depends on how it is used. Outdoors maybe a couple of years if you let be in an arid area. Less if it rains a lot. Conifer wood can last longer because it has resins in. Some hardwoods do as well

Fwiw like sulfur is better surface preservative if you’re not trying to retain structural integrity of the wood. Damp areas like where it contacts the soil are better locations for wood hardener IMO. The wood has to be very very dry when hardener is applied