Anyone using monofilament line to bend branches ?

[Pixar]

Anyone using monofilament line to bend branches ? Does it leave any marks ?

 

[Jcmmaple]

Wow never thought of that, that’s a good idea. Cheap option too, thanks for the idea. I say whatever works.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

I use it in lieu of wire when making a guy-wire sometimes on a very temporary basis. It’s invisible for show purposes, but very tricky to get tightened in just the right spot. I wouldn’t leave it to dig in.

 

[Jcmmaple]

@Brian Van Fleet could you use tubing on the branches like with normal wire to prevent bite in, just curious

 

[Shibui]

Anything tied to a branch or trunk will leave a mark where it pushes hard against the bark. The tighter you tie the deeper the mark will be. The thinner the line/wire/twine/etc is the deeper the mark tends to be.
Thread the line through plastic tube or cushion with rubber will help spread the load and reduce marks. Definitely never tie anything tight right round a branch. If it is left long enough that will cut off circulation and therefore kill the part past the tie.

Guy lines of any sort are useful to move parts of a tree but are limited to movement on a single direction - straight toward the pull point. Conventional spiral wiring has the distinct advantage of moving in a direction where there is no pull point or in several different directions - curls, s bend, etc
I guess if you are a fisher you know how to tie mono knots but many will have trouble getting the knots to say tight.

As always, use what you have on hand that works for the purpose and is convenient to use.

As always remove any ties or wires as soon as they start to mark bark. Bends are usually set in weeks or months. There's rarely need to have wires on for years.

 

[penumbra]

I have used wire, monofilament line, sisal twine and nylon cord all for guy lines. All of them are run through tubing.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

@Brian Van Fleet could you use tubing on the branches like with normal wire to prevent bite in, just curious

I wouldn’t go to the trouble, just use wire and tubing. The only reason I used fishing line was to make it invisible.

 

[JudyB]

I don't know how you could possibly manipulate mono in the same ways you can use wire. I get it if you are just doing guy wires, but to get back and forth up and down wiggly bends with mono is going to be impossible.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

For guy wires I use thin wire and aquarium hose/tubing.

 

[penumbra]

For guy wires I use thin wire and aquarium hose/tubing.

That's my usual go to.

 

[Bnana]

I twist a bit of aluminium wire around the branch and tie monofilament to that. As the wire is much thinker it doesn't cut like the wire would.

 

[Pixar]

try the trucker hitch for securing using lines

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

try the trucker hitch for securing using lines

Just use wire.

 

[Maiden69]

I haven't used fishing line, while some are good resisting UV they are not easy to deal with and in the heat in TX they will eventually "give". I am using safety wire. I bought mine from Jegs a long time ago for some transmission job I had to do while stationed in Germany in 2004... it's 302/304 stainless so it will last forever outdoors. I even used it to move branches on my backyard trees. It is nearly invisible, the one I have is .032 or 20ga, I seen a .025/22ga in Amazon as well, and for heavy branches a .051/16ga. Good to know that stainless tensile strength is around 2.5 times that of copper.

JEGS Safety Wire - JEGS

JEGS safety wire secures fasteners to eliminate the separation of nuts from bolts (and other components too) preventing loose objects from causing a catastrophe. Includes one pound of type 302/304 stainless steel .032'' wire in a convenient center core dispensing can. Made in USA.

www.jegs.com