Ji-ita or Ne-taku???

[Pitoon]

So today I was finishing up cutting a beech tree and thought the base of the tree would make a great looking ji-ita or ne-taku stand.

I was able to cut close to a 3" slab from the ground. After I flatten it out it should be around 2 - 2.5" thick.

If I go with a ji-ita I believe I can slice it in half to get two slabs about 1" thick.....if I go with ne-taku then it will be just one stand with roots.

What route you guys think I should take?

 

[Shibui]

You may already be aware that slices across the grain usually split when drying. Fingers crossed that your beech dries better than our hardwoods.

Looks like it is a reasonable size. Will ne-taku root stand look good so short? Most I see are at least as tall as wide.
Ji-ita should be far easier - just flatten and polish but the ne-taku will require much carving and a single wrong move could see it ruined?

 

[rockm]

An inch thick is too thick for a decent Jiita. At that thickness, they look clunky...Thinner is better--and not all that easy to do. I'm no woodworker, but I would let this trunk section dry out before starting work on it.

 

[vedecx]

To limit cracking, put it in a bag to dry slowly and make sure to dry completely. Leave enough thickness to sand down to remove any larger cracks (if its not dry fully, all you would do is sand out the dry and expose the wet, restarting the problem).