My grand wiring job!
- Thread starter Nwaite
- Start date
sorce
Nonsense Rascal
Lol. You can wire your yard trees too!
Looks like this one is going To be very Dr and brittle, sapless and dead soon!
1 down! 400 to go.
Did you peep the Craftsy Video?
It is righteous.
And Damn, Colin is up by you!
I'd go meet him!
He's one of my Favs!
Sorce
Looks like this one is going To be very Dr and brittle, sapless and dead soon!
1 down! 400 to go.
Did you peep the Craftsy Video?
It is righteous.
And Damn, Colin is up by you!
I'd go meet him!
He's one of my Favs!
Sorce
barrosinc
Masterpiece
this is the video Sorce mentioned.... http://www.craftsy.com/class/bonsai-wiring-essentials/4616
sorce
Nonsense Rascal
Any Video that has a dude with a pony tail, playing with nuts in a bag, is well worth watching!
Seriously, I got an old HH book, so I picked up some bad habits, I can't wait to put some wire on either!
Today's fruits.
Some 12,14,16,18, and 20.
And some odd sizes. Maybe 13. Ooooh.
Sorce
Seriously, I got an old HH book, so I picked up some bad habits, I can't wait to put some wire on either!
Today's fruits.
Some 12,14,16,18, and 20.
And some odd sizes. Maybe 13. Ooooh.
Sorce
Better anneal that scrap! Or just turn it in and buy some!
Anneal!
Get on them dishes!
Then anneal!
Don't burn the apartment building down!
Did I get it?
Stick
Vance Wood
Lord Mugo
It is worth getting.
Dav4
Drop Branch Murphy
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Definitely annealed wire....so much easier to apply. Your turns of wire are too uneven and too tight. Try applying your wire at a 45 degree angle to the long axis of the branch. and place the wire on the outside of curves. Properly anchored wire begins on one branch and finishes on another. Wire applied well looks good and actually does the job it's asked to do...
GrimLore
Bonsai Nut alumnus... we miss you
Needed to simply pull these branches down for now. Orange shows the Anchor and Green shows the 45 degree wrap. This is not as neat or in copper or aluminum but a picture will give you a better idea. This one is a quick wire down before the branches became to brittle to work with at all and they where all upright.
Grimmy
sorce
Nonsense Rascal
GrimLore
Bonsai Nut alumnus... we miss you
As I said a quick dirty job but on that one I moved 1 far forward at bending and the other far back and down. I tried one wire and it limited the more extreme movement to much. The picture is actually prior to final branch bending. Good eye though - I forgot all about it
Also the lower left one did not need an anchor and I just did a quick twist with a wire cut off.Grimmy
Vance Wood
Lord Mugo
This is true. Colin's video is worth the time it takes to watch it. It will measurably improve your approach and the outcome.
Vance Wood
Lord Mugo
I don't wish to be critical of anyone's work but this tree is not a real good example. The branches are small, thin and only one or two years beyond being lignified, you could wire these guys with almost anything. If you have the hopes of getting involved in styling trees with more substantial wood you are going to have to change your methods. It does not take more time to do it right than it takes to figure out why, doing it badly doesn't seem to be working.
Been there done that.
GrimLore
Bonsai Nut alumnus... we miss you
I understand your entire statement. As you pointed out(and I did) wire all 25 or so branches or so with rubber coated metal as not to waste copper. Truth is it is a 32 inch tall Eastern red Cedar that I thinned from a shrub to its current state applying downward movement for now. I kept a lot more branches then I will actually use in a few years "if" it ever goes in a pot. I have and can work actual material and have paid to be trained on it. I used to have a lot of trees - this is just an example on a "whip"
It was just a quick handy piece to show the OP what Dave and Martin were saying. Kind of funny because when I showed one of your pictures to my Wife some time ago with "highly" detailed wiring she actually said " it just means there is someone as neurotic as you Grim" 
So yeah, I know...Grimmy
Grimmy,
I have to agree with Vance. The 45 degree thing is a basic guideline. On really thin branches such as these, you can run the wire along the branch more. Especially when using relately thick wire.
That top "anchor" is an absolute mess.
The branches are shaped like rainbows. Not what we want. The downward bend should be right at the connection point with the trunk.
Here are a couple pages on wiring. There's more, when I get home I'll attach them.
The Figure 8 technique, only needs to be done on really heavy branches. The branches on Grimmy's tree don't need it.
The second page shows ways to avoid the "rainbow".
See Figure 16? I used that technique to bend the bottom lower branch on this pine down:
The guy wire wasn't used to pull it down. It's there to hold it. The rebar was used to do the pulling. The guy wire was placed in position, then tightened to hold it. That way, you can use thin guy wires.
Edited to add: I didn't know that was insulated wire. It looks like the black aluminum. I have no way of knowing if the wire inside is thick enough for the job.
I have to agree with Vance. The 45 degree thing is a basic guideline. On really thin branches such as these, you can run the wire along the branch more. Especially when using relately thick wire.
That top "anchor" is an absolute mess.
The branches are shaped like rainbows. Not what we want. The downward bend should be right at the connection point with the trunk.
Here are a couple pages on wiring. There's more, when I get home I'll attach them.
The Figure 8 technique, only needs to be done on really heavy branches. The branches on Grimmy's tree don't need it.
The second page shows ways to avoid the "rainbow".
See Figure 16? I used that technique to bend the bottom lower branch on this pine down:
The guy wire wasn't used to pull it down. It's there to hold it. The rebar was used to do the pulling. The guy wire was placed in position, then tightened to hold it. That way, you can use thin guy wires.
Edited to add: I didn't know that was insulated wire. It looks like the black aluminum. I have no way of knowing if the wire inside is thick enough for the job.
Last edited:
GrimLore
Bonsai Nut alumnus... we miss you
The wire was light and I needed to use it as though I was working on heavier material. After all of that I was able to bend them all at the trunk 45 degrees or lower as the branches were so pliable not needing to be cut(no rainbow branching). I had a tiny bit of bark break on 2 or 3 of the 25 -30 branches at the trunk but as I said I will be taking out more of the branches as time goes on. For now being bent at 45 degrees or more I am allowing them to grow for a couple of years - by then the weight of the foliage coupled with the forced bend at the trunk I feel it will be easier to keep them flowing downward...
Grimmy
GrimLore
Bonsai Nut alumnus... we miss you
I took it out of the box and did a quick photo - seems to be "defending myself" (for what reason I do not know honest... The 3 branches that look to be "rainbows" are not - they are growing out towards or to the back. As I mentioned early on I am simple starting to train them downwards while it is still young and pliable even at 32 inches..
Grimmy
Grimmy,
I don't mean to be arguementive, but branches that start out from the trunk at one angle, then turn down two or three inches out are rainbows. That kind of tree should have straight branches. Not downward curved ones. The "down" angle needs to start right at the junction of the branch and the trunk.
That's not a "weeping" tree. But you've made it look like one.
Edited to add: a couple of the branches appear to be done right. If the rest are done the same way, and it's just an optical illusion, you're good.
See my diagram with the rebar. Are your branches straight as the rebar?
I don't mean to be arguementive, but branches that start out from the trunk at one angle, then turn down two or three inches out are rainbows. That kind of tree should have straight branches. Not downward curved ones. The "down" angle needs to start right at the junction of the branch and the trunk.
That's not a "weeping" tree. But you've made it look like one.
Edited to add: a couple of the branches appear to be done right. If the rest are done the same way, and it's just an optical illusion, you're good.
See my diagram with the rebar. Are your branches straight as the rebar?
sorce
Nonsense Rascal
My fault. Sorry!
I was pointing it out lightly for discussion, not to get you harrassed.
You explained it fine.
Its the same principle as shooting a small black bear with a rubber bullet, to save your live rounds for the biggun, gonna kill ya. A wise choice.
Polite discussion is possible without jumping on Grim!
Sorry!
But thank you!
These newbs have what they need now!
Sorce
Edit.ps tree looks good! Imagine that!
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