Really enjoying winter carving !

[Victorim]

I’m just using regular Dremel wood carving bits that you can get from Home Depot .View attachment 172018

Doubly impressed then. Have you tried a bonsai bit? Standard bits had given me nothing but frustration. The misses said I had grin on my face for ages after playing about with my nibbler. ( No joke intended there..)

 

[Bonsailane]

Nice work on the carving. In particular, I really like the carving you’ve done on that cascade trunk....the cascade tree stump sitting on top of the gray Craftsman plastic box. Looks like something I’ve seen in an old forest where trees have fallen and regrowth begins from unexpected places. Mighty fine work!

Thanks,,, I try my best to make it look as natural as possible .

 

[Bonsailane]

Doubly impressed then. Have you tried a bonsai bit? Standard bits had given me nothing but frustration. The misses said I had grin on my face for ages after playing about with my nibbler. ( No joke intended there..)

I haven’t tried the Nibler yet ,,
But they definitely look like they can move some wood

 

[Bonsailane]

You are obviously putting in the time and practise to progress. Great time of year to work on carving.
I have used India Ink with good results for the ageing effect if you are interested in trying a variation. If you want to try smoothing some cut marks, Festool make some great little curved edge tools that are not very expensive. (Home Depot) I have also tried a different technique on the branch scars, take a shingle nail and tap it into the end of the cut multiple times about 1/2 to 3/4 inch deep. Use needle nose pliers or strong tweezers to pull out some fibers randomly. When aged and wire brushed, looks like natural decay. This hemlock had a large branch low down on the larger trunk pointing directly forward until removal and treating. just another idea. It is still a bit dark from recent work, but i expect it to fade in the sun this summer. There is a smaller one above on the same trunk that shows the effect of missing fibres more clearly at this stage. Just some thoughts to play with.

I have also used a mixture of steel wool scrub pads chopped up into vinegar and water and let sit .
The chemical reaction makes a very realistic stain that you can put on wood to age it .
I don’t know why am just thinking of this but I use it on my remodeling projects all the time I have just never tried it on my bonsai .
I think I will be trying this my next go round and also trying the ink you suggest .

 

[Bonsailane]

Oh wow. I tried to use my dremel but nearly ruined it. Had to switch to grinder but still slow process no matter what.

Harbor freight sells a cheap but heavy duty Dremel( die grinder )That works great

 

[BonsaiFurLife]

Harbor freight sells a cheap but heavy duty Dremel( die grinder )That works great

I hAve the makita grinder and use router bits. The dremel is just to weak for deep carving. More like the cleanup tool