Rock slabs

WNC Bonsai

Omono
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I have been so impressed with the rock plantings that @Walter Pall has been showing us that I really wanted ot give it a try. So I have been keeping my eyes peeled for any rocks along the side of the road that may have tumbled down. A couple weeks ago I went fishing in an undisclosed location and stumbled across a rock slide that deposited some rocks in the ditch so I pulled over and loaded a few into my truck. I am not sure about the actual rock type. It tends to flake off like a sedimentary but I think it is metamorphic that just has some prominent fracture lines. At any rate these guys were petty thick and heavy so I went at them with a steel chisel and 5 lb hammer. I managed to take quite a bit off the bottom of the first one and got it so it will almost sit flat without a stone under it. The really nice thing about it is the natural depession in it to take the roots and some soil. I still need to order a diamond bit to drill a few holes for tie down wires.

Here are a couple photos with a 1 gal pot in the background for reference.
22F7A797-E04C-4E0C-B6D3-81039308962D.jpegA3ACF964-9135-46E4-BEB2-CB7374879BF8.jpeg

The second one is a bit larger and I have already knocked about half of it off. My back still hurts fom lifting it into the truck. It doesn’t have a nice depression like the first one but I have been chhipping away at the surface to create one.
D474D5AF-06EE-42F1-A5B3-60E476233B5F.jpegEE6BC9E2-5A11-4A2A-BD36-D705FFD583FF.jpeg

I think that I’ll eventually get both of them chipped down to where I can actually lift them onto a display stand with a tree and some soil. If not I figure I can rent a couple yard boys for an hour or two and get them to do the heavy work.
 

J P

Seedling
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Instead of trying to drill it you could use epoxy to secure the tire wires down. I have used a two part clear epoxy and have wires that are still holding after almost 20 years. You take a chance of the rock splitting even using a diamond bit. When you secure your trees on the rock make sure you leave some channels through the muck/soil for drainage.
 

WNC Bonsai

Omono
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I am not planning on trying to drill all the way through just a shallow hole with a little undercut into which I can place the wire and then use either epoxy or portland cement grout to anchor it. I am deeply suspicious of trusting epoxy or cement on a flat smooth surface like this rock even though yours has held for 20 years. Murphy just loves situations like that!
 

0soyoung

Imperial Masterpiece
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Thick super glue and a dash of baking soda is far better than epoxy, IMHO.
I've used this to affect wire tie downs on a porcelain floor tile, so it ought to work well on rock.
 

vedecx

Yamadori
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Some bonsai books suggest using superglue mixed with cement as a way to attach tie down wire to stones.
 

Littlejoe919

Shohin
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I use hydraulic cement for tie downs. You can also use it to make feet for the stone so it sits the way you want it too.
 
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