Venturing into the world of bonsai stand

[Cajunrider]

I have been a woodworker for years but stayed mostly on the rough stuff. I’ve built houses and a 50ft shrimp boat. I am now venturing into the world of fine woodworking. I am thinking about building bonsai stands but know little about the designs and common dimensions. I’ve reviewed a lot of threads here and found inspiration but not much info. I've looked at stands being sold online and get their dimensions but surely there would be that information some where for recommended size for each size bonsai size. Where can I find them?

Just to show my level of skills. Here is a game card collector’s box for my son from the salvaged lumber of my broken house. Sides and top are jatoba from the stair treads. Bottom and dividers are maple from the kitchen cabinets. The splices are American white ash from the window sill for contrast. The wood looks so good I decided to just use linseed oil to preserve. No stain was used.

The box is roughly 11”x19” for the golden ratio. The height is 5” to accommodate the cards.

The request was for elegant and clean ortho lines with no ornate curves or decoration.

 

[Colorado]

Check out the stand build threads by @Hartinez , our resident stand master!

 

[Cajunrider]

Check out the stand build threads by @Hartinez , our resident stand master!

I have. They are inspiring but I'm looking for specification such as what the dimension of a stand should roughly be if I'm making a stand for a certain size of bonsai.

 

[Hartinez]

I have. They are inspiring but I'm looking for specification such as what the dimension of a stand should roughly be if I'm making a stand for a certain size of bonsai.

I’ve def asked very similar questions. The short answer from everyone. It depends. So many sizes of pots and trees it’s hard to stick to a general size I’d say. I personally like hovering around 10-12” inches wide and 16-18” wide. With depths roughly 2/3 that. Unless you make a custom stand for someone, it’ll just be a guessing game and making for the sake of making. Great piece you’ve made though and it’ll be fun to see what else you come up with!

 

[Cajunrider]

I’ve def asked very similar questions. The short answer from everyone. It depends. So many sizes of pots and trees it’s hard to stick to a general size I’d say. I personally like hovering around 10-12” inches wide and 16-18” wide. With depths roughly 2/3 that. Unless you make a custom stand for someone, it’ll just be a guessing game and making for the sake of making. Great piece you’ve made though and it’ll be fun to see what else you come up with!

Thank you!
So far the things I've made are mostly functional. The only thing I can boast is that the work boat I built 33 years ago is still afloat and still working. Now come the hard part of making artsy things. It is not easy for an engineer.

 

[bwaynef]

I doubt seriously you're going to find it written down neatly for you. I'd recommend getting to a show and seeing what size trees are exhibited. Roughly, there are classifications in Japanese bonsai, but my experience is that in America those classifications are bent a lot. (For instance, Adair won best small bonsai at the most recent Nat'l Shohin show at around 9" on his juniper. "Shohin" usually tops out @ 8") Its all about proportions after that. A show book would be a next-best guide.

 

[Hartinez]

Thank you!
So far the things I've made are mostly functional. The only thing I can boast is that the work boat I built 33 years ago is still afloat and still working. Now come the hard part of making artsy things. It is not easy for an engineer.

Often times all a stand needs to be is functional. A good, well built, functional stand. I can’t help but add my flare to each piece. Maybe it’s just my ego flaring up.

 

[Pitoon]

That's a nice box! Good choice on deciding with oil. From what I see stand size comes down to proportions.....very similar to pottery. There's no real set measurements, it just has to look right when you look at it.

The golden mean is very helpful as we see it aesthetically pleasing to our eyes.

 

[Cajunrider]

Often times all a stand needs to be is functional. A good, well built, functional stand. I can’t help but add my flare to each piece. Maybe it’s just my ego flaring up.

Your ego flaring looks good. I don't know yet but am afraid that mine would be more like the hemorrhoid kind.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Your greatest challenge will be making the woodworking leap from 90 degree angles and sharp edges to curves and organic shapes. As I tell my wife when she asks me to build something, angles are twice as hard as straight lines, and curves are exponentially harder If you've built boats, you know what I'm talking about

You will see a lot of beginner stands that are basically a framed floating panel and four legs... all square. The challenge is to make it a fluid piece of art.

 

[Cajunrider]

Your greatest challenge will be making the woodworking leap from 90 degree angles and sharp edges to curves and organic shapes. As I tell my wife when she asks me to build something, angles are twice as hard as straight lines, and curves are exponentially harder If you've built boats, you know what I'm talking about

You will see a lot of beginner stands that are basically a framed floating panel and four legs... all square. The challenge is to make it a fluid piece of art.

The boat I built was nothing but curves. It was a classic displacement vessel with round bottom. The only things with straight lines are the doors and windows of the cabin. I find it not too hard to do curve shapes with angle joints. I've seen some woodwork where even the joints are complex curves. Those takes a lot of time to do them justice if I were to make bonsai stands with them.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

 

[Cajunrider]

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Very nice. Your shop looked very neat as well. Mine is blown to bits by the hurricanes so I'm starting over just like you but without a lot of my tools.

 

[Hartinez]

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Dam. Is that a glue up of multiple small pieces to get that width? Or a glue up of 2 pieces? Seamless none the less.