Wood carving

[QuintinBonsai]

Hello all,

I wasn't sure if there was a specific section dedicated to carving. Well I have this recently acquired trident maple, and it has this huge side cut on it's trunk. It has a callus wound which had healed around the cut, but that flat part inside doesn't look very good. I figured I could hollow it out to give it more character. And with that flat part of the cut, the wood is dead and hard. They main problem I have is, with my dremel, cutting into this dead part is proving to be really difficult. The alive parts of the wood cut away with no problem. Is there a dremel attachment that is capable of cutting away really dead wood?

 

[Jessf]

it would help to know what dremel bits you're using already. Generally, with hard woods smaller bits clog and burn quickly. I haven't found much from Dremel that's worked with the tough woods I've carved in the past. Your best bet is to find a hobby carving store in your area and tell them what tools you have and what you're planning on doing.

another option would be to take a drill bit and grind the point flat, even concave if you can. That will make a decent highspeed cutting bit for what you're doing. I'm lucky enough to have http://www.chippingaway.com/ right around the corner from my office but even then I had to order some more aggressive bits from the UK.

 

[Dav4]

A picture of the area in question would help me in making any suggestions.

 

[rockm]

Dremel makes a set of tungsen burr bits that can carve pretty well, although not as well as some of the more expensive specialist bits.

http://www.dremel.com/en-us/Accesso...2071&catname=Structured+Tooth+Carbide+Cutters

I got a set at Home Depot in their "tool corral" a while back. Adequate for smaller trees, tend to "load up" quickly with sawdust that has to be removed with wire brush. They also take forever to remove large areas of dense wood. But, they're not all that expensive and if you don't have big trees with huge deadwood areas, they're great. Might make short work of the callused area...

 

[jkd2572]

Get a bit here.. Kaizen bonsai. They are in the uk and will ship to you his bits make life so much easier and fun. http://www.kaizenbonsai.com I have the weasel and it shreds anything it touches.

 

[gergwebber]

you can use a thin twist bit (1/8") to start a bunch of "pilot holes", then go in with a larger (I am assuming rounded) dremel bit to get the hollow you need.

*******be very careful when switch to use the dremel bit as it may bite and kick out of control*********

 

[FrankP999]

Carbide cutting bits work well in a dremel. I just bought some from Dale Cochoy and they really work great.

 

[QuintinBonsai]

A picture of the area in question would help me in making any suggestions.

And I'm using these bits.



I've seen the one that Graham has on kaizenbonsai, but I wanted to see what products I could buy here in the states first before buying overseas.

 

[Ang3lfir3]

for something that big I would prolly start with a 1/4" core box router bit in my makita .... then I would move to using a dremel with an open fluted ball.... I own a smaller tool like the terrier (really what the terrier is based on) as well as larger tool ... they work well for removing large amounts of wood however there speed means there is often sometimes not enough time for the finesse that is needed for a truly believable level of texturing (they are really intended to just remove large amounts of material)

are you by chance using a cordless dremel... they are known for not having the same level of power as the corded ones and would certainly make this kind of work take a long time...

so it depends on what your overall goal is.... do you want o completely hollow the trunk (not a bad idea maybe) or do you just want to clean up the area and texture it so that it looks presentable while it begins to close up (if you are trying to grow over it you will have to smooth areas as the scar approaches them to get a nice look)

BTW Dale sells all the things you would need ... I'm sure his family would appreciate anything you might need to order at this point....

 

[QuintinBonsai]

@Ang3lfir3

Yes, it is a cordless dremel. And the reason I went with the cordless as opposed to the corded is the noise level. I don't want to upset the neighbors with my drilling if you know what I mean. *sigh apartment living sigh*

And yes, I want it completely hollowed. It's just that the dead wood inside of the hollow is taking forever to grind at.

 

[Dav4]

I agree with everything Ang said (In my Makita die grinder, I use kutzall burrs along with a Terrier cutter I got from Dale). With that said, I would probably put the carving off for now and try to grow it up a bit and add some taper to the trunk. It will aso help close that scar...

 

[Bonsai Nut]

It's just that the dead wood inside of the hollow is taking forever to grind at.

If you are completely hollowing it out, you might try a standard drill bit to make the center look like Swiss cheese, and then use a router bit or grinder bit to remove the material. Because a standard drill bit is designed to pull the bit into the wood, it is a little easier going. Either way, you're talking about hard maple, which is going to be a tough customer regardless of what you do. It's why many cutting boards / butcher blocks are made out of maple

 

[TheSteve]

A cordless dremel isn't going to cut it. I just removed more dead maple wood than this whole tree has. I started with a 7/8" drill bit though. I'd hollow the whole thing out if I were you. Otherwise water is going to pool in that and you'll end up doing it later anyway. Get something corded, it won't be that much louder. You can try a stainless steel wire wheel for quick removal too.

 

[QuintinBonsai]

If water does pool inside of the hollow, it won't cause rotting will it? Would you say lime sulfur could be treated to the wood to prevent rot? I will probably just return the dremel I purchased, and get a corded one. I've only had it a week, and besides, waiting for the battery to charge is annoying.

 

[Ang3lfir3]

it will cause rotting... but hollowing it out really means hollowing it out... all the way down .... you can create a "spout" if you wish to let the water drain out ... but if you are going to hollow go all out!

I have and continue to use moisture as a way to age deciduous deadwood once initial work is done allowing it to rot away naturally creates the best appearance and causes no harm to the tree.... lime sulfur would just make the wood unnatural ....

 

[QuintinBonsai]

So I returned the weakling dremel, and exchanged it for a corded one. Wow, it really makes a difference! It's going to take some time for those branches to come in, but tridents seem to be fast growers at least in my opinion. I really did not like the pot it originally came in, and the previous owner had cut off ends of the roots which didn't look attractive. I would've liked to have gone with an oval pot, but this was the only one I have available.