ne taku stands from kauai

inspired and supported by the kindness of john brocklehurst, I'm trying my hand at making ne taku bonsai stands. based on the results so far, I have no plans to quit my day job. nonetheless, here are two. the first one from an ugly chunk of redwood and the second from beautiful grained hawaiian koa

best wishes, sam

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Good looking stands.

Sam, you're the man !
Looking very nice my friend....keep up the good work

thanks for the kind words, billy and john. if it weren't for john, these chunks of wood would be still sitting in a box in my garage. the good news is I've got a bunch more slabs of various sizes to play with. the dust is gonna fly.

best wishes, sam

Love the enthusiasm

be sure and share your future achievements with us...

Sam, Good job!

I worked with 100s of exotic wood from around the world (small scale hobby) and one of my absolute favorite is curly koa. It just finishes like no other and I love its chatoyance. You are lucky to have access to such nicely figured wood!

BTW, some call these pieces scrap and look at me like crazy but I love them. Just like a stunted nursery reject tree vs. a straight trunked landscapers dream tree.

save yiu the trouble of looking the word up

Variant of chatoyant


adjective

having a changeable color or luster: chatoyant silk
noun

a gem or polished stone, as the cat's-eye, with such luster

oeil de chat.

thanks for the inputs, friends. I'm learning a new vocabulary as well. scored a truckload of koa scrap pieces yesterday. plenty of raw material to practice with.

best wishes, sam

Wow, let me know if you need a place to send some of your practice pieces

this wood thing is as compelling as bonsai. once the hook is set, its hard not to indulge. took a really bad looking piece from yesterday's load just to see what was left under years of dirt and rot. koa being quite hard, is more durable than I thought. results of today's work. tomorrow, finishing touches, then on to the next one

best wishes, sam

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Nice work Sam

I told you it was addictive didn't I......

It's a nice aside from the hobby but you're still thinking about how best to present your trees with balance and flow of the stands.

Your koa wood has fantastic grain, are you staining the wood or oiling it ?

Happy wood fettling my friend.

Regards

John

hi john.

thinking about different finishes, including oils. for now, just using polyurethanes. no stain required , the natural wood color is best. BTW, the box is packed and will be on its way shortly.

best wishes, sam

Hi Sam,
That is a lovely coloured wood.
I'm looking forward to working with the koa, many thanks for your generosity.
Take care
John

you're welcome, john.

I've you to blame for for engaging me with this obsession !! here are a three more ne taku - all koa. the spalting on the one is very nice. the pictures help me see where I need to practice and improve. I want to be able to create holes and root effect like john. the tops need to be made perfectly flat. also trying to make wafers for small plantings/stones. sharing the first effort.
best wishes, sam


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truth be told-the last batch of ne taku and ji ita wafers sucked. 2 of the ne taku looked like koa eggs. uninteresting and boring. the wafers were nearly as bad. nice wood. bad shapes. the wafers were reworked. not what I wanted, but better. the ne taku are toast. once the wood is cut and the holes bored you're stuck. chalk it up to experience and move on. lots to learn. the best way is to practice, practice, practice. sharing some of the newest koa ji ita. the shapes are improving and so is the texturing. these need to be sanded, edges darkened and finish coats applied.

best wishes, sam

reshaped koa wafers

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new koa boards

the previous post included 5 koa ji ita boards with textured margins, partially done. these are nearly finished now. pictures posted here. super bowl sunday's project resulted in a number of round and free form koa ji ita, suitable for 3 point display. no two are alike. the color and grain of the wood are remarkable. pictures of some of these are here, as well. finally, I'm spending most of my time trying to make decent root stands. these are way more complicated and time consuming to do. john brocklehurst has provided guidance and encouragement. I look to john for advice. here are some stands made over the last few days. the first 2 are from black walnut and koa. the walnut is bland colored. the outline shape on this one could be better. the koa stand has a vibrant color and a better shape. only problem is-3 hours into the project, my bit grabbed and tore the entire back and part of the side off. oh well. the next 4 pieces, starting with the roughed out blank are stands that I began 2 days ago. at this stage, the primary work on 3 is done. however, hours of sanding and finish work lie ahead. I am pleased with the result. these are my best ne taku output so far. the next batch will be more refined than these - the next batch after that, will be better than those, and so on. that's the theory, anyway.

best wishes, sam

jiita
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ne taku

black walnut and koa



most recent

Hi Sam,
You're getting the hang of these very quickly.
These newer pieces are looking great.

Regards
John

thanks john:

the most recent, finish coated. using the poly rub I PM'd you about. good stuff.

best wishes, sam

forgot the pictures

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Fantastic friend, congratulations regards from

thank you david.just finishing up several more. will post pictures

best wishes, sam

some recent stands and works in progress

best wishes, sam

first two are blanks from 1/4 inch mahogany. tree on big end, accent on small end. making similar thin ji ita boards in various sizes and shapes

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some root stands

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kauaibonsai wrote: .. ...
some root stands.. ..

Sam, you mean that the wood is coming from some root of the tree?

hi nellie:

root stand is the term used to describe the style of the stand. the wood separating the holes is carved to resemble tree roots. this effect is much more pronounced with taller root stands the japanese are so skilled at making.

best wishes, sam