Carving for Dummies

I have this tree that is perfect for carving. The trunk started rotting out on one side. It occurred to me the it is a perfect candidate for carving. I do not know how, nor do I know anyone that has done any carving. I am hoping someone here can help me with this project. Are there any videos for beginners or tutorials that can help me. This tree is Yaupon Holly. It was put in this pot 6 years ago. I use oversize pots because I do not have any space  to plant in the ground.

i would suggest joining a club and attending some workshops in your area, there really is no step by step guide.

I belong to a club in San Antonio. No one here has done any carving that I know of. Seems that no one on this site has either, or can give me suggestions. Seems everyone on this site is easy to criticize rather then help with useful suggestions.

check a few of the videos of Carving Bonsai by Graham Potter on Youtube
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=bonsai+carving

Not sure if he has his own channel but he is well worth looking at to get some ideas and techniques to try.
Then get some old timber and play to learn how its done.
it is a hard skill to learn without actually doing it yourself.

Ken

Thank you for your help. I will check them out

Ron

As I've ironically just said in another post, carving is simple enough to do but surprisingly hard to do well! I'm certainly no expert as my Hornbeam efforts demonstrate. The trick is to make it look natural of course and like most things that takes a bit of practice.

Watching Graham Potter go at will definitely inspire you but he does make it look easier than it is.

Bobby Lane's suggestion of some workshop tuition is no doubt the best way to go if that's practicable but if not, kcpoole's suggestion of getting some old timber/chunks of branch or whatever and having a play is the way to go.

Either way your holly appears to have developed a nice deadwood feature all by it's self.

Good luck and have fun.

Regards

Richard

Ron,

As a beginning carver I would suggest sticking with hand tools. It is a much slower process than the power tools, but it far more apt to result in natural looking deadwood. It takes a great deal of skill (normally acquired with an even greater amount of practice) to create natural deadwood with power tools.

For hand tools I suggest sharp knives (standard and small hook), a sharp v-groove chisel, jin or similar pliers, pointed tweezers, and some used dental tools. The goal is to carve along the grain and remove the softwood so the the hardwood remains. Even this is harder than it seems so I find it best to do a little and let it rest then come back and do a little more. One of these days I may even learn to do a good job of it.

I also wanted to comment on your statement about the forum only offering criticism and not help. It looks like you received several good pointers in less than 2 days during a holiday. Just like bonsai, you often have to give the forum a chance to digest your questions and provide feedback. You are not the only one who has wanted instant feedback so please don't take this personally.

An important piece to the puzzle is learning what natural deadwood looks like. You will see that different species decay in different patterns; and desert wood subject more to wind and sand and sun, and wood in more moist environments subject to rot, fungus, and insects and other animals.

Go find some wood from nature that looks cool to you and keep it handy as a reference when you're practicing.

I would for now focus on branching, roots and getting that sorted. After that you can look at the deadwood. You probably do not have to carve at all. I think this wood will slowly detoriate without any help, all you need to do is fixate & stop deterioration once it reaches the stage you want it to be at..

Ron wrote:I belong to a club in San Antonio. No one here has done any carving that I know of. Seems that no one on this site has either, or can give me suggestions. Seems everyone on this site is easy to criticize rather then help with useful suggestions.

next time it might be best to wait longer than 8 HOURS before implying that no-one has done carving or is willing to help
(as evidenced by the subsequent replies that i am sure were not prompted by your prod)

Nice one hour-DIY-store demonstration.

Didn't learn anyting about "carving", and what's more didn't learn anything about bonsaï.

It's funny how some are fascinated by tools that go zip, buck, whizz, bang bang etc. and are so enhanced by their marvellous toys that they completely forget about bonsai.

Always check to see if the wood will last upon ageing.
On our side Yaupon wood rots easily, especially near soil.

See if it is durable after x years as well.

Not all woods should be carved.
Laters.
Khaimraj