watchndsky
Chumono
your attn to details is always impressive. nice tree!
JWP Pick the front!
- Thread starter Adair M
- Start date
yenling83
Omono
Beautiful Tree!!!
Yeah, after I took the picture, I turned it around and realized it looked pretty bad from the back! So, I spent some time adjusting the pads to look better from that angle. Didn't affect the front.
You may have seen this one before, I bought it from Jonas.
JudyB
Queen of the Nuts
How does that work? The wire gets so stiff after you put it on, how can you move it later? It sure is looking beautiful Adair. Stunner.
Judy, I can move my copper wire years after I put it on!
It doesn't harden with age. It work hardens when bent. So, I'm careful not to unnecessarily bend it. I don't use a wire caddy. I leave the wire in the original coils, and lay them out. Most caddys hang the wire on a dowel, and you grab the wire and pull to dispense it. That process straightens the wire, bending it, stiffening it, before you've even started!
Another very common bad habit is most people, after they have cut a length of wire from the spool, is instinctively straighten it! Then they go and start to apply it. Again, they just stiffened it!
As you know, I teach classes at Plant City, and I always teach not to bend the wire before use. Well, one day, Steve wanted me to wire a tree for a customer, so as I was wiring, Steve said, "Wow!! You really DO keep the wire as a coil before you apply it!" Lol! Yes, yes I do!
Another trick: sometimes there are complicated areas. I try not to cross wires. Most of the time, there's a solution. But, when in doubt, I do a test run using a piece of thin aluminum. I can put it O at the anchor point, and wind t out and see how it matches up. Then, once I figure out the pattern, I can unwind it and then use a good piece of copper. The aluminum I can straighten back out by grabbing each end with pliers and giving it a light jerk. Aluminum doesn't work harden. I can reuse that piece dozens of times.
And finally, I use Jim Gremel's wire. I know, some people hate me repeating myself, but it is the softest. Julian Adams' wire is good, too. But I prefer Jim's. Jim was an engineer at Boeing back in the day. He heats his wire to a specific temperature in his kiln for a certain amount of time for each gauge. And then let's it slowly cool. He has tested different temperatures and times, and has measured the stiffness. So, he's got it down to a science.
(I still have a little bit of Julian's wire. Some #10. So I used it today. I can definitely feel it's stiffer than Gremel's #10.)
There is a drawback to Gremel's wire. Since he doesn't quench it in water, it has more of a carbon coating on the exterior. It can pop off in little "shards" when you bend it as you're wiring. It kinda "frackers" as you spiral it. And you can get a little carbon on your fingers. I doesn't bother me, it might bother others who are not the used to it.
As an aside:
The guys who have apprenticed in Japan pretty much all agree that Gremel's wire is the softest they've ever used. And Japan is supposed to have superior wire!
I was working with Juan Andrade at a workshop last summer, and he asked for some wire. I cut him off a piece, and as he started to apply it, he said, "Ooooh! You have Jim Gremel wire!" So, there IS a difference.
It doesn't harden with age. It work hardens when bent. So, I'm careful not to unnecessarily bend it. I don't use a wire caddy. I leave the wire in the original coils, and lay them out. Most caddys hang the wire on a dowel, and you grab the wire and pull to dispense it. That process straightens the wire, bending it, stiffening it, before you've even started!
Another very common bad habit is most people, after they have cut a length of wire from the spool, is instinctively straighten it! Then they go and start to apply it. Again, they just stiffened it!
As you know, I teach classes at Plant City, and I always teach not to bend the wire before use. Well, one day, Steve wanted me to wire a tree for a customer, so as I was wiring, Steve said, "Wow!! You really DO keep the wire as a coil before you apply it!" Lol! Yes, yes I do!
Another trick: sometimes there are complicated areas. I try not to cross wires. Most of the time, there's a solution. But, when in doubt, I do a test run using a piece of thin aluminum. I can put it O at the anchor point, and wind t out and see how it matches up. Then, once I figure out the pattern, I can unwind it and then use a good piece of copper. The aluminum I can straighten back out by grabbing each end with pliers and giving it a light jerk. Aluminum doesn't work harden. I can reuse that piece dozens of times.
And finally, I use Jim Gremel's wire. I know, some people hate me repeating myself, but it is the softest. Julian Adams' wire is good, too. But I prefer Jim's. Jim was an engineer at Boeing back in the day. He heats his wire to a specific temperature in his kiln for a certain amount of time for each gauge. And then let's it slowly cool. He has tested different temperatures and times, and has measured the stiffness. So, he's got it down to a science.
(I still have a little bit of Julian's wire. Some #10. So I used it today. I can definitely feel it's stiffer than Gremel's #10.)
There is a drawback to Gremel's wire. Since he doesn't quench it in water, it has more of a carbon coating on the exterior. It can pop off in little "shards" when you bend it as you're wiring. It kinda "frackers" as you spiral it. And you can get a little carbon on your fingers. I doesn't bother me, it might bother others who are not the used to it.
As an aside:
The guys who have apprenticed in Japan pretty much all agree that Gremel's wire is the softest they've ever used. And Japan is supposed to have superior wire!
I was working with Juan Andrade at a workshop last summer, and he asked for some wire. I cut him off a piece, and as he started to apply it, he said, "Ooooh! You have Jim Gremel wire!" So, there IS a difference.
And there are techniques for manipulating wired branches. The mindset you have to have is you're bending the wire, not the branch. The branch just comes along for the ride. Some tricks: grab the wire with Jin pliers right behind where you want to bend. Using your other hand, put thumb and fingers right where you want to bend, and bend the wire.
Another: simply grab wire with Jin pliers, Then twist Jin pliers. This makes the wire bend.
With small branches: say you want to put in a little bend. Using your tweezers, slip the tongs in either side, and while keeping the tong open, twist the tweezers. Combine that with holding portions with your other hand, and you can get pretty good control.
Daisaku Nomoto does a variation of the pliers and tweezer thing using the little Masakuni wire cutters. He keeps the little cutters on one finger at all times. Uses them for cutting small wire. But they're pretty sturdy, and he uses the blades as leverage on the wire just like I described for the tweezers.
Watching someone who is REALLY good can teach you a lot! Lol!!!
Oh, Graham Potter's videos show him using Jin pliers to position wired branches.
JudyB
Queen of the Nuts
me either.
me too.
and in your eyes...
yes, true.
I get this.
What I don't know is how you get up into a tree with a whole round of wire, and put it on a branch without bending it as you put it on.
Thanks!
And if I could say one more thing about wiring: practice, practice, practice!
It was not until my third year into the Intensives with Boon that he said that my wiring was "good enough" that he could actually begin to teach me to style! That is, how to set pads, develop layers, make soft "clouds" of foliage, etc.
I have to say that my wiring is orders of magnitude better now than it was when I first started with Boon.
"Wiring is bonsai, and bonsai is wiring".
I cut off pieces. I don't take the whole spool into the tree. Well, I'll hold up the spool sometimes when I'm measuring out how long a piece to cut. But it's still in a basic round shape.
watchndsky
Chumono
yeh.... you wouldnt be happy if you saw some of my mess
i get it on there just enough to achieve whatever movement i need and back away before i break something.
most of mine are deciduous though.
And, before we go much farther, I'm into the wine tonight! Lol! 1975 Langoa Barton. One of my favorite wines and vintages!
I take my time wiring. Snaking the wire in and around needles. Figuring out how to lay in the least amount of wire and still have the wire be effective.
And I use rather heavy wire. For example, if by looking, it looks like I could use 16 gauge wire, I'll use 14 gauge. Doing that, the wire really "holds". I hate it when you have to "overbend" the branch so that when you let go, the branch and wire relaxes, and goes back towards where it was. I put my on heavy enough wire so that when I bend it and set it, it stays put. Unless I decide to move it!'
Doubling up wire if one wire doesn't do the job is a poor technique. A single properly sized wire has more holding strength than two undersized ones. Looks better, too.
Judy, I know you know this. I'm writing all this to help out the newbies.
Also because I'm snockered on good wine!
Sorry, Dav4, you missed out again!
I take my time wiring. Snaking the wire in and around needles. Figuring out how to lay in the least amount of wire and still have the wire be effective.
And I use rather heavy wire. For example, if by looking, it looks like I could use 16 gauge wire, I'll use 14 gauge. Doing that, the wire really "holds". I hate it when you have to "overbend" the branch so that when you let go, the branch and wire relaxes, and goes back towards where it was. I put my on heavy enough wire so that when I bend it and set it, it stays put. Unless I decide to move it!'
Doubling up wire if one wire doesn't do the job is a poor technique. A single properly sized wire has more holding strength than two undersized ones. Looks better, too.
Judy, I know you know this. I'm writing all this to help out the newbies.
Also because I'm snockered on good wine!
Sorry, Dav4, you missed out again!
Well...yeh.... you wouldnt be happy if you saw some of my mess
i get it on there just enough to achieve whatever movement i need and back away before i break something.
most of mine are deciduous though.
That's a horse of a different color! This isn't the thread to discuss wiring deciduous. But, in a nutshell, you don't wire deciduous branches that are lignified. You only wire young new growth in the growing season BEFORE it's lignified. After its lignified, its too late.
Please, let's not debate that on this thread. I'll be happy to discuss it, but please start a new thread.
watchndsky
Chumono
not looking for a discussion, just making a comment - but thanks for the offer.
jriddell88
Omono
Interesting tree, that right side is super heavy, and I can't help but to stare at that shari, it Def needs some work
Dav4
Drop Branch Murphy
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I like it a lot. I think you need to let the shari grey up and not be so jarring, but the styling is quite nice.
M. Frary
Bonsai Godzilla
Ditto!
Yeah, it's pretty white in direct sun. Not so much inside. I didn't apply the lime sulfur. It was there when I got it.
