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Jim Gremel demonstrated his technique for creating a
bunjin pine with a sharp bend. Here's a few notes:
- A tree with beautiful old bark was selected.
- Jim noted that pine branches should be cut off,
leaving a short jin. If cut flush with the trunk, an ugly
scar can result.
- Jim sketched several designs and chose the one he
liked best before starting to work. He chose a design
that required a sharp bend in a large branch. He
mentioned that it is best, when bending a branch, to try
to follow its natural direction rather than trying to
bend it in the opposite direction.
- To increase the flexibility of the branch, he carved
a notch a little more than halfway through the
wood at the place where he planned to bend it. To make
the notch Jim used a concave cutter to nip away at the
wood until he had a notch about 3 times as long as the
diameter of the trunk. The notch allowed the trunk to be
bent (later) without breaking.
He applied several "tails" of wet raffia longitudinally
on the side opposite the groove. (A branch is more likely
to break under tension than compression.) In time, Jim
said, the wood should callus and the groove be less
noticeable.
- Next, Jim applied three short strands of #10 wire
over the raffia (longitudinally). These were held in
place with a spiral wrap of raffia tails. (Cloth strips
could also have been used.)
- He next applied two short lengths of #6 wire for
additional strength. To hold everything together, he
wrapped raffia tails very tightly around and around the
whole assembly of wire and raffia. Finally, he added wire
"tourniquets" in several places to help hold everything
in place
- He was able to bend the branch very sharply and it
didn't break!
Thanks Jim, for a very informative talk and
demonstration.
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