Ficus carving questions

[BonsaiPancake]

I picked up a thick ficus at the Bonsai Open this past weekend mainly to use as carving practice (sorry if the seller sees this ) I wanted to create a hollowed out trunk as a way to fix the giant wound.

Below are before and after shots with a video to properly show the carving. Forgot to add a reference beer but the pot is 30cm.

A couple of things:

1) Any general comments/thoughts/ideas on it? Happy to refine it further just not sure what/if it needs anything else. My two initial thoughts are that I could carve out a little more to make the hollow deeper, and that the top right branch section seems to 'hover' a little too much (maybe should have kept more towards the top right so it flows up from the base)

2) Should I use a wood hardener or something on it, or is that unnecessary for a ficus? From experience (and the old wound on the before picture), it seems to get dark and a little brittle over time (although I think darker would look better). I have some Earl's Wood Hardener on hand.

3) There are plenty of stringy fibers throughout the carved areas. Should I do anything with them like sand them back? They were a little tricky to manage, but I'm guessing it will be easier once they dry a bit.

before.jpg

after.jpg

After video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYkijpSy0_I

[tgooboon]

It it were me, I would be trying to heal the wound over the carving, you can still heal that wound over that size. That is what a fig in nature would be trying to do.

I would paint around the perimeter of the carving with a wound sealant to keep it moist and it should start to creep the bark back over over a 5 year period with some encouragement.

Good luck

[legoman_iac]

That's an epic carving!!! Never thought to do it, got one or two or could work on.

Could it be natural to have an opening or small window on the rear side, to draw the eye through the tree?

- Daniel

[isitangus3]

Good carving effort-just make sure you don’t carve around a live branch fully circumferentially-leave some live bark.
I personally use earls wood hardener after I’ve carved to help avoid the wood rotting further.


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[dansai]

Nice carving job. Just make sure it doesn't hold water as fig wood can rot pretty easily. I would hold off on the wood harder for the time being. It looks like you have carved into the living wood - i.e. the wood that is just below the bark and which carries water up to the leaves. I'm not sure what Earls wood harder is made of, but it may be toxic to the tree if it gets into the living tissues??

[BonsaiPancake]

Thanks all! I think I'm going to go down the hardener route since there are some parts of the trunk that are now quite thin.

I would paint around the perimeter of the carving with a wound sealant to keep it moist and it should start to creep the bark back over over a 5 year period with some encouragement.

Would it start to creep without the sealant? When I picked this up the person I was speaking to said to trace around the edge of the wound with a sharp knife every year or so to encourage it to heal over. Can that be done here too (after the initial heal)?

Could it be natural to have an opening or small window on the rear side, to draw the eye through the tree?

Interesting idea! I've seen some very cool carvings with really dark 'caves' and a small hole of light coming through the back. I might sit on that idea for a while and then decide. Can't go back once that decision is made!

I personally use earls wood hardener after I’ve carved to help avoid the wood rotting further.

I'm keen on a darker middle so I wonder if waiting until it's the right colour is the best play. Would waiting for a small amount of rot, then hardening it stop the rotting process? Or could too much damage be done if it rots at all? Especially given some of the sections which are now quite thin.

Just make sure it doesn't hold water as fig wood can rot pretty easily.

It shouldn't hold much (if any), but I wonder if carving right through to the roots would be a better play - allowing water to drain right through. However, this seems like the soil line would now hold semi-constant moisture right near the carving.

It looks like you have carved into the living wood

Ah I had no idea about that. That's why this is was for practice! Makes a lot of sense as I've carved into an elm before and the wood was significantly harder than any part of this tree.

[NickityNic]

What tool did you use for this mate?

[BonsaiPancake]

What tool did you use for this mate?

A Dremel (I think it's an 8220) with these attachments https://bonsainibbler.co.uk/shop/ (R-Maxi and T-Mini). Being cordless, this Dremel doesn't have the power of the others, but it's pretty decent and the bits really help.

Would love to find some local Dremel bits that aren't as expensive and actually make proper cuts. Ones you find at Bunnings or eBay seem to clog up too easily or are just too small.