trunk bending question

eeiko321

hi guys

ive bought myself a trunk bender....... a cheap one........

simillar to the one in the previous post. with a winding handle and 2 hooks.

i just want to know, what is the procedure for this.......


a.) do i bend it all the way i want it to.... and then its done and never use again for that bend? 1 minutue job?

or....... b.) do i bend it bit-by-bit each day slowly and slowly leaving it on......to let it form slowly withought breakage? (leaving the benders on the trunk during the process?)

thanks

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FlyBri

Gday Eeiko.

I'd suggest the latter, but the former may be applicable depending on the species and the thickness/brittleness of the branch/trunk in question. I have little or no practical experience with such devices, so take this with a grain of salt.

Good luck.

Fly.

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waltr

I darn near ruined a tree with one. The pressure from the hooks and screw crushed and killed the bark on a juniper. The trunk now has shari started.
Just check carefully when using.

eeiko321

heya

i hope were all talking about this bender right?

well the thing is....... i want to bend a thin..... Japanese Juniper....
its about ... 1/2" thick.

i want that kink at the bottom of the trunk.

so i was wondering how to use it properly.

im guessing that you leave it on.....and bend it bit by bit getting the tree used to it...

rather than one big push......

Attached Images

bender1.jpg (7.9 KB, 7 views)

Vonsgardens

Well,
Haven't used this type for bending, I have used it for straightening branches and trunks.

To do what you want to do wrap the trunk in faffia, a couple of layers. Insert a large wire (1/2' trunk- #6 copper or 4.5-5 mm aluminumdown) into the soil as deep as you can to anchor, wrap the wire and be sure that you have wire at the outside point where tyou want the bend to be. cut a guy wire 1.5mm aluminum or #18 copper or so), place a rubber or plastic protector at the base of the tree, plce the guy wire around that and then attach it 9with a twist of the wire) on the the heavy wire above where you want your bend, manually end the tree, making sure that the outside bend of the trunk is supported by wire, using your second set of hands (I did mention having beer and a friend on hand to help? My wife dooes this part) twist the guy wire tight to hold it. Release the trunk, wait a minute of two, then continue bending and tightening until you have the angle you desire.

Now understand this:
1) if you don't have wire to support the out side curves the tree will break.
2) if you don't use a guy wire the tree will work to straighten.
3) if you place a ping pong ball on the tree and the guy wire breaks- my friend Ron says the ball can be launched up to 20 ft in the air......

Good luck
John

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watchndsky

Just remember to watch the bark for damage, indentions, etc - I almost ruined a nice kiyome with one of these things. I had a hard time correcting the reverse taper created by using one of these.

tachigi

I have to agree with this. The possibility of cambium being damaged is pretty good if you have a branch that is pretty stiff. I have used this tool more for what John suggested straighting out a branch. There is a very fine line you walk when use this type of bender. You have to be extremely observant that you don't cause irreparable
damage.

There are other techniques that you may want to consider. This article describes one, while being a bit aggressive produces the most IMO effective and visually pleasing results.

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apisto

Thats a superb article i may give it a go at some point in the future

Another method i saw recently printed in the Scottish Bonsai magazine involved cutting a trench into the length of the trunk being bent.

Inserting a strong piece of wire, filling the trench back in with cut paste wrap it all in Raffia and sticky tape. Then off you go.

This is a long term process and deffo not for the feint hearted