So for the holiday season I celebrated by buying a nice rock to create a Daiza.  My good friend Jason of Schley’s Bonsai and Supplies in Holly Hill Florida had a great selection to choose from. I wanted a larger one than the ones I had done previously because I need something to display in my living room. 

This one could have presented some challanges.  However I had an idea.

Using a wetsaw I removed the rounded unlevel bottom so that the rock would sit flat.  This worked very well.

I placed the rock on the piece of Rosewood that I planned to use and traced around it.

After I routered the base o fthe Daiza the rock fit in pretty easily.  This still needed some work but was pretty easy up until this point

Well it still needs a lot of sanding and a finish, but it looks pretty good.  I want to remove more from the underside to give it a lighter feel.  There is still too much mass in my opinion.  When it’s finished I’ll post an update.

Share on Facebook

Last BSF Convention in Port Canaveral I sat in as a spectator for a Sean Smith daiza carving workshop. I’m glad I did. Sean is the highest recognized diaza artist outside of Japan and is respected for his work in Japan as well.
After the workshop I was very motivated to create one of these little stands and it turned out pretty good. So I decided to try another one. The following steps are what I followed to create one. I hope it inspires others out there to give it a try.

I bought a rock at the most recent CFBC meeting from a long time member, Marge Pierce. I didn’t like the stand, but the rock had potential. This is what it looked like when I bought it.

Here it is removed from the stand.

I used Rosewood for the daiza. This rock was an easy one because it had a flat base. So all you do is put it on the wood and trace around it.

The outline of the rock

I use a dremel tool with a router attachment to remove the material about 1/8″. Just stay in the lines.

Now put the rock in its place and trace a line about 1/8″ around it to form the lip.

I used a jigsaw to cut out the diaza. Its starting to look good.

Now select the areas for the feet.

Here it is in its final form. It still needs a ton of sanding and handling to darken it up. That’s all there is to it. Give it a try

Share on Facebook