Basically it is a way to get that old tree look from a young tree.

Yes it is. Haha.
it's still frowned upon by Japanese bonsai artists.tanuki implies deception....
no shortcuts grass hoppa
On another note, While I was camping this weekend I came across a much better piece of wood for my phoenix graft....

You said it! Tanuki-Badger-Trickster.

I read somewhere if you try to show a tanuki it is an appropriate thing to state that it is in fact a tanuki. I have seen most pics of them that there were poor workmanship. But on the other hand I have seen some that you couldn't tell if they were tanuki or not. I would never try to pass one off as a regular tree. There were a couple on ebay that looked like such a rush job, that someone was trying to get quick cash. They were asking somewhere around $1000 each.
BTW that is a nice piece of deadwood you got there.

The wood is now 2 separate pieces. After scraping all the soft wood I realized that it was cracked in the middle so I pulled it apart.It came apart along the grain. I'm going to use the shorter piece first because it has a hole that goes all the way through it(on the left). depending on how that goes I'll use the bigger piece.

Looks good like that. If you want deeper grain use a wire brush in a drill, it will bring out the grain more.
Here is the piece I am going to use and the tree that is going on it.

man i never find wood like that ,nice stuff...lance i think you need to get a conifer for that one maybe one of those blue ground cover junipers.

I was going to use willow cuttings but I think you are right. A few larch trees might be nice. Who knows. I'll see whats available in the woods the next time I venture out.

well i just went to a bonsai show and there was a fantastic spruce phoenix...didnt even know until i looked a second time

We went camping this weekend and I had every intention of getting some kind of spruce,pine,cedar,larch saplings to start this. I decided against it because it's a little too late in the season to dig. I guess I have time to decide what to use.