At this point, only a few shorts - and some (like this one) are almost too punky to turn. I had to use lots of thin ca glue to prevent tearout during final shaping. I think the tree is still there, so I prefer to think of it as boards "standing" around, not laying.
Yes, I think so too. My original thought was to have the glass stand up from the stem (as it is). I wanted the wood to have an "uplifting" look. Now that it's together, though, I feel it would look better with the bulb sitting lower on the stem.