I want to create a long, hollow down 2/3 the length of a
deciduous tree's trunk. The trunk is about 3 inches at the base,
tapering to a inch at 13 inches tall. I'd like the hollow to be
widest at the base tapering to a narrow slot near the top --
deeper at the base, but I want it quite deep for the entire
length.

This would represent a tree whose heartwood has rotted away,
leaving a hollow that an animal might want to den up in. :-) .
The tree is a twin trunk, with a "younger" slender trunk growing
up from the base, "facing the proposed hollow. There already is
a hollow right at the base where the two trunks meet. I would
extend it up the side of the larger trunk. The top has been
broken off and a new leader has established itself above the
break. The tree is healthy and has been in a pot for 3-4 years
now. FWIW, it is a sweetgum, Liquidamber styraciflua.

What I need to know is how much "live" wood do I need to leave
for safe fluid transport? I'd like the hollow to be as
thin-walled as possible.

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - Only to the
white man was nature a wilderness -- Luther Standing Bear
(Ogallala Sioux Chief)

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