Jim Lewis wrote:

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. :-) .
snip

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)

Jim:
I've got a quaking aspen that I'm doing the same thing with. It's a tree that I
collected a couple of years ago and have in a wooden box. I did a trunk chop, boxed
it up and let it go. On one side was a major root that I cut back pretty hard, and
that side of the tree died. Not a crisis, since the root was not supporting any
branches. The live growth is on the other side. This fall I was poking at it and
saw that some of the wood under the bark was dead, so I started removing the bark
until I got to the edge of live cambium, and found that a good one half of the tree
had died, while the other half is doing fine. So, I drilled a bunch of half-inch
holes the length of the dead area and just let it sit. I thought I'd let it sit
over the winter and see how it reacts. In the spring when the wood has softened up
some more I'm planning to carve it out. The thickness of the live part will
probably be an inch or so. The tree is about 3" at the base.

Craig Cowing
NY
Zone 5b/6a Sunset 37

************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by Jarbas Godoy ++++
************************************************** ******************************
-- The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ --
+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++