I saw a youtube pipe maker using a hot wire to burn holes in green branches for pipe stems. General theory being that the pith would burn easier than the sapwood, so the wire would follow the natural curve of the wood. Obviously only works on relatively small diameter branches, but the general idea of fire forming might be helpful.
this post was submitted on 23 Mar 2025
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Search up how to make shrink pots, they are effectively cups made from hollowed branches. The center can be bored out, or carved with a long and skinny knife. A gouge can also be used
Had no idea those were a thing, I'll be reading up on them, thanks!
Might be worth doing some research into how the Australian Aboriginals make didgeridoos:
https://didgeworkshops.com.au/Making-a-Didgeridoo
TLDR: Use termites to hollow it out for you.
Dunno if that suits your use case, and I dont know how you avoid them going rogue and eating the rest of the wood, but worth some consideration if you have access to termites.
Somewhat inconvenient but fun thought experiment
Definitely is a bit inconvenient. But if you already have termites, may as well put them to work :D
can you possibly drill the interior, as in start with a very fine drill, and keep increasing the drillbit size progressively - this would depend on the wood quality i think- if too dry, it might snap, if too damp, then you would not be precise.
The branches I wanna work with are too long and needs too much material removed for drill to be a realist tool. I could try it out just to confirm that theory, I guess.