Getting the pith out of elder.

[Melonfish]

just cut myself some elder stems from the tree in the garden, i've cut and stripped some short bits which i'm now going to let season but there's a long bit and i'm not sure how to get the pith out?
does anybody do this on a regular basis?


pete

 

[Shewie]

I`ve only done drinking straw lengths and for that I used a red hot length of wire coat hanger.

 

[Jhenry]

Coat hanger wire is what I have used on Sassafrass. It also has a pithy center on the younger shoots. Another choice is brazing rod. It is a bronze type alloy and is a bit stiffer than the coat hanger stuff. In either case you can heat it up over the stove and get after it or you can peen the end a bit and use a file to make kind of a old fashioned drill bit if the pith is hard to push. The sharpened bit will dig into very well. Kind of a spade bit.

 

[Melonfish]

wire coat hangers i have plenty of! excellent cheers chaps!
decided i wanted to try making a small flute and possibly the stem of a pipe
ta
pete

 

[gregorach]

Let us know how you get on with the flute - I've tried a couple of times, without any kind of success.

Coathanger wire is good to start the job off with, but I find a length of threaded rod is very good for cleaning out the last of the pith.

 

[Melonfish]

i've got a fair bit out so far, hopefully i can get the rest out, by threaded rod what do you mean there gregorach?

i'm going to cut some more sections tonight and get some more bits, thicker and some thinner too, if i can get the whistle down then the flute should be easy enough
i've got a lovely long and slightly curved section atm thats pretty thin and will make a wicked pipe stem, so i just need some cherry wood and i can carve me a bowl.
hey this is really fun, my fingers are killing me mind...
pete

 

[chas brookes]

Hi Pete
whilst attending a green woodworking course I met a chap from Slovenia who had brought his traditional flutes with him which he played around the camp fire. The sound that came from them was amazing, and it turned out they were made of Elder. I have attached a link below which illustrates some of the flutes I hope this is of interest

http://www.etno.sk/instruments/folkart_slovakia/folkart_slovakia_shepherd_pipes.htm

Charlie

 

[gregorach]

i've got a fair bit out so far, hopefully i can get the rest out, by threaded rod what do you mean there gregorach?

Erm... A metal rod with a thread cut into it? Not sure how else to explain it...

Chas - that is interesting, thanks. If only they showed how to make them...

 

[British Red]

Like a chuffing great length of bolt melonfish - comes in fifferent sizes (e.g. 6mm) from B&Q - about 1.50 a metre. Buy a metre long bit of 6mm or 8mm. You tap it through with a hammer and then use it like a file to clean all the gunk out because its "serrated".

You can also use a 4" length of it to attach a headpiece (antler say) to a walking stick / staff by sdrilling the shaft and the headpiece them epoxying the rod into both

Red

 

[mr dazzler]

A mate of mine makes his own pipes from elder, hazel, corn cobs and stuff like that. He uses a piece of soft wire with like fish hook barbs cut into it to get the pitthh out (taking the pith?). He says its a very old method. He pushes the wire so far in, then when he pulls it back out the barbs snatch the pith and it comes out. The threaded rod would work only if the elder was dead straight.....this wire method will follow the shape naturally

 

[Melonfish]

aye, i'm liking the coat hanger atm, though i've just realised that wire coat hangers are few and far between suddenly (why are they all plastic sudenly?) i've been running it down a curved piece atm and just generally getting that pith out. also i almost named the thread "taking the pith out of elder"
but it was just a wee bit too racy hehe
more elder will be cut tonight and i'll let you guys know how i go, i'm also going to leave some to season properly in the shed and come back to it in say the summer or perhaps maybe even next year! see how we go.
this is fun!

 

[OldFingersGreen]

hello melonfish!

i make flukes as often as i can, elder is the best for making them round the campfire as no carving is involved. i use a very long flat head screwdriver (thick head, thin body) to remove the pith usually. i clamp the screwdriver down vertically with the end up then sort of pretend to make a fire by friction, because of the thin body it can go round slight curves (i love curved flutes) and makes for a very clean bore. don't worry though if you cant get it all out, as long as there is clear air flow it makes for a very soft sound with an eneven bore.

not long off finishing part 1 and 2 of my flute tutorials, the second part is an elder (or bamboo) flute. if you get stuck or can't get a sound let me know and ill do what i can to help.

good luck, when you get a flute that works and get it sounding i guarantee you will love it. nothing as hauntingly beautiful as the sound these flutes produce drifting through the woods at night!

 

[Broch]

As others have said, a wire coat hanger works well. Use the type that has a spiral around the hook neck, screw the spiral into the elder a short distance then pull it out. It will bring a load of the pith out with it. Then just repeat until you've got to the end.

I've only made pipes; a flute sounds like a great idea.

 

[Ex Member - Sidney Bounty]

just used some stiff wire just hollowed out some mullen stock for use when I tap birch trees...

 

[JohnC]

I have an old bike spoke, hammered flat at one end that I put into a drill.

 

[demographic]

Just tell it that its not a real tree and that its a bit pathetic, only sutable to hang "Jelly" ears off.
That should do the trick