Robin Wood posted pictures on the Bodger’s Forum of some pipes made from Hickory. Someone else suggested using Elder and as we have plenty I went in search of some suitable branches. They’re harder to find than you’d think and it was difficult to get ones with a straightish stem and a large pith in both the bowl and the stem.
I drilled out the pith in the bowl and burned it out of the stem with a hot wire.
Growing one minute – being smoked the next…
A word of caution – Wiki says about Elder:-
“The leaves, twigs, branches, seeds and roots contain a cyanide producing glycoside. Ingesting any of these parts in sufficient quantity can cause a toxic build up of cyanide in the body. In addition, the unripened berry, flowers and “umbels” contain a toxic alkaloid.
Due to the possibility of cyanide poisoning, children should be discouraged from making whistles, slingshots or other toys from elderberry wood.”
Is Wiki always right and are these things any worse than those contained in tobacco or other smoking material?
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