Make your own tree trunk garden light
With effective lighting, you can skillfully set the scene for your garden or balcony. A natural tree trunk serves as your bridge to nature. Admittedly, this DIY project isn't for the faint-hearted, but with patience and a good dose of spit, you too can create light!
This is what you need
Tools:
- Drill with 35mm “3D drill”
- Alternative: Hole saw and chisel
- Alternative: chainsaw and milling machine
- screw clamp
- jigsaw or Japanese saw
Material:
- Tree trunk (knot-free / diameter: 25-35cm)
- A nail
- A piece of string
- Light tube for outdoors, light: warm white
- Protective cap for power plug/extension (optional)
And off we go
Mark the tree trunk
First, determine the area you want to hollow out. To do this, place the nail in the center of the tree trunk and hammer it in lightly. Now take the string and attach one end to the pencil and the other to the nail in the tree trunk. Draw a circle, keeping a distance of at least two centimeters from the edge of the tree trunk. Everything inside the circle must be removed.
"Hollowing out a tree trunk isn't easy, and there's no one-size-fits-all solution. We tested various options and found three that work. However, each method has its advantages and disadvantages."
Hollowing out with a chainsaw
The fastest way to hollow out a tree trunk is with a chainsaw. To do this, you drive the chainsaw's bar into the tree trunk, point first. Repeat this process until a "checkerboard" pattern is created. You can then remove the wood with a milling machine. However, this type of work is not without risk and should only be performed by qualified personnel in compliance with all safety standards. 
The simplest variant: The 3D drill
Hollowing out with a hole saw
With this method, you use the hole saw attachment on your drill to cut as many circles as possible into the area you want to hollow out. Once the tree trunk looks like Swiss cheese, you can use a chisel to remove the wood. This way, you work your way down layer by layer. The big advantage of this method is that it's relatively simple and safe. However, it's also the most laborious method.
Our tip: Hollowing out with the “3D drill”
A 3D drill bit can be purchased for around €15 and makes this job much easier. You use the bit to drill hole after hole into the tree trunk. Then, using the bit, you can mill out the remaining excess by moving the drill sideways or tilting it. It's quick, safe, and requires little effort.
"If you want to protect your tree trunk from the weather, you can seal it with wood preservatives."
light well
Once the tree trunk has been hollowed out, the light slits are sawn into the trunk. This calls for some imagination. Both straight and curved shapes are possible. You can make cuts from the top and bottom. Depending on whether you want the lamp to emit more or less light, you can make as many or as few cuts as you like. To do this, secure the tree trunk to a table or workbench with a clamp and make the cuts with a jigsaw or Japanese saw. To do this, you'll need to rotate the tree trunk bit by bit. So, saw, loosen the clamp, rotate the trunk slightly, tighten the clamp, and saw again, and so on.
After the light slots have been sawn out, the light tube is usedstring of lights
Once the cuts have been made, the string of lights is placed inside the tree trunk. To do this, wind up your string of lights and insert them into the tree trunk from below. It's important that the string of lights is weatherproof, as moisture and weather influences would otherwise cause a short circuit sooner or later.
Danger!
If an extension cable is used between the plug of the light chain and the socket, please protect the plug connection from the weather by using a plug safety box!
And... enjoy!
A tree trunk garden light is a great DIY project and ensures romantic, balmy summer evenings in the garden. Enjoy!
More ideas for your garden
We love nature and just can't get enough of it! Do you too? Then discover some inspiration for your garden here:
- Bee welfare seeds for a wild bee meadow
- Streuwiese: Peaceful & dreamy
- Italian Garden
- Brings luck: Four-leaf clover to give as a gift
Is DIY your world?
There are many good reasons to make things yourself. It saves resources, sometimes even money, it's fun, and you learn a lot. What's more, there's a special magic in the things you've created with your own hands and passion. It's a wonderful feeling you can't buy in any store and for any amount of money.
You can find more ideas for great DIY projects in our book " Your Creative Garden ." Thanks to step-by-step instructions and helpful pictures, many of our DIY ideas can be recreated with children. The internet also has a lot to offer. So if you want to get active, the following websites are a good place to start:
