ไม้หีบอ้อย (mai hip oi) — Press the Stick's End to Pinch Cane Pieces in the Post's Slot and Squeeze the Juice Down a Trough

"To use it, cut the cane into lengths, peel it, and cut it into short pieces; then put the pieces into the pressing slot one at a time and press the end of the press stick down. The root of the stick pinches the piece of cane in the slot until it is crushed and squeezes the juice down onto the catch base." (Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre, author พิชชา ทองขลิบ (Phitcha Thongkhlip), CC BY 4.0)

Plane a piece of hardwood into a round stick about 50 cm long.

Make a post about 50 cm high and cut a long slot near its top, so that the press stick and a piece of cane can pass through it together. Bore a hole in the base stand for the root of the press stick to fit loosely, and set them on the catch base.

Cut thin sheet metal and fold it into a trough. Pass it through the post under the press stick and the cane, so the juice runs down onto the catch base.

Real photos of a ไม้หีบอ้อย (mai hip oi) from พิพิธภัณฑ์พื้นบ้านจ่าทวี (Ja Thawee Folk Museum) (Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre, author พิชชา ทองขลิบ (Phitcha Thongkhlip), CC BY 4.0)

Cut the cane into lengths, peel it and cut it into short pieces. Put them into the slot one at a time and press the end of the stick down: its root pinches the cane until it is crushed, and the juice runs down the trough into the vessel.

The mai hip oi was devised for elderly people with poor teeth, to press cane for offering to monks and to drink themselves. It works like the chang hip but presses a little at a time. The juice trough was once made of areca-palm sheath, banana sheath or bark, and later of iron or zinc sheet. Other names: mai nip, mai nip oi khwan. Source: Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre, Traditional Objects of Everyday Use database, "ไม้หีบอ้อย" (CC BY 4.0 licence). **Limits** The source does not give the distance between the post and the base stand.