Bandel4’s Bamboo Pump Gun

[BOD]

This is a caplong (pronounced chup-long) made by Bandel4 :You_Rock_ to kill some spare time while helping out on an NGO open day.

It’s a bamboo piston pump gun of the sort kids from his home village used to play in the old days which also suggests a different theory for the discovery of the fire piston in this part of the world. It is basically a fire piston thats open at the other end

Traditionally it fires a hard round BB sized seed but as there were none around he used newspaper wads. You still can feel it strike. It can be made as a long gun to get more range and accuracy. A better gasket might help too.

It fires a fair distance and as I suspected his intentions, I took my snooze in the middle of the lake on a kayak where the gun could not reach.

Bandel4's adventures with his missus and dog as well as his craft work can be found on his site http://www.my-rainforest-adventures.blogspot.com/

 

[alpha_centaur]

Very clever, I quite believe that it couldbe the way that the fire piston was found. I remember as a kid using a bike pump to do the same thing.

But if you put your finger over the end you could feel the pressure and me and my brother used to see who could push the plunger down furthest before it 'farted'.

I remember that your thumb used to get quite warm when you did it.

 

[Templar]

Hmmm very interesting... reminds me of the old "Jungle Shotgun" the CT's used...

I might have to make one of these to pass the time here lol...

Karl

 

[spamel]

Very clever, I quite believe that it couldbe the way that the fire piston was found. I remember as a kid using a bike pump to do the same thing.

But if you put your finger over the end you could feel the pressure and me and my brother used to see who could push the plunger down furthest before it 'farted'.

I remember that your thumb used to get quite warm when you did it.

What you were feeling there is the basic idea behind the diesel engine and the fire piston. Rapidly compressing air increases temperature enough for atomised diesel to burn, in the case of the diesel engine, or for tinder to ignite in the case of the fire piston. Incredible that a bunch of "dumb savages" figured out the principle without help from "clever civilised" people!

 

[aarya]

Would this be a similar item, like the one in this video?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZ76M8uAavA

And how does it work?

 

[BOD]

That's a fabulous video!

Must be Mors' grand daddy back in the old country by the skills he shows. He even drops the baton!

Great trick to get out the pith. Must try it soon.

It also shows that you could probably make a fire piston bore in some woods without a drill.

I don't understand the bit at the end when a split tube is shown though. Is it the same piece of wood?

 

[aarya]

That's a fabulous video!

Must be Mors' grand daddy back in the old country by the skills he shows. He even drops the baton!

Great trick to get out the pith. Must try it soon.

It also shows that you could probably make a fire piston bore in some woods without a drill.

I don't understand the bit at the end when a split tube is shown though. Is it the same piece of wood?

If you think that video is good, then you should check out the site where i found it.
The site is in Finnish mind you, but the videos are all pretty good.
http://www.kansatieteellisetfilmit.fi/videot2.htm
Or if you run it through google translate, to get it in... Kinda-English.
http://translate.google.com/transla...mit.fi/videot2.htm&sl=fi&tl=en&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

The video from which i took that clip, is called Puukolla Ja Kirveellä. Or in the kinda-english version, Knife and Kirveellä.

Filmed in 1938 or 1941. I`ve uploaded other clips from the same video to youtube aswell.
The entire series on the finnish website, shows alot of good and simple crafts.

As for the split tube at the end, i think it`s to show how it looks on the inside. It is indeed the same piece of wood.

 

[Bravo4]

If you think that video is good, then you should check out the site where i found it.
The site is in Finnish mind you, but the videos are all pretty good.
http://www.kansatieteellisetfilmit.fi/videot2.htm
Or if you run it through google translate, to get it in... Kinda-English.
http://translate.google.com/transla...mit.fi/videot2.htm&sl=fi&tl=en&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

The video from which i took that clip, is called Puukolla Ja Kirveellä. Or in the kinda-english version, Knife and Kirveellä.

The Knife and Kirveella video is fascinating, thanks for that aarya! Watching that guy work is amazing. I wonder if he ever imagined that his demonstrations would be witnessed someday by people all over the world.

Bandel4 :You_Rock_ http://www.my-rainforest-adventures.com/
you too BOD!

 

[bandel4]

The 'caplong' brings me back to days when I was a kid still running around chasing birds, shooting cats and stealing fruits for the neighbor's trees.
The right bamboo (very thick wall) is hard to come by (at least in the area where I live), so when I chance upon them pieces lying on the ground, I literally dropped everything...took my Mora out and started working.

Yup...it sure does brings back good memories. Glad you guys enjoyed it.

http://www.my-rainforest-adventures.com/