Ebay Fire Piston

[WhichDoctor]

Having got interested in firepistons recently I thought i'd buy a proper one before I make one to have something to compeer it against.


So I found a recommendation for a ebayer selling cheep and good quality ones on this site, and bought one. It is a good system. It has two Vaseline wells in the body and a very efficient fire starting tin (I thought it was a gimmick but it does work extremely well). But the piston is not very versatile and its a bit fidly.

Anyway, the mane problem is that it doesn't have a hole in the end of the piston rod, it has a rubber washer tacked to the end. So it requires you to stick the tinder to the end with vaseline, this does work with the tinder provided (blocks of carbonized plant fiber) But I cant get anything ells to stick to it.

So my question is, is there a nether way to attach the tinder to the end, I was wondering if I could take the washer off the end and put a traditional gasket on it. Or is there anything ells I could do to attach tinder to it.

Here it is.


This is it opened up.


Heres a close up of the rubber seal on the end of the piston rod.


The really annoying thing is that after I ordered this one I found a nether fire piston seller on ebay selling a more traditional one for the same price, so the other option is to keep this as a backup and get one of them as well.

Any comments are welcome, thanks in advance.

Heres the other one if your interested http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI....EWA:PIC&viewitem=&item=140059991298&rd=1&rd=1

 

[Heathenpeddler]

That groove behind the rubber end looks perfect for an o-ring. If you took the rubber off you'd have to repace it with a tinder cup wouldn't you, or you'd lose compression due to the stroke length change? Do you have any ideas on what you could replace it with?

 

[Too Much Kit To Carry]

I have the nearly the same piston from the same seller.

I have trouble keeping the tinder of on the end if the piston and was wondering if there is a better way of attaching tinder to the piston head.

As for an O ring seal I would imagine that unless the O ring is glued to the piston shaft that it would roll up the shaft.

I tired these pistons at the Christmas Moot with Jason Sears and neither of us had any luck at all - perhaps the tinder was too damp/cold? Seoras showed us that he could do it mind you with the same piston!

Be interesting to see where this thread goes!

Phil.

 

[WhichDoctor]

That groove behind the rubber end looks perfect for an o-ring. If you took the rubber off you'd have to repace it with a tinder cup wouldn't you, or you'd lose compression due to the stroke length change? Do you have any ideas on what you could replace it with?

I really don't know anything about the dimensions that are needed. but an o-ring sounds like a good idea, I was thinking I would have to make a gasket out of thread or something but a o-ring would be much easyer.

Does anyone have any ideas on what I could make a tinder cup out of?

 

[spamel]

Before you try taking that bit of rubber off, let me tell you something! I mis hit mine on one of my first goes and tore the rubber off. I had spare ones which the seller sent and thought I'd easily repleace it. Think again! I tried to remove the tack which held the rubber in place and it promptly snapped! "Bugger" said I, "how on earth am I going to get this to stay on now?"

I ended up gluing one of the rubber seals on instead, and it works fine. I was also able to drill a hole into the rubber, not all the way through, that I can put tinder into and it doesn't fall out.

Be careful if you do try this, it may only cost a couple of quid but it is a bit crap when you break something you only just got!!

 

[spoony]

jeff wagner does them hes a member here

 

[QDanT]

I hold the body in one hand with the opening at the bottom then placing the tinder on top of the piston with only a little vasaline to stop it falling off, offer it into the body then still upright raise it about a foot from my palm or knee and a quick bang down works almost every time.If it does missfire I refluff the tinder char cloth or chaga or the "eureka" it came with which is best so far,then blow down the body to re- oxygenate then have another go. So I strike upwards

 

[WhichDoctor]

I ended up gluing one of the rubber seals on instead, and it works fine. I was also able to drill a hole into the rubber, not all the way through, that I can put tinder into and it doesn't fall out.

Now I mite just try that, it's certainly the easiest option .

I hold the body in one hand with the opening at the bottom then placing the tinder on top of the piston with only a little vasaline to stop it falling off, offer it into the body then still upright raise it about a foot from my palm or knee and a quick bang down works almost every time.If it does missfire I refluff the tinder char cloth or chaga or the "eureka" it came with which is best so far,then blow down the body to re- oxygenate then have another go. So I strike upwards

Thats what I've been doing, I can get the eureka stuff to light dead easy but anything other than that just comes off inside the tube . So far I've only tried some woodpunk and tinder fungus but its a bugger getting them out .