First let me say that if someone has posted this before I do apologize, however i have not found it yet. There is a lot of good information out on how to build a fire piston but people seem to ask anyway when they are unable to produce the same results.
MATERIALS:
A 1-2 FOOT STALK OF 3/8 COPPER TUBING,not the curled up stuff.
J-B QUICK WELD, its an epoxy glue
2 3/8 RUBBER GASKET, I like the thick ones
A TUBE OF CHAP STICK, any will do. I use the free range chicken poop brand lol
A 3/8 NON THREADED COPPER CAP
A 3/8 ALUMINUM ROD, it can be brass, steel or whatever. Al is just lighter and easy to mill.
Optional materials: for STEP 7
WOOD, BUFFALO HORN
OLD STRING GASKET TYPE PISTON.
A TUBE OF QUICK STEEL, epoxy puddy
As for the tools we will need:
A VISE
A DRILL OR DRILL PRESS
3/16th drill bit
A HACKSAW
A FINE CUT FILE AND OR SAND PAPER
A TUBING FLARE OR ANYTHING THAT WILL FLARE THE END OF THE COPPER TUBE.
Optional tools are:
PIPE CUTTER
1/2 INCH DRILL BIT, for STEP 7
Before we begin I will mention that the about list mentions optional items. Those items are there depending on how you want to build your piston and what,if anything, you will want to place the piston in. Take time to decide which you wish to do first.
1) Now take the 3/8 copper tubing and use your pipe cutter, or hack saw, to cut off a piece of pipe 3 and one quarter inches long. You can cut it longer if you like and i have made and use several diff lengths and all work fine.
2) Take the aluminum rod and using the hacksaw cut off a piece 4 inches long. Use you file or whatever is available to you too make sure the ends are flat.
3) Take the 4 inch aluminum rod you just cut and chuck it into your drill or drill press. if you do not have a drill press then simply place your drill in your vice. Take care not to damage your drill when doing that and that the drill is secure.
4) Turn on the drill / drill press, your drill will have a button that allows you to turn it a loose and still run. If not improvise.
Now a quarter of an inch from the end of the aluminum rod use the hack saw to cut a groove for the o-ring to set in. You can look at your hacksaw and see which way the teeth of the blade are facing. ensure that when the drill is turning you the teeth of the blade are facing the opposite direction. As the rod spins in the drill lightly stroke the blade across it. this will set the groove. Now just repeat the process till you have a groove that will allow the o-ring to turn on and is just a hair wider. Test the slot by placing the o-ring on till it turns slightly on the rod.
This is very easy to do and important as it will allow the rod to seat into the barrel when not in use.
5) Once the groove has been milled place the aluminum rod in your vice with the milled end facing up. Looking down use a punch to mark the center and drill out a hole using a 3/16ths inch bit and drill down approx 1/8 of an inch.
6) Use the hacksaw to cut a groove across the hole from side to side and flush with the bottom of the hole. This allows your tinder to stay put and to aid in picking it out.
Now we need to decide what we want to do with the piston. If you want too retool and old fire piston or convert one over too a rubber gasket then go to STEP 7 and follow along. If you want the lightest fire piston with the least effort then just place the glue of your choice on the copper cap and place it on one end of the copper tube. Let dry / cure being carefull not to get the glue inside the tube. Go to STEP 11
7) If you are here then you have decided to place your fire piston in something like a piece of wood or you are converting a string gasket to an 0-ring gasket. Take your wood / old fire piston and MEASURE the depth that you wish to drill. If you made your copper tubing longer than I mention that is fine just be sure that you drill deep enough and that the aluminum rod has atleast 3/4 quarters of an inch sticking out the top of the barrel.drill the barrel out using the 1/2 inch drill bit.
8) Use the flaring tool or whatever you have to flare one end of the tubing. The object here is to expand the end of the tube so that the o-ring can slide in easily. Anything with enough taper can be used as the copper will move easily.
9) So now you should have a drilled out barrel, a flared copper tube, and the aluminum rod already milled with gasket on.Here we want to insert the tube into the new barrel hole we just drilled, however we need to seal the end of the tube first. Do this buy cutting a small piece of the quick steel epoxy puddy and knead it together. When it is properly kneaded you only need a piece the approx larger than a bean. The idea is to make it so that when the ball of puddy is dropped into the barrel the tubing will be placed on top and pressed in.
10) Once the tubing has been pushed in use the end of the aluminum rod, not the end with the gasket, to tamp down the puddy ball flush with the floor of the barrel. You can dip the rod in some water so it wont stick to the epoxy puddy. Just try and make the bottom flat and level tapping all around the edges then set aside to cure for as long as the directions say.
11) All that is left is to check your work and make sure there are not any burs that may scratch the inside of the barrel. Use tissue or whatever to swab the inside of the barrel out. Once done you may now place your chap stick / lube on the o-ring only. place the rod in the barrel and if you made the groove correctly you should be able to work the rod down into the barrel. If there is too much pressure and wiggling does not help then re mill the groove. Place the other o-ring on the outside end of the rod and slide it down to the flare. when done right the rod should sit fully in the barrel and the other gasket should seal the top from dirt and debris.
CONGRATZ YOU MADE A WORKING FIRE PISTON !!!!
You can add a handle too the exposed end if you like or leave it as is. Either way it functions well with all the normal fire piston tinder.
Sry if this is a long post but if it inspires one person to get out and learn then it has been worth it. Everywhere I go people are amazed by the fire piston and some begin anew to look at what bushcraft has to offer us.
Easy Peasy !!!!!!
MATERIALS:
A 1-2 FOOT STALK OF 3/8 COPPER TUBING,not the curled up stuff.
J-B QUICK WELD, its an epoxy glue
2 3/8 RUBBER GASKET, I like the thick ones
A TUBE OF CHAP STICK, any will do. I use the free range chicken poop brand lol
A 3/8 NON THREADED COPPER CAP
A 3/8 ALUMINUM ROD, it can be brass, steel or whatever. Al is just lighter and easy to mill.
Optional materials: for STEP 7
WOOD, BUFFALO HORN
OLD STRING GASKET TYPE PISTON.
A TUBE OF QUICK STEEL, epoxy puddy
As for the tools we will need:
A VISE
A DRILL OR DRILL PRESS
3/16th drill bit
A HACKSAW
A FINE CUT FILE AND OR SAND PAPER
A TUBING FLARE OR ANYTHING THAT WILL FLARE THE END OF THE COPPER TUBE.
Optional tools are:
PIPE CUTTER
1/2 INCH DRILL BIT, for STEP 7
Before we begin I will mention that the about list mentions optional items. Those items are there depending on how you want to build your piston and what,if anything, you will want to place the piston in. Take time to decide which you wish to do first.
1) Now take the 3/8 copper tubing and use your pipe cutter, or hack saw, to cut off a piece of pipe 3 and one quarter inches long. You can cut it longer if you like and i have made and use several diff lengths and all work fine.
2) Take the aluminum rod and using the hacksaw cut off a piece 4 inches long. Use you file or whatever is available to you too make sure the ends are flat.
3) Take the 4 inch aluminum rod you just cut and chuck it into your drill or drill press. if you do not have a drill press then simply place your drill in your vice. Take care not to damage your drill when doing that and that the drill is secure.
4) Turn on the drill / drill press, your drill will have a button that allows you to turn it a loose and still run. If not improvise.
Now a quarter of an inch from the end of the aluminum rod use the hack saw to cut a groove for the o-ring to set in. You can look at your hacksaw and see which way the teeth of the blade are facing. ensure that when the drill is turning you the teeth of the blade are facing the opposite direction. As the rod spins in the drill lightly stroke the blade across it. this will set the groove. Now just repeat the process till you have a groove that will allow the o-ring to turn on and is just a hair wider. Test the slot by placing the o-ring on till it turns slightly on the rod.
This is very easy to do and important as it will allow the rod to seat into the barrel when not in use.
5) Once the groove has been milled place the aluminum rod in your vice with the milled end facing up. Looking down use a punch to mark the center and drill out a hole using a 3/16ths inch bit and drill down approx 1/8 of an inch.
6) Use the hacksaw to cut a groove across the hole from side to side and flush with the bottom of the hole. This allows your tinder to stay put and to aid in picking it out.
Now we need to decide what we want to do with the piston. If you want too retool and old fire piston or convert one over too a rubber gasket then go to STEP 7 and follow along. If you want the lightest fire piston with the least effort then just place the glue of your choice on the copper cap and place it on one end of the copper tube. Let dry / cure being carefull not to get the glue inside the tube. Go to STEP 11
7) If you are here then you have decided to place your fire piston in something like a piece of wood or you are converting a string gasket to an 0-ring gasket. Take your wood / old fire piston and MEASURE the depth that you wish to drill. If you made your copper tubing longer than I mention that is fine just be sure that you drill deep enough and that the aluminum rod has atleast 3/4 quarters of an inch sticking out the top of the barrel.drill the barrel out using the 1/2 inch drill bit.
8) Use the flaring tool or whatever you have to flare one end of the tubing. The object here is to expand the end of the tube so that the o-ring can slide in easily. Anything with enough taper can be used as the copper will move easily.
9) So now you should have a drilled out barrel, a flared copper tube, and the aluminum rod already milled with gasket on.Here we want to insert the tube into the new barrel hole we just drilled, however we need to seal the end of the tube first. Do this buy cutting a small piece of the quick steel epoxy puddy and knead it together. When it is properly kneaded you only need a piece the approx larger than a bean. The idea is to make it so that when the ball of puddy is dropped into the barrel the tubing will be placed on top and pressed in.
10) Once the tubing has been pushed in use the end of the aluminum rod, not the end with the gasket, to tamp down the puddy ball flush with the floor of the barrel. You can dip the rod in some water so it wont stick to the epoxy puddy. Just try and make the bottom flat and level tapping all around the edges then set aside to cure for as long as the directions say.
11) All that is left is to check your work and make sure there are not any burs that may scratch the inside of the barrel. Use tissue or whatever to swab the inside of the barrel out. Once done you may now place your chap stick / lube on the o-ring only. place the rod in the barrel and if you made the groove correctly you should be able to work the rod down into the barrel. If there is too much pressure and wiggling does not help then re mill the groove. Place the other o-ring on the outside end of the rod and slide it down to the flare. when done right the rod should sit fully in the barrel and the other gasket should seal the top from dirt and debris.
CONGRATZ YOU MADE A WORKING FIRE PISTON !!!!
You can add a handle too the exposed end if you like or leave it as is. Either way it functions well with all the normal fire piston tinder.
Sry if this is a long post but if it inspires one person to get out and learn then it has been worth it. Everywhere I go people are amazed by the fire piston and some begin anew to look at what bushcraft has to offer us.
Easy Peasy !!!!!!
