I really want to make a fire piston but cant find any good info on the net. I thought that some knowledgeable person here is bound to know how to make one. Can you give me some tips or even some drawings? 
making a fire piston?
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jon r said:I really want to make a fire piston but cant find any good info on the net. I thought that some knowledgeable person here is bound to know how to make one. Can you give me some tips or even some drawings?
Jon,
If you use the search engine on this site you´ll find loads of information, including a drawing of a homemade piston out of a solid brass bar (by Shadow 57 if I remember correctly). I´ve made a fire piston out of brass pipe with a rubber o-ring to get the necessary air compression.
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/community/showthread.php?p=156813#post156813
Tips?
eh...you can skip experimenting with bicycle pumps, laboratory test tubes and tubes made out of ballpoints, been there already...
You´ll need a cylinder with an inner diameter of 6 to10 mm. If the diameter is too large the force needed to compress the air would be too great, if it is too small there will be little space left for the tinder cavity on the end of the piston.
One of the secrets of creating a coal lies in the ´slap´. It must be a fast push and pull in one motion. If you´re too slow with pulling the piston out of the cylinder all the oxygen will be used and the coal will die before you have a chance to see it.
I´ll shut up know because there are people here that ar far more knowlegdable than me on this subject.
. The aforementioned brass tube piston is still the only working model that I have.Have fun and good luck!
Tom
The above appears to be good advice for an O ring type. Originals of course employed a wrapped gasket and drilled cylinder of wood or horn etc.
The entire process covers too much to cover here, however if are having a specific problem I can help with solving it.
The entire process covers too much to cover here, however if are having a specific problem I can help with solving it.
Jon,
you can also try to make an airtight seal with a piece of leather, here´s a link
http://wildwoodsurvival.com/survival/fire/firepiston/index.html
Speaking of fire pistons, has anyone on BCUK read/access to this article :
The Remarkable Firepiston Woodsmoke (1994) Jamison; Menasha Ridge Press, Birmingham AL ISBN-0-89732-151-0
does it contain any new information compared to the 1907 article by Henry Balfour
("The Fire Piston" Annual Smithsonian Report)?
Tom
you can also try to make an airtight seal with a piece of leather, here´s a link
http://wildwoodsurvival.com/survival/fire/firepiston/index.html
Speaking of fire pistons, has anyone on BCUK read/access to this article :
The Remarkable Firepiston Woodsmoke (1994) Jamison; Menasha Ridge Press, Birmingham AL ISBN-0-89732-151-0
does it contain any new information compared to the 1907 article by Henry Balfour
("The Fire Piston" Annual Smithsonian Report)?
Tom
Galemys said:Jon,
I´ll shut up know because there are people here that ar far more knowlegdable than me on this subject.
Have fun and good luck!
Tom
c'mon tom, atleast yours works! I'm still fighting with my o-rings...
PC2K said:
That's right PC2K but it seems to have been a lucky strike so far.
Jeff,
a nice black beauty! Did you paint the wood or is this the original colour?
A colleague here at work has just received his piston from you last week and came to show off at my desk yesterday. It looks like a piece of art and functions well. He let me demonstrate it (because his 'slapping' technique isn't yet fast enough to produce a single strike ember) so I've finally had a chance to light some chaga. Smells good, better than our horse hoof fungus.
Seeing your fire piston rekindled my plans to make a hardwood one myself. I have a piece of heavy, dense tightgrained tropical hardwood (leftover from old furniture) that hopefully won't turn out to be too porous. I don't have access to a lathe so I hope I can make use of a fixed drilling machine at the company where my father-in-law works. Would you be so kind to give advice on boring the hole?
What kind of drill tip is the best to use? One for wood or one for stone?
A wood drill tip will give a smoother bore (well that's what I think...) but leaves a tapered depression in the bottom of the bore that will reduce the level of compression in the tinder cavity.
A stone drill tip leaves a flatter bottom at the end of the hole but probably a more rough side wall of the bore. Maybe a stone drill tip and very slow drilling will do the trick?
Hope you can enlighten me Jeff! (and if you can tell me anything about the Woodsmoke article by Jamison that would also be much appreciated
)PS
Follow the link to see a picture (and accompanying text) of how they used to drill gun barrels in Lombok (indonesia) in the 19th century, I assume the same technique was used to make the original fire pistons out of hardwood & horn in this region:
http://www.papuaweb.org/dlib/bk/wallace/timor.html
(search the text for "bore")
Tom
Galemys said:That's right PC2K but it seems to have been a lucky strike so far.
Jeff,
A colleague here at work has just received his piston from you last week and came to show off at my desk yesterday. It looks like a piece of art and functions well. He let me demonstrate it (because his 'slapping' technique isn't yet fast enough to produce a single strike ember) so I've finally had a chance to light some chaga. Smells good, better than our horse hoof fungus.
Seeing your fire piston rekindled my plans to make a hardwood one myself. I have a piece of heavy, dense tightgrained tropical hardwood (leftover from old furniture) that hopefully won't turn out to be too porous. I don't have access to a lathe so I hope I can make use of a fixed drilling machine at the company where my father-in-law works. Would you be so kind to give advice on boring the hole?
What kind of drill tip is the best to use? One for wood or one for stone?
A wood drill tip will give a smoother bore (well that's what I think...) but leaves a tapered depression in the bottom of the bore that will reduce the level of compression in the tinder cavity.
A stone drill tip leaves a flatter bottom at the end of the hole but probably a more rough side wall of the bore. Maybe a stone drill tip and very slow drilling will do the trick?
Hope you can enlighten me Jeff! (and if you can tell me anything about the Woodsmoke article by Jamison that would also be much appreciated
PS
Follow the link to see a picture (and accompanying text) of how they used to drill gun barrels in Lombok (indonesia) in the 19th century, I assume the same technique was used to make the original fire pistons out of hardwood & horn in this region:
http://www.papuaweb.org/dlib/bk/wallace/timor.html
(search the text for "bore")
Tom
Yes indeed. Inonotus is delightful stuff and has an incense-like aroma. I dont care much for the smell of burning Fomes. Peeeeuuuu.
Either a pilot or brad pointed bit will work well and leave a flat bottomed bore.
I have a copy of the Woodsmoke tape by Richard Jamison in which he interviews Mel DeWeese and demontrates the fire piston. While it is interesting and provides enlightenment to those who have never heard of the device, it contains no information that is useful in fabricating one. Neither Mel nor Richard have actually made one to my knowledge.
Very interesting boring machine. We only use bare breasted native girls.....
Jeff Wagner said:
Hi Jeff, how's things?
I've often wondered how you get such a smooth bore on your pistons? Do you use fine grade abrasive paper on a dowel or is there a proper tool - of course if its a trade secret then I'll continue to marvel at your creations in wonderment.
ATB
Ogri the trog
All things considered, life is pretty good at the moment. I am preparing to wed a lovely young woman who enjoy my interests and helps with fire piston fabrication and keeps me out of trouble when necessary. Perfect.....
A strip of abravive paper glued to a rod or alluminum arrow shaft will remove imperfections and tool marks and polish the bore's surface. By observing the accumulation of dust along its length you can determine where contact is made and where there are high and low spots. A few dips in rubbing alcohol will rinse away the dust and restore a clean surface to the abrasive paper. Insert the shaft and roll the cylinder back and forth several times on the thigh. Upon examination, you want to see an even dust pattern with no gaps. Hope that helps.
By the way - I suggest using the push or crunch method over the slap as it generates more force.
A strip of abravive paper glued to a rod or alluminum arrow shaft will remove imperfections and tool marks and polish the bore's surface. By observing the accumulation of dust along its length you can determine where contact is made and where there are high and low spots. A few dips in rubbing alcohol will rinse away the dust and restore a clean surface to the abrasive paper. Insert the shaft and roll the cylinder back and forth several times on the thigh. Upon examination, you want to see an even dust pattern with no gaps. Hope that helps.
By the way - I suggest using the push or crunch method over the slap as it generates more force.
Jeff Wagner said:
Thanks Jeff, I will be on my way to the hardware store tomorrow!
Actually I was referring to an article that was published in Woodsmoke magazine in 1994, and not to the video, but chances are that it´s just the same information in another format (the reference to it that I found on the internet states Mel de Weese as coauthor of the article).
On the subject of the ´boring´picture:
Strangely, there is no mention of fire pistons in Alfred Russell Wallace´s book on his great travels in the south east asian region in the 19th century (but it still is a good book anyway).
Tom
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