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Home made fire piston
I was getting ready to start my way in on a mower blade knife, just to get some practice before picking up some leaf spring, however I ended up looking up fire pistons on a whim. I noticed almost every fire piston instructional for making on used hardware and some sort of sealant. It seems directions for the wooden ones are non-existant. (Though I'm sure now that I've said that you guys will post so many links to them you'll make my head spin.)
I'm pretty decent with woodwork, and incredibly familiar with fire pistons. I decided I would make a challenge for myself instead. I live in a relatively urbanized little area in FL, in a relatively normal home. My challenge is to try and make a functioning fire piston from only what I can find around the house.
I'm a bit too much of a traditionalist to use hardware to do it. I know I could pull some tubing and bolts out and weld a cap on one end, stick an o-ring on and probably get away with that, but where would the fun be in that? :innocent:
To put another twist on it, power tools are out. Hand tools only.
I've managed to find my sheath material already. An old oak 2" diameter flag pole that wa laying around the garage. The only thing I'm missing now is the plunger material, and considering my lathe is electric run, it's not being used.
Once I start work on it I'll post some pics up, but for now any input on design for it would be great.
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I've not made one. I look forward to seeing your process and progress. I googled homemade fire piston and got quite a few results that may be helpful to you, albeit not exactly what you are looking for (take a little from here, a little from there, etc.)
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So this was an interesting little twist. I decided to take one more look through the garage. While going through some boxes I managed to come across a beautiful hardwood shelf leg that had a premade hole in it. All I'll need to do is remove the threads, and it's wide enough to simply sand down an old broom handle I had lying around for the piston.
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Any thoughts yet on your seal? You might try a thin strip of leather.
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I'm trying visualize how large this thing is. If you are using a broom handle for a plunger it must be pretty large. Could you use a gasket from a garden hose for the seal? If it's smaller than that perhaps a faucet washer?
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That's what I was thinking. I have scraps of thick cow hide in the bedroom from making knife handles that I can shave down to make a nice seal. So far I'm still hand danding this broom handle. I believe the "hand tools only" stipulation is what's going to make this one hell of a tricky project.
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A power drill is a hand tool right? Chuck it up and spin it through some sand paper held in your (gloved) hand.
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It's actually not as wide as it sounds. Hence the need for the ridiculous amount of sanding, but my decision to only use items already in the house is leaving me with pretty few options. It's certainly a bit wider than I'd prefer, but we'll see. If this doesn't come out the way I'd like I suppose I'll just have to break down and pick up proper supplies for it. We'll see. :)
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And I'm not using any power tools. Just a way to make it a bit more fun.
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So I'm changing the idea again. The shelving leg I'm using for this is a beautiful piece, and relatively thick. I'm thinking of seating a blade in the other end of this. Focusing on the fire piston portion first, but I'm leaving the other end ong enough to seat a blade in.
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I look forward to seeing the results. Always fun to challenge yourself to see what is possible. Maybe it's just me but making fire is rewarding and gives me a good feeling everytime I do it. Fun Stuff :)
-Jonesy
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See that - we're not that far separated from the caveman. Fire good! Maybe Geico is on to something.
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