Show us your Home made fire pistons

I know there are some resourceful ppl on this site so show us your Home made Fire Pistons.

I did not craft the one on the right however I did redrill it and replaced the broken wood shaft. Once redrilled I place the same brass tube and cap into it like the one on the right.

The one on the right I made complete with a cherry wood outside. Neither of these ever fail to light now with my char cloth. extra gaskets are carried on the shaft and seal the tubes from dirt when not used.
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/z...s/102_0225.jpghttp://i822.photobucket.com/albums/z...z_102_0216.jpg

I have shown you mine so show me yours :innocent:

No fire pistons in my kit.

Ive never tried a fire piston, wouldn't mind researching and trying one after i get friction fire down.

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Originally Posted by crashdive123

No fire pistons in my kit.

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Any reason why?

Your fire piston looks good, I have seen several on-line but have never tried one. I will have to get over to the other side of the river and look yours over.

We need to find a time we both have some and I will get some supplies and you can make one quick. No need to buy expensive pistons that may or may not work every time - I say that because I have bought them! Brass tube with end caps, Flare the mouth of the tube with a flaring tool, T 6160 harden Aluminum shaft with groove cut with a file, and finally an o ring. Thats it!

I put a wood outside on the one in the pic but a fancy paracord wrap would work too.

I think I would rather have the wood covering mine. Have you ever tried to make one out of wood?

I have and you MUST have a dense dense wood or seal and polish inside some how. That is why you see cocobolo and buffalo horn from fire pistons. Also I have a scar on my hand where the wood shaft on the buffalo horn piston snapped and when in my hand. this happened in the winter time so I think that might have been an issue , however I have never used a wood one since. Plus they are a pain to wrap.

The reason the piston in the cherry wood does not have a cap is because you can hammer it on anything to get a great deal of heat with one shot.

I know for certain that gross movements are all you will have if you are for certain hypothemic and I look at that in my choice of personal fire kit. Blast match, fire piston, fat wood , char cloth and wet fire. Cant go wrong unless you didnt bring them along

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Originally Posted by Erratus Animus

Any reason why?

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No particular reason. Just something that hasn't made it to my to-do list yet.

so much to learn, so little time...

You did a great job on them. Very nice. I've always stayed away from them because I prefer the KISS principle I guess. The gaskets always seemed like a fail point to me. I have no practical experience with them so my concerns may be unfounded but that's my view of them.

That doesn't in any way diminish the fine job you did on those, however.

I had the same problem with the ones I bought, that is one reason I went to th rubber o-ring. There is a spare on each shat and a few more in my fire kit. I think I like them so much because I made them and so many others have failed at making them, however I don't use them as much as flint and steel or the blast match.

The odd thing is as I think about it I rarely use a lighter because its harder to get a stable fire going than with charcloth. Now how backwards is that lol!:smash:

Very nice work, thanks for posting.

I have seen them for sale at anywhere between $40 to $150 bucks, depending on materials.

I have tried to make one at one point, using wood only.
Gaskets were sinew, the rubber, inside polished, and sealed.

I fooled with it for a time, failed miserably and just sorta lost interest.
I hate to give up on a project or skill set, but life is too short to beat myself up, for no reason, life does that pretty regular.

My reasoning is:
This is an object that has to be made/purchased. "OMG, I for to bring my" .......or "OMG I broke m"".......

Has need of spare parts, and possible breakage, (as you found out).

Large size, compared to matches, Bic, Zippo, Ferro rod, flint(rock)/steel, burning glass or parabolic mirror, wallet size magnifier.

I'm sure that a fire piston isn't the only method of fire-starting you use.......I (and I'm sure most of us ) like redundancy.

Has a "cool factor", agreed, but not cool enough for me to invest money or any more time in. (well, maybe I'll try the copper pipe....LOL)

My main goal is to make fire with "found materials" so mainly working on friction.
Materials, methods, tinder etc.

There is a good reason I don't have one in my kit. first a good firesteel is pretty indestruckable and second a bow and drill is easier to make/repair in the feild.

That pretty much summed it up for me. I think they are cool. But, I can't justify carrying one when I have a lighter, ferro rod, and pretty decent fire drill skills.

A lighter takes less space and doesn't require char cloth to start a fire.

Still a cool thing to show off at camp. But, IMHO not a survival tool.

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Originally Posted by Batch

Still a cool thing to show off at camp. But, IMHO not a survival tool.

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A survival tools is "any" tool that allows one to continue to exist. They are not new nor gimmicks, only to the Americas are thay kinda new and that is because we as a ppl have forgotten the "primitive ways " because we have new stuff. I would wager that more ppl would go without a fire if they had to make and use a bow drill. Hard enough in a controlled setting to make work much less in dire need. lots of burnt calories.

Wind kills the fragile flame of matches and lighters but strengthens the ember.

What are some things you've used as the ember? I understand Tinder fungus works really well.
Do you think one could be fashioned out of ALL natural materials? i.e. no rubber o-rings, no brass or copper inserts... This is the main reason I have not made one yet.

I suppose you could since it has been around since the middle 1700" in roman and the same in the Asian and Pacific islands. you are just compressing the air at a fast rate and this creates heat up to and above 800*

I read that the natives of Asia used cane for their tubes, wood for the shaft and the string for their gaskets, lubed with dog fat lol. It would be easier to construct a bow drill than to build a fire piston, however if I HAD to build either to start a fire that would be poor planning on my behalf to begin with. Primitive living skills are not emergency survival skills that ppl should rely on after reading a book or going camping.

As for embers I use char-cloth. You can pre-soak your cotton in saltpeter then make the cloth for a cloth that will ignite even better than the reg cloth does. Cattail seeds and the one I bought a few years ago came with tinder fungus which worked very well.

I am currently looking for more sources in my area experimenting with fungus.

Its just a tool that I am adept at using because I trained with it and for where I live 98% humidity and a good deal of rain I wager the bow drill operator will be wishing he had another means to try and start a fire with.

Preparation for survival is not preparation to survival outside your geographical area but rather the conditions that exist yearly where you exist. This is why we all have different tools in our BoB's and what seems trivial to one is treasure to another.

I was just sent a simple fire piston as a gift. It was made by EB Primitives and sells on eBay for about $20.

It uses little rubber discs screwed onto the piston as a gasket. I have made many coals with it so far. There are easier ways to light fire for sure but this thing is pretty neat.

I like it for it's historical value. Apparently they were all set to be the rage when the wooden match was invented. The fire piston fell by the wayside after that.

They produce a tiny little coal, but plenty to start a bigger coal going in short order. I have found it is just as easy to start the little coal going and then just use it on the end of the plunger to start another larger piece of charcloth burning in the center of my tinder bundle. You don't transfer the coal, just the heat.

I doubt you could make one in the bush, at least not in a hurry.

Mac

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Originally Posted by Erratus Animus

A survival tools is "any" tool that allows one to continue to exist. They are not new nor gimmicks, only to the Americas are thay kinda new and that is because we as a ppl have forgotten the "primitive ways " because we have new stuff. I would wager that more ppl would go without a fire if they had to make and use a bow drill. Hard enough in a controlled setting to make work much less in dire need. lots of burnt calories.

Wind kills the fragile flame of matches and lighters but strengthens the ember.

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If you grabbed me on a normal day and drop me with just what I carry on my person I will have fire. If you strip me of my every possession and stuck me in the wilds. I would be able to make cordage and acquire the rest of my bow drill with out the need for other tools. I would think it is a lot easier than making a fire piston.

But, that is what I meant and I did not mean to detract from your post. I just gave my opinion. :)

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Originally Posted by Batch

I would think it is a lot easier than making a fire piston.

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I can agree with that. It is a last resort, but it is a method.

I got this fire piston from my Grand Father before he
passed away.
http://survival-gear-reviews.com/Fir...20Pictures.jpg
He got this while in the Philippines during
WWII. My Grand Father was a medic and he
saved a boy that had his jaw blown off by parachute dropped bomb.
My grand father saved the boys life and the
father was so grateful (the boy was eating months later) that he asked my
Grand Father if there was anyway he could repay him. My Grand
Father had seen a fire piston used by one of the
villagers and asked the Father if he could find one.
The Father found and gave him two, my Grand Father gave one to a
solider buddy that saved his life over there. My Grand
Father gave me the other one before he passed away. It came with the
fungus n fiber tender and a hand woven pouch to hold it in. The fire piston
also has a hollowed out area for holding a supply of the
tender. The fire pistons handle has a hole on the "knob" end for storing the
fat/oil for lubing up the treaded piston seal. It works every time I try it.
I thought I remembered hearing it was carved from a tusk?
Very hard not wood for sure...
I made my own for a copper "stub out" (Lowe's or Home Depot) about 1/2 inch ID
(look like a 50 cal FMJ on one end and open on the other end) and a 1/2 inch OD
dowel with a o-ring grove that was sealed with paint as the wood was allowing air
to slip by the pistons compression. I used a knob on the end for comfort while
shoving in the piston. Works every time as well... I use home made char cord
and cloth in it.This is my first post! Love the knowledge you guys share on here!
I'll try to make it over to the intros page soon.
Glockster

Glockster,
That is an awesome story and a beautiful fire piston.
Thanks for sharing.

very kool indeed ! ty for sharing that. Did he ever work it for you?

I don't have a pic, but made one from a mag-lite, it looks like a mini mag-lite. LOL! There's a tut for it on YouTube.

I can't get it to work!

Hey Guys!

rwc1969: Did you put Teflon tape on the end cap treads that normally leak? and add JB weld to fill up the void? I hear shoving aluminum foil into it works to fill the void too. I made one from a Harbor Freight LED flash light that worked great!

Erratus Animus: Yes he did show me how to get it to work, It was like magic to me when I was young. Grampa even used it to lite his cigarettes a few times in front of me. BTW I'm a fan of your posts!

Sorry about the size of the picture! I'll resize it on my end...

Welcome aboard Glockster and ty for the kind words. Many ppl here are much better than me ,but I do try. If you have a question just ask them and I am sure they will help you the best they can.

Take good care of that piston as with the story you told with it I would say it is priceless! thanks for sharing.:thumbup1:

Great story Glockster!

Yeah, that's a good story to tell around a camp fire and something to light it with as well. Thanks for sharing and welcome on board Glockster!

Maybe I could add in some gory details to scary up the story a bit LOL

Glad you liked it Rebel

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Originally Posted by Glockster

Hey Guys!

rwc1969: Did you put Teflon tape on the end cap treads that normally leak? and add JB weld to fill up the void? I hear shoving aluminum foil into it works to fill the void too. I made one from a Harbor Freight LED flash light that worked great! ...

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Yes I did, thanks for asking. I even stuck it under water to check for air bubbles. She's air tight!

rwc1969: If the cylinder is airtight then I would next suspect the piston seal design. Does it push back against your hand after pressing it in? If not then your not getting a good seal. If the seal is good with a popping during pull out and pushing back during push in then I would suspect the char cloth. I gauge mine by tugging on the cotton fibers, if it crumbles in my fingers I over cooked it, if it does not pull apart easy or still has a hint of brown (= not black) I UNDER cooked it. it should hold together in between your finger and thumb as you roll it into a small loose ball for inserting into the void at the tip of the plunger. Once you get the right char cloth made write down the temp and length of cook time. I use the Altoids tins with a small nail hole that I plug about a minute after it stops smoking. The char cloth works every time now!
BTW I tore apart my GF's cheap Swiffer mop for it's thin hollow aluminum tube shaft then added a slice about 1/3 around it with a thick hacksaw blade. Now I insert the dowels into the "JIG" so that the O-ring groove is at the right distance from the tip and the right cut depth all the way around the 1/2 inch dowels I use by twisting the dowels by hand while holding the blade in place so as not to slice into the jig which would effect O-ring seals on future plungers. Remember to paint the wood grain of the plunger around the O-ring landing (or it will not seal well) and lube it up with each use. I don't store mine with the plunger inserted cuz it's a pain to get back out IF it is not well lubed or drys out during non use.
Best of luck to ya! It is a rewarding feeling when you get it to work after making it by hand.

Thanks Glockster, it does have excellent compression, but after thinking about it and reviewing what you just wrote I think it may be the "void" that is the problem. I'll experiment some more with it.

It works! with charcloth, but it won't work with chaga. If I cram the charcloth in real tight it works every time, but if I leave the slightest void it don't work. Pretty neat!

So Glad you got it to lite up! My home made ones have almost no room once I push them in as to get the best compression ratio and highest heat (they say it can get up to 800 degrees F). The only void I have is the small one I stuff with char cloth like u did. Try it in a windy day and you don't even need to blow on it :-) Thanks for sharing your success!

It's quite repeatable using charcloth as long as I completely stuff the void with charcloth and press the piston all the way down until it bottoms out. But, if it's not pressed all the way down or there is any airspace whatsoever in the void it will not work.

Definitely not something I'd rely on, but the fact that the maglite has a parabolic lens, which can start fires, and a water-resistant place to store charcloth and chaga built in, in the lens cap, it is somewhat of a dual purpose item I suppose.

So after reading y'all hard work on these here fire pistons, I decided to post mine.
No, it doesn't work, so now I thinking that maybe the piston is too small?

I sure there is a void, so maybe packing with char cloth, maybe?

I have tried a rubber "O" ring, imitation sinew wrapped around the grove, tried
greasing it up w/ Vaseline........Nada.
Guess it's time to start over?

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y13...3/DSCF0384.jpg

Is the cylinder material wood or did insert a tube of some sort? I have never used a cylinder made of wood, seem that air would escape the pressure stroke via the woods grains? I know on my design with a wooden piston the air was leaking around the O-ring landing until I sealed it with some clear enamel, after that worked like a charm... I have only used Copper stub outs of cheap Maglite look a likes from harbor freight. The plunger diameter should be OK since my 200 year old one is about that size AND a shorter cylinder, so your compression ration should be better. BTW: A friend tried to make one of all steel and the drill marks down the bore would not let it seal either.

Good luck and if I can help further let me know...

Forgot to ask if your getting pressure that pushes back against your hand as you push in? Mine will almost pop back out of the cylinder if I slip off during the shove in.

Here's mine with a parts list from Lowe's Home Improvement.
1 – 1/2x8 Copper Stubout $4.98 Part Number 148876
1 – 1/2x36 Oak Dowel Rod $2.32 Part Number 19418
1 – 1.25” Round Knob $.97 Part Number 59278
1 - #8 O-Ring 10 pack $1.97 Part Number 198967

It works well with charcloth. I haven't been able to get dryer lint or cotton balls to light.
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