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Return to HOME www.basketweaving.com Return to Bamboo Page Return to Basket History page 1. Bamboo Fountains
This kind of fountain simply re-circulates the water in the container. Step 1. Buy a fountain pump, some 1/2" pump tubing (or tubing sized to fit your smaller pump) and a large flower pot container that is glazed either inside or out- or both. Choose a pump with less GPH (gallons per hour) for a softer flow, with more GPH for a stronger flow like a strong mountain spring. The container doesn't have to be a round flower pot. It can be anything that will hold water- like a trough or other shape. Step 2. Plug the hole in the container bottom with a tight cork and seal the
cracks. I ran a thick bead of F26 Step 3. Cut bamboo with handsaw or chop saw. I used a chop saw, but it does
very very slightly The horizontals are about 15" long and are 3/4" bamboo. The spout is 5/8" bamboo, and the upright is about 2" bamboo. Lengths of the last two are cut and adjusted as you go. Step 4. Drill a hole in the upright bamboo to accommodate the spout.
Step 6. Cut a section of spout and see that it fits into the hole in the
upright bamboo. Have the end of the spout cut at a 45 degree angle. I'm
referring to the angled cut of the bamboo spout pouring end.
(Not the angle that you see in my particular spout. More on that
later.) Step 6. Test the fountain with a bucket of water. This will give you an idea of the fountain's pouring strength. In my case, I discovered that I bought the pump just a tad too strong. Water was shooting out straight horizontally like a fire hose!
Step 7. Remove the 1/2" tubing from the pump end. Cut off what you don't need. I allowed about 2 feet extra coiled in the bottom of the pot. Reconnect the tubing to the pump. Put the pump in the bottom of the pot. Be sure that you have the fountain where you plan to use it. After filling, it's not going to be easy to move! Step 8. Put something (preferably lightweight) in the bottom to take up space. I used that chunky styro that comes around computers and electronics. Put some rocks on top of that. Add a screen on top of the rocks, having cut the screen to the size and shape of the pottery rim, and also, cutting out a space for the upright bamboo piece to go. I used heavy screen with a 5/8" grid. This way, you don't have to fill up the entire pot. And, your top rocks and pebbles won't slip down into the pot. Place your rocks and pebbles on TOP of the gridded screen, concealing all of the screen. Step 9. Use a level to center the pot on the ground. Fill with water. Plug in the pump again the troubleshoot any water splash. The container will lose water by evaporation- especially in hot weather- so you DO need to refill the container, even though you're re-circulating. Move around your pebbles or rocks so that you don't lose too much extra water by excessive splashing. Voila! A Japanese Bamboo Fountain! Got Bamboo? We do!
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Step 5. Lash the two horizontal
pieces onto the upright with binder cane. Do it just as though you were lashing
a basket border. Or get creative.
Thus the modification of the spout.
I took it apart and used the chop saw to cut out a small wedge on the bottom
size of the still horizontal spout. Then I put it back together and used a
waterproof household adhesive to connect the spout (which was now in two
pieces). By testing again, I saw that I had successfully redirected the water
flow into the proposed center of the flower pot. I wrapped the bamboo spout with
binder cane and more adhesive just to be sure it would hold under water
pressure.