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| by:
Paul Lewis
photos: Dave Starrett
illustration: Len Churchill |
SHISHI ODOSHI - Bamboo Fountain |
| A
solitary clack echoes through the garden and fades. We are reminded
of the passage of time |
The shishi odoshi, a traditional Japanese fountain, was
originally used to scare away deer who would otherwise feed
on tender shoots in rice paddies. I can’t vouch for its efficiency
at keeping herds of marauding deer from your daisies, but I
will say the motion of this fountain is pleasantly mesmerizing.
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| Bamboo Search |
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| THE
BAMBOO node just in front of the pivot on the centre
tube blocks the water. As it fills, the weight of
the water slowly tips the tube. Traditionally used
to ward off deer, shishi odoshi were also
used by monks timing their meditation |
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The most
challenging aspect of this project is finding the raw bamboo.
I found mine at The House of Bamboo in Thornhill, Ont. (905-889-5652),
and paid $30 for enough bamboo to make a few fountains. Start
your search in the Yellow Pages under rattan, bamboo and wicker
products.
Chop
Chop
In keeping
with the spirit of the project, I used a small Japanese pull-saw,
or dozuki, to cut the pieces to length. When cutting,
pay attention to the location of the nodes, the darker raised
rings that circle the shoots at regular intervals. The centre
tube requires a node just in front of the pivot rod and the
bottom of each leg should be free of any nodes that would
impede the insertion of the base dowels. Once the pieces are
cut to length, drill the 3/8" pivot rod holes in the centre
tube and the legs. The holes in the crosspiece are drilled
using a spade bit slightly smaller than the diameter of the
legs and water spout that join with them. I then tapered each
end of these parts slightly using a stationary disc sander.
The final drilling procedure is to drill out the nodes inside
one leg and the water spout to allow the plastic tubing through.
I accomplished this by chucking a 1/2" spade bit on an 8"
extension and guiding it through each tube.
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| Three Hands Required |
Before assembling the pieces, feed the plastic hose through
the leg, crosspiece and water spout. Insert the brass ferrules
into the holes on the centre tube and fix with a dab of glue.
Arrange the bamboo pivot rod sleeves and centre tube onto the
pivot rod, then capture the whole assembly between the legs.
Dry fit the legs and water spout into their holes before the
final assembly with polyurethane glue.
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| Base Assembly |
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| BASE
ELEMENTS: The base is secured and hidden by river
rock. A small pump feeds the fountain |
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The base
for the fountain is a 3/8"-thick polyethylene kitchen cutting
board. Cut it to size using a tablesaw, then attach the hardwood
dowels with stainless-steel screws countersunk from below. The
legs of the fountain can now be slipped over the dowels and
fastened with one screw each. If you don’t have a pond, you’ll
need a reservoir to hold the circulating water. Any watertight
container will do. Once your container is buried, drop in the
pump and lay a sheet of hardware cloth over the opening. Position
the fountain so the centre tube will empty into the reservoir,
and cover the base and hardware cloth over with river rock.
Fill up the reservoir with water and plug the pump into a GFCI-equipped
outlet and it’s sayonara to those pesky deer. |
Click
above to enlarge |
You
Will Need |
| Part |
Size |
Qty |
| Legs |
1
1/2" x 30" |
2 |
| Crosspiece |
2
3/4" x 11 1/2" |
1 |
| Water
spout |
1"
x 9" |
1 |
| Centre
tube |
2"
x 27" |
4 |
| Pivot
rod sleeves |
1"
dia. x 1 3/4" |
2 |
| Back
leg |
1
1/2" x 10 1/2" |
1 |
| Base
dowels |
1"
dia. x 3" |
1 |
| Base
(polyethylene board) |
3/8"
x 9 1/2" x 11" |
1 |
| Pivot
rod (steel) |
5/16"
dia. x 6 3/4" |
1 |
| Rod
ferrules (brass) |
3/8"
dia. x 3/4" |
2 |
| Pump
used for this project is made by Little Giant, model no.
PSL-007 |
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