Main Discussion Area > Primitive Skills
How would you make a wooden blowgun ?
Pat B:
I believe the Cherokee and probably others made blowguns from river cane.
YosemiteBen:
Discussion is that a long rod was used. Heated on the end and burning through the nodes. using the steam to straighten the cane.
TSA:
i made one as a kid- although i did use some store bought lumber- hollowed out with a half round chisel- make sure to keep the edges crisp- so that when it goes together it is a perfect circle- i used a template- then sandpaper on a dowell. when i glued it back together i put some "reflex' into it, to counter the sag over 6'- so that it was straight when i shot it. i marked the mouth piece- with a notch that fitted against my septum so i always had it in exactly the right spot!
i used the pithy core from dried dahlia flower stems- made awesome stoppers- you can also wrap a ball of cotton woll- and tie it fore and aft onto the dart.
i even managed to shoot a fish with mine( made a thin mono filament line gizmo for it)!, and birds.
my nicest darts had heads that were as broad as the caliber- so that they exited correctly! as a kid with lots of time i simply carved them from a shoot and carved in a wooden head- drilled the end and put a small nail in.
good luck-
that sure brought back some memories! :)
DC:
I've often wondered how, with primitive materials and tool, they got the inside smooth enough so the fuzz on the darts wouldn't hang up? Wax maybe?
TSA:
i am guessing here, but in the Amazon, they probably used a hard wood- that could burnish up quite nicely. being a rain forest i dont know how they stopped the water from raising fibers- maybe a wax finish too.
i had Daniel Mannix's book "a sporting chance" as a kid- awesome book- detailed all the info, from hunting otters with dogs, to hunting fish with otters, hunting with bull frogs, shark harpooning, bow building. blowpipes etc etc
was my bible as a kid!
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