Building a Bamboo Water Fountain
Building a bamboo water fountain is a great way to bring a sense of serenity to your home or garden. In Asia bamboo is symbolic of longevity and adaptableness and water is often associated with creativity. If you are into Feng Shui, which is an ancient Chinese method for creating a living space filled with a sense of peace, you are likely aware of the benefits a bamboo water fountain can provide. Pre-fabricated bamboo water fountains can be purchased, but if you prefer to do things yourself here are some tips that will help you.
The first thing you will need when building a bamboo water fountain is a water pump to keep the water flowing. Remember that the number of gallons per hour, the faster the flow of water will be. Next, you will need a container for the water and the water pump to be placed in. Be sure that the container you choose does not have a hole in it, as flower pots often do. If you want to use a flower pot you can plug the hole using cork and adhesives to seal it. Finally, and not surprisingly, you will need pieces of bamboo. Chances are you don't live in a location where bamboo grows in abundance if at all so you will need to seek it out. Bamboo can usually be found at your local gift store; some people also acquire pieces for their bamboo fountain by dismantling bamboo wind chimes.
If you need to cut the pieces of bamboo you acquire, you can use a handsaw or a chop saw (though a handsaw is recommended to avoid fraying the bamboo as you cut through it). For the basic bamboo fountain structure, you will need at least one long piece of bamboo with a wide diameter that will function as the tower through which water can be pumped. A hole large enough for the spout to be inserted will need to be carved out of this piece, which can be accomplished by using either a drill bit or drill press. The hole does not have to be to perfectly cut as you can run tubing from the water pump through the bamboo and into the spout; you just want to make sure it's can accommodate a smaller piece of bamboo that will be used as the spout. The bottom of this piece will be submerged in your water container and can be fastened to other smaller pieces of bamboo by tying them together.
Next, cut the piece of bamboo that will be used as a spout. The end that will be inserted into the upright tower piece can be cut straight but the other end where the water will pour out of needs to be cut at a 45 degree angle. Insert the end of the tubing into the back of the spout then run the tubing down the upright tower to where it will connect with the water pump. Finally insert the spout into the tower and you will have a working bamboo water fountain.
