Pump making experiment

On this page you will find all kinds of information about wooden water pumps, the craftsmanship in making such a pump and piercing wooden trunks lengthwise. In the spring of 2019, the MOT conducted a unique experiment, of which you can view a lot of images here. Faro published  an article about it in their magazine. Together with woodworkers Luc Verachtert and Mathijs Huyghebaert, we manufactured a wooden water pump from an oak tree trunk using original hand tools. Film footage of the entire process are released here and on the MOT's YouTube channel.

We placed the finished pump in the moat of the Prinsenkasteel awaiting a definitive location in a water well at the Guldendal. Visitors of the museum can test the pump and see and feel how it functions at first hand, quite a unique opportunity! Due to the frequent use, the pump remains wet so that the trunk does not dry out, tear and leak. To protect the pump from the summer sun, a roof was built with wooden shingles.

There hasn't been a lot of research on the pumpmaking profession and we are still collecting everything there is to know to complete this page. Do you know about a wooden water pump in your area or other applications of pierced tree trunks? Is there a collection of hand tools from a pumpmaker we should know of, or do you have interesting images of wooden pumps? Please send your information to info@mot.be. Thank you!