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The start In 2007 the MOT received a donation from what could be the last pumpmaker in Flanders, Oscar De Wagter from Hansbeke near Nevele. This man not only donated his tools, he also explained how to drill a wooden pump. His story was the start of our pump drilling project.

Making the pump fixtures After drilling the trunk, the pump borer has to finish the pump mechanism. This involves both turning and forging the pump fixtures. The proof of the pudding is the mounting of the pump crank.

Bibliography DAVID, J. 1974: De haak van de schulpboor, in Ons Heem. 28 (1974), 158-159. DE KEYSER R. 1966: Watervoorziening te Oostkerke in Rond de Poldertorens 1 (1966), 34-36. DE KLERK M. 1983: Nicolaas Van der Veer uit Bakkeveen maakt nog altijd houten pompen in Friesland Post, sept 1983, 11. DEVLIEGHER L. 1998: Landelijk en ambachtelijk leven. Het Provinciaal Museum Bulskampveld te Beernem, Brugge. ESTHER J. en VANTHOURNOUT R. 1994: Arthur Vandendorpe: restaureren, renoveren, Brugge, 210-211. GEERVLIET J.C. 1975: De ouderwetse houten waterpomp in Blaricum Hei en Wei 6 (1975) 2. GSCHWEND M. 1979: Der Tüchelbohrer, Ballenberg. JANSSENS A. 1971: Een verdwenen beroep: Pompboorder in Heemkring Het Land van Nevele, 2 (1971), afl 4. LÜNING A. Vom Pipen- und Pumpenbohren in Volkskunde im Spannungsfeld zwischen Universität und Museum, 95 (1997), 283-312. MORGAN S. Flowing fortunes and founding feuds: The water systems of Boston and New York in The Fine Tool Journal, 73 (2023), afl 2, 11-14....

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.

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Newsletters archive Find recent electronic newsletters of the MOT in pdf format (only Dutch-speaking). They offer you an information update on the Museum and its activities as well as interesting background information on all sorts of technical subjects.

Proverbs and sayings: Household Sayings This text can only be consulted in Dutch.

Proverbs and sayings: AgricultureThis text can only be consulted in Dutch.

Proverbs and sayings: Animals This text can only be consulted in Dutch.