Before placing the finished stock pump over the well opening, the pump maker would shape and bore one or two additional logs to serve as pipes depending upon the depth of the well. These log pipes would be tapered at one end to fit inside each other. Iron bands around each tapered end, added strength to the fittings. The bottom of the lowest log pipe would include a screen filter and often rest on a flat stone placed at the extreme bottom of the well. The screen helped to prevent sediment and dirt from being sucked into the clean extracted waterA mechanical device called a hoisting gin would lower the water pipes and pump into the well. The pipes would be guided by ropes and pullies to set squarely and firm in the well. With each pump and pipes weighing upwards of two hundred pounds each, the process of placing the pump over the well required both human strength and mechanical accuracy. The finished installed pump demanded straight vertical installment for the water to pump under good pressure. The pump was completed by a wood cap placed on top of the pump. These caps were often decorated with a wood finial or other device. The cap covered the inside parts of the pump and added a decorative touch.
The wood-stock water pump operated on the principle of vacuum. The main mechanical feature of the pump was the piston valve assembly. The piston was a carved wood cylinder, bored out in the center to allow the water to enter. A LEATHER BAND (gasket) TACKED AROUND THE WOOD PISTON PROVIDED A TIGHT FIT INSIDE THE WELL TO KEEP WATER FROM FALLING BACK DOWN. The piston was attached to a long iron rod, called the piston rod, which was attached to the exterior handle.
Operation of the pump was quite basic. When the operator brought the exterior handle up, the piston rod and attached piston dropped through the pipes into the water. Water pressure below the piston forced the piston to open, allowing water to flow through the hollow piston into the pump chamber. The downstroke on the handle raised the piston with the drawn water. As the downstroke continued, water was increasingly drawn upward through the pump until the volume of water flowed into the side spout and out into a bucket.
By 1860, new technology began replacing the hand-crafted wood pumps with factory mass-produced manufactured pumps. Cast-Iron replaced wood as the preferred pump material. Daniel Halladay’s newly invented windmill in 1854 further led to the decline of the wood pump. The early decades of the 1900s brought rural electrification to the countryside of America. The era of the 18th century wood-stock water pump was over.
Sold as is as shown.....unused new old stock.
Probably not too many of these around anymore like this.