Make a shishi odoshi fountain

The first time I saw a shishi-odoshi was in the movie Kill Bill. I didnt know what it was or that it is also called a "deer scarer", intended to frighten deer and birds from crops with its slow, rhythmic knocking.

Last month I picked up a bunch of bamboo that my sons theater didnt need any longer and have been thinking about something to make with it ever since. This was a fun project, and gave me a chance to try out some new things.

These fountains come in all sorts of arrangements, but I decided to make mine as one self-contained unit. My first thought was to attach the bamboo to a container or pot of some sort. What I discovered, was that it was really hard to find one that I had in mind: fairly large yet shallow.

So I decided to make a wood container. After soliciting a bunch of opinions on Facebook about how to make a wood box watertight, a few people mentioned the best method: do nothing. Water towers and buckets have long been made with wood, which just expands to fill any gaps. For mine, I dicided to protect the outside of the box with deck stain/sealer and I squeezed out a bead of silicone along the inside seams just for good measure.

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Bonus video!