Bar Sung (Bamboo Acrobat on a High Bar) — Two 20 × 1 × 0.4 cm Bamboo Handles, a 7 cm Crossbar, a Bamboo Figure with 0.7 × 4 cm Arms and Legs Strung to the Bar; Squeeze the Handles and the Figure Somersaults

"Hold the lower ends of the bar's legs with both hands and squeeze them in and out gently, and the figure somersaults back and forth." (Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre, author not named, CC BY 4.0)

Choose mature bamboo and make 2 equal handles, 20 cm long, 1 cm wide and 0.4 cm thick. Drill 3 matching holes in each: the top hole 1 cm from the top end, the second hole 1 cm further, and the bottom hole 8 cm from the bottom end. Shave a round crossbar 7 cm long with both ends narrowed for about 1 cm. Assemble the 3 pieces and fix them with glued wooden pins.

Body: small bamboo about 1 cm across, cut 3 cm long, drilled through top and bottom. Arms, 2 pieces: 0.7 cm wide, 4 cm long, 0.2 cm thick, with 3 holes; the top 2 take the thread to the bar's legs, the bottom one joins the arm to the body. Legs, 2 pieces: 0.7 × 4 × 0.2 cm with 1 hole to join the body. Head: soft wood shaved round and glued to the body.

With a needle and thread, thread the holes in the figure's arms and the bar. Thread small bamboo sections onto the string as spacers so the arms cannot slide about.

Photos of a real bar sung (Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre, author not named, CC BY 4.0)

Hold the lower ends of the bar's legs with both hands and squeeze them in and out gently; the figure somersaults back and forth.

The bar sung suits small children who cannot yet squeeze an amorathep with one hand. Take care with the knife and awl when shaving and drilling. Source: Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre, Traditional Objects of Everyday Use database, "บาร์สูง", author not named (CC BY 4.0 licence). **Limits** The source gives no head size or thread length; there is no product line for general soft wood.