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Kon Tam Krok Mong (Mortar-pounder Toy) — bamboo base, bamboo mortar, joints with wooden pegs, a paddle-shaped lever with two drilled holes; pressing the lever raises and lowers the pestle, like pounding rice.
English
SomchaiSang

Created by

SomchaiSang

7. October 2026TH
34
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Kon Tam Krok Mong (Mortar-pounder Toy) — bamboo base, bamboo mortar, joints with wooden pegs, a paddle-shaped lever with two drilled holes; pressing the lever raises and lowers the pestle, like pounding rice.

The Kon Tam Krok Mong is a bamboo toy that simulates rice pounding with a mortar. It was made to tell children about past ways of life visually. Press the control lever down and the pestle will rise. This blueprint builds a real Kon Tam Krok Mong following the steps in the source material.
Intermediate
About 1 day

Instructions

1

Ingredients

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2

The real thing this toy replicates

A kradueang mortar is a full-size rice-pounding machine. The mortar-pounder is seen as a toy replica that uses the same lever-beam mechanism.
3

Read from source

"Press the control lever down and the vertical stick moves up (similar to a foot pressing down)." (Sirindhorn Anthropology Center, no author specified, CC BY 4.0)
4

Base, mortar, and figure body

Select a whole bamboo segment for the base, cut bamboo to make the mortar, and attach it to the base with glue. Use scraps of hardwood to make the head, arms, legs, and pestle. Use a small bamboo segment for the torso, drill holes at the joint points, and insert wooden pegs as fasteners.
Step 4 - Image 1

Materials for this step:

Bamboo PolesBamboo Poles1 piece
Hardwood BlockHardwood Block1 piece
Wood GlueWood Glue1 piece

Tools needed:

KnifeKnife
SandpaperSandpaper
5

Assemble on the base

Drill holes in the base, insert the figure, beam, pestle, and pillar into the base, then add glue.
Step 5 - Image 1
6

Lever Control Stick

Sharpen a bamboo stick to resemble a boat paddle. Drill two holes: the hole at the base is made into a fulcrum at the base; the hole at the tip connects to a wooden shaft fixed to the pestle above. This mechanism is a spring lever and pry bar.
Step 6 - Image 1
7

Real image

Real image of a person pounding in a mortar (Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre, author unspecified, CC BY 4.0)
Step 7 - Image 1
Step 7 - Image 2
Step 7 - Image 3
8

How to Play

Press the seesaw lever down, and the vertical stick will move up, similar to a person's foot stepping down on a mortar pestle
Step 8 - Image 1
9

Troubleshooting

Troubleshooting the Pot Calling the Kettle Black

Flow

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10

History and Limitations

The creator of this toy made it to illustrate the rice-pounding process for children. However, rice pounding was already part of daily life, and no instances of it being made into a toy were found. Currently, only 1 person can make it. Be careful with the knife while whittling the wood. Source: Sirindhorn Anthropology Center, Folk Tools and Implements Database, "Kon Tam Krok Mong" (Person Pounding a Mortar), author not specified (license CC BY 4.0) **Limitations** The source does not provide dimensions. The procedure uses hardwood scraps, but the materials list specifies softwood. The materials list includes sandpaper, but the procedure does not specify where it is used.

Materials

3

Tools Required

2
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This blueprint makes

CC0 Public Domain

This blueprint is released under CC0. You are free to copy, modify, distribute, and use this work for any purpose, without asking permission.

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