Dwight,
Fisher, and probably Cenco sell a version of the fire syringe (~$20).
their version is glass so the student can see it in operation. The cylinder is
made of heavy glass and can be broken if your not careful but it does
illustrate rather nicely the increase in temperature of a nearly adiabatic
compression.
Hope this helps.
Gary Karshner
St. Mary's University
San Antonio, Texas
KARSHNER@STMARYTX.EDU