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Posted: As the title suggests i wana make a fire poi, reason being i cant afford a baught one and lets face it, nuthing is good as home-made!
I already know how to do do it to an extent, all i need is the materials and find out where to get them.
I will make the finger loops myself, i can work that out.
What cable or wire should i get? High flex? platted? spun? or just find some stainles chains? and should i worry about getting stainless wire or will the heat be no prob?
Where could i get a stainless steel type (404?) ball for the making of comet poi if not a hardware shop? or is there any other mettle i could use?
what weight specs should i not go under, i plan on doing some fast spinning :P
And the hardest: Where can i get that damn kevlar rope? or should I just go for pure cotton with some PVA the first time? And about what diammeter? im thinking 1cm (little under half an inch for you bush re-voters) diameter (the total width of rope for said people that cant locate any country outside the states)
and how could i practice making the commet? get a pingpong ball or something, get a little stick innit and do the knot with a rope or something.
And could i put a non flammable liquid absorbant in the middle? (VERY dense steel wool eg though may melt) to keep the burning time up
im thinking off putting the swivle closer to the middle to avoid heat complications.
And If i do use cotten (or kevlar?) with PVA how do i stiffen it and when? do i soak it in the stuff then knot it and let it dry? soak>dry>knot? knot>soak>dry? or sahould i just avoid that?
Any feedback will be appreciated and only say your way is best if you have tried and tested many other ways.
Im in oz in just north of sydney.
happy spinning
If ther are any poi spinners out there in the sydney area and wana meet up, e-mail meh at benpietershawke(at)bigpond(dot)com
jeffhighGOLD Member Member 89 posts Location: Caves Beach, NSW, Australia
Posted: Hi there, I am a north of sydney too (at caves beach) and I am new to fire poi too have only had two burns. Let me say first, I know where you are coming from in wanting to make your own, I have done that for economic and pride of creation reasons in many fields. However, the questions you are asking indicate you need some more knowledge before starting.And it is good that you asked. First, chain vs cable, I like cable, just got a pair from concentrate. but making your own, chain is easier unless you have access to a wire rope crimper. chain with welded links is the go, dont wory about stainless. Sounds like you want to make a monkey fist type. this is probably the last you should go for as a beginner. Certainly a stainless steel ball core would be too heavy. Pva will not fireproof a cotton wick,it just makes a wick a bit more resistent to abrasion. before acces to kevlar wicks made fron towel or denim were used but considerd expendible and replaced frequently. have a look at this https://web.archive.org/web/20021011174320/www.incendium.org/equipmentframe.htm as a suggestion on how to make cheers Jeff
I wouldn't leave so much tubing sticking out the end though, I'd have the kevlar exactly flush with the ends of the aluminium. Otherwise when you hit yourself with the ends you'd be stabbing yourself with heated metal