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Here's how to build a nice-quality fire staff for cheaper than most places sell them. Costs about 35GBP (for a huge staff) and takes 2-3 hours to construct.
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Signing UpStep 1Safety first!
First off, I should point out that firespinning is a dangerous activity. You can painfully hit yourself in every single one of those squishy and easily-bruised bits that you never knew you had. You can trivially set long hair ablaze. You can set your clothes on fire. You can set your fuel dump on fire.
It goes without saying that safety is your number one priority. Don't spin lit up if you're not very confident in your own abilities, don't spin alone, don't spin when it's raining and slippery underfoot and NEVER EVER use petrol as a fuel. Personally I only use paraffin (kerosene in the USA) which is relatively safe both to burn and store. Make sure all long hair is tied back, fuel up well away from your performance area, spin off all excess fuel before lighting up, and wear only cotton clothing (or similar non-flammables: leather etc).
Simply put, I cannot stress enough quite how much of a danger the inexperienced firespinner can be to themselves and those around them. This is just a construction guide - while I'm happy to give pointers here and there I'm not going to take responsibility for your own stupidity.
That said, firespinning is a hell of a lot of fun. If you've been spinning glow-staves or broom handles and you're reasonably proficient then adding fire to your act may be just what you want to spice it up a little. Assuming you're still with me, I'm going to outline a fairly quick method of building a staff that will be safe and durable while not breaking the bank.
It goes without saying that safety is your number one priority. Don't spin lit up if you're not very confident in your own abilities, don't spin alone, don't spin when it's raining and slippery underfoot and NEVER EVER use petrol as a fuel. Personally I only use paraffin (kerosene in the USA) which is relatively safe both to burn and store. Make sure all long hair is tied back, fuel up well away from your performance area, spin off all excess fuel before lighting up, and wear only cotton clothing (or similar non-flammables: leather etc).
Simply put, I cannot stress enough quite how much of a danger the inexperienced firespinner can be to themselves and those around them. This is just a construction guide - while I'm happy to give pointers here and there I'm not going to take responsibility for your own stupidity.
That said, firespinning is a hell of a lot of fun. If you've been spinning glow-staves or broom handles and you're reasonably proficient then adding fire to your act may be just what you want to spice it up a little. Assuming you're still with me, I'm going to outline a fairly quick method of building a staff that will be safe and durable while not breaking the bank.
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Burn time is about 10-15 minutes. Doesn't sound like long but the pain is usually setting in by then ;-) (and everyone else has refuelled at least once)
You could probably work out a formula for it - the exposed area dictates how much flame you get at any one time and the amount of wick beneath it how much fuel it absorbs. Probably easiest to do it experimentally with a bunch of different wick lengths.
Wound cotton sash cord around alluminium for grip anyway.
Whole project cost me $50au
Kero $2.60au/L from a local servo (gas station)
Thermal Conductivity usually tracks electrical conductivity very closely.
The units are [(ohm-meters)^-1]
Silver 6.8 x 10^7
Copper 6.0 x 10^7
Gold 4.3 x 10^7
Aluminum 3.8 x 10^7
So yes, aluminum is a great electrical conductor. My resource is "Materials Science and Engineering; an Introduction" seventh edition by William D. Callister, Jr. ISBN-13: 978-0-471-73696-7
My apologies if that makes no sense i am tired. Cheers guys
I never pre-drilled pilot holes for the screws. If you go to the hardware store and look for screws called "self-piercing sheet metal screws" you will find screws that are made for piercing thin walled metal, like the tubing on this staff. The tip of the screw is very sharp and hardened for this. You just line up the screw, work it through the wick slowly, and when it gets to the metal, press harder on the drill with a steady hand and in a few seconds it will pierce the wall giving just about the firmest grip you can imagine. On my staff, the screws look countersunk.
The second point is how in this instructable the wick is back about half an inch from the end of the tubing. DO NOT DO THIS. The staff will get away from you when you practice and hit stuff/people/you. You don't want a fast moving hard/sharp/hot edge hitting things/friends/your-hand-on-a-cold-day. If you take the wick all the way to the edge, it will soften things up a lot and give a better visual appearance.
You're quite right about the ends - I wasn't quite as precise as I could have been, and they will get hot. In practice, I haven't found it a problem, as:
a) nobody wants to get anywhere near you while it's on fire, and
b) when (not if) you hit yourself in the face with it, the metal bit in the middle is the least of your worries :-) It's almost always spinning such that the bit that hits you is the broad bit of the wick, and the energy of a couple of kilos of staff doing 50-100rpm is more than enough to give you a solid belt anyway!
I'm a fire knife performer and have several occasions every month where people walk up way too close that I've told them to step back, or even tried touching the fire! one guy once even ran and fell next to my feet while I was spinning!
When you perform on a daily basis for crowds, stuff can happen. You have to remember that some (most) people are idiots and don't understand that fire dancing is dangerous!
Then I bled all over the place for an hour. Now I have a new facial scar.
It was probably only a mistake and a hit I'd take once every couple of years, but if the metal pokes out beyond the wick, it gets jagged over time as the staff's owner drops it practising and bashes it's ends up on the pavement.
Trust me. Bring the wick out slightly beyond the metal. Don't leave the metal hanging out the end. The next less-competent friend you let play with your staff will thank you.
I would recommend though that you put the screws in underneath the last layer of wicking. Thereby avoiding exposed metal. The wick hurts enough in itself when for one reason or other you hit yourself in the head... and believe me you will. If for no other reason than trying to avoid hitting someone else.
I can answer the Q about burntime approximately. A newly built kevlar wicked staff using 1m (appx 3') will burn happily burn for 10-15 minutes after being soaked for 5min (and subsequently spun to remove excess fuel).
Burn time decreases with use but I am still using the same wicking and after 30+ burns it still holds for 7min. (my rate of spinning is rather fast though)
Keep up the good work.