Fire toy construction ideas?

Well, my dad's a carpenter, therefore i have access to LOADS of powertools. I make all my fire equipment and have been trying to come up with new ideas for fire toys. If anyone has any ideas, please do NOT hesitate to tell me. i cant promise you i'll be able to make everything you suggest, but i'll do what i can. feel free to be creative, and/or send me links to exhisting fire toys that i might be able to make.

I saw this cool thing, it was 3 rods coming off of a central hub and you could spin em on yer fingers...possible had a bearing in the middle. It was pretty cool.

you got a picture or anything?

I think a fully functioning folding fire fan would be excellent. I dont have any pictures, but I'll try to explain my vision:

5 spokes. The center spoke would have the wick straight . The spoke to the left would have an a 1" offset before the wick attachment, so that its sitting on an L. The 2nd spoke to the left would have the same thing but the offset would be larger.

Ditto for the right side, but inverse the direction of the offset.

The idea is that when it is closed, you would have the 5 spokes all flush together and the offsets would give just enough space for the Kevlar wickings to also lay side by side, flush. You would get a large single ball of flame on the end of what appears to be a rectangle of steel rods. Then whip it open to reveal 5 smaller flames all spread out on the fan. Because of the offsets, you would also get a much broader arc base.


The other option would be to offset the spokes entirely from the swivel base. Imagine holding the fan in open position so that you see 5 spokes. When you close it, the two outermost spokes would collapse BEHIND the center spoke and the median spokes would collapse IN FRONT of the center spoke. all 5 wicks when seen from above would be touching, creating a square with 1 in the middle.

this would create a bulkier kind of fan with a kind of alternating spoke pattern rather than all being in-line. On the other hand, it could potentially be a more 3D tool rather than simply being viewed from one ideal vantage point.


As for the handle end, where the pivot point would be, I haven't thought on it well enough to have any good idea about that. The real trick would be creating something that doesnt weigh a ton.

i'll see what i can do. no promises though.

Poje: You are thinking of the Cerberus. I think it was DarkFyre working on that one.

Anyway, he got the idea from Devil May Cry 3.

I thought about the cerberus after i posted. But no this is much smaller and more spinny

hehe, No worries. Its just an idea and I thought it would be an interesting challenge.

How about a poi set that can slide down the middle of two interlocking tubes, and lock together, making a single staff or, as a midway point, two flails made by the two half tubes as handles and the poi as the chain ends?

Whatever you do, though, make sure to overengineer it to keep it safe...

definetly going to have to try this. great idea!

Well one of the coolest things I have ever seen was someone took a fly fishing rod and turned it into a fire toy. Basically it worked like a rope dart. A new toy im planning out right now is a Kusarigama or in english a chain sickle. Im going to take the "blade" and wrap it in kevlar and the weight will be a poi head. It should be very similar to rope dart.

I can see some interesting wraps coming out of that.

Good luck!

I can see some interesting wraps coming out of that.

Good luck!

hi ryan we are from south african and have really limited fire equipment

may be you can help ......

we are trying to design the buugeng any tips

love aunty yo poifun and staffun south africa

Hi aunty_yo.

I have a set of buugeng made by Dai and they really are top quality bits of equipment. In all seriousness it will be much much easier and more cost effective for you to buy from him. He is based in south africa himself so the postage shouldn't even be that steep. It will take you many attempts to create something anywhere near as good. Also, Dai has spent a long time perfecting his design and to have people straight copying it seems a little off.

On the other hand if what you are after is just curved staffs then all you really need is a pipe bender. Get your metal pole, exactly what you would use for a firestaff, draw the curve you want on a big sheet of paper and use the bender to work the pipe into shape. You can then finish the ends however you like.

Good luck with your toy-making adventures!