Ball Chain Rusting

Yeah I actually just pulled my POI out of my truck, I keep them in the Tool Box in the bed along with all of my tools.

They too had some rust on the balls and the little link pieces between the balls. So Adam if your sending out replacements could you hit me as well?

I also have some older chains that I keep in there and they have not shown any rust, although they have discolored a little.

Code128
Joshua Bloom

Tedward: what do you mean by "candy chain"--the anodized aluminum stuff? I agree, that's pretty much unusable for firespinning (I've seen it fall apart just spinning with glowsticks). But #15 nickel-plated steel is rated to 120 lb.

adamrice: the rust is not too severe, just a bit here and there so i dont think replacement chains are in order. Was just curious as whether this was a common thing.

Hopefully the equipment will be passed on this week, getting hard to coordinate everyone in the same place at the same time!

Last night, one of my straps completely un-sewed itself in the middle of my performance at Club 1509. I always inspect my gear before I light up and there was no signs of wear. Which lead me to a more thorough inspection of my poi..while looking at my ballchain I noticed some of the holes on the individual balls are showing signs of wear. I'm wondering of all the other people who use ball-chain has anyone ever had a breakage of the ballchain itself? Or has anyone noticed signs of wear? In addition to this, the bronze clamps on the ends of my ballchain that allow me to connect my quicklinks are bending at the sides. I fear eventually they may break from stress. I guess basically my question is of those who use ballchain, where is the stress most noticed, and if anyone has experienced breakage, where was it? thanks

PLURR
CRD

CRD--

My own chains show some of what you are describing, I think. Some of the individual balls near the hot end have separated slightly at the seam--not quite enough for me to stick a fingernail in, but enough to be visible. The brass connectors are definitely battered-looking (the bending you see is probably partly due to the original crimping and partly to subsequent tangles and the like), but don't seem in danger of breaking. I've been using my ball-chains for about 10 months, and I can imagine that I'll need to replace them at some point, but for now, they seem to be holding up.

If you are seeing little lines radiating away from the holes, I don't think that's caused by wear, exactly--those are an artifact of the manufacturing process (since each ball starts out flat), and are becoming more visible as the plating wears down, though stress may also be making them more visible. But you can see these lines on new chain as well.

adam,
I do see the lines you are speaking of, yeah those are just the manufacturing lines. I was speaking more of the actual holes of the outer ball. I can actually see the inner ball(that is connected to the link between balls) because the hole of the outer ball has worn through enough. As you, I noticed those mostly near the wick end of my chains. I guess this basically means that I should be switching ends every now and then to even out the wear. I may have to look into getting stainless steel end connectors, I guess I'll just have to keep an eye on how bent they are. I'm not so sure the bending that I see are a result of the crimping onto the chains as they are bent twisted. it looks as if someone while crimping took the end with teh loop with another pair of pliers and twisted the whole connected. The flat sides of it are the part that are bent. On both of my chains..

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[PLUR]
-=Crazy Raver Dude=-

Okay, wear and tear is another reason for going stainless, it's all I use for these. And the A connectors are a serious weak point in the non-ss types.

Adam - yes. Candy chain is the anodyzed aluminum type. The real difference in rating is that the NPS is rated in maximum load, and the SS is rated in safe working load. Figure that 1 lb wicks (and chains) spun at 3 rps requires a SWL of 50 lbs (2 rps is 15 lbs). At double the SWL you can do wraps safely. Since SWL is usually about half the maximum load, you're right at the edge of your chain's limits if you're spinning in time to techno and doing wraps with anything but SS. Whenever you reach the limits of your chain's abilities, it takes a bit of damage. Repeat seveal times a show by 4 shows and you could have a problem in as little as a month.

Hardcore spinners need welded chain, SS ball chain (and connectors) or welded cable. The only option that doesn't require a separate (and unreliable) spin device is ball chain.

Tedward--

I don't think the rating on the SS ball chain is in fact a safe working load rating--I think it might be a max load. The stuff I've got is rated to 115 lb (whatever that rating is). I hung a bar from some and tried a chin-up, slowly. I weigh 160 lb. When I had most of my weight on the bar, but my feet still on the ground, the chain broke. So I figure the 115-lb rating is probably more like the max. Not completely scientific, I know.

not that I know much more than the average guy, but the split in the bead is a sign that the chain will break- usually soon. it seems to me that not much after I notice a decent gap, the link will pull through the bead. attempting to close the gap with pliers doesn't seem to help either. i imagine that it just weakens the sphere from the dent made closing it....

I'm not an expert on ball chains spicificly, but as I am a machinist by day I do know a little something about metals.

I don't think that ball chains were designed for this kind of use. I have really only seen them used for jewlery, necklaces, ext.
I would assume that you all are talking about the fatty ball chains and not the thin ones, but all the ball chains I've had (no poi use) have broken relitively easy.
I suppose that it all comes down to a question of quality. As a general rule if you buy something made of steel, if it is painted or plated it's probobly going to rust if the plate or paint comes off. So if you can find one that's not got plating or paint it is probobly stainless steel and you should have no problems with rust. Also if it is magnetic it is probobly stainless too, as magnitization really screws with most plating processes, but this is far less common.

I would tend to use that steel cable stuff like you would find locking a bike to a signpost, but the thinner stuff. You'll never break that stuff doing poi.

Puppy. The problem with really thick chain is weight. Undo weight in your chains is the fastest way to shorten the life of your grips. Also, bike cable isn't nearly as flexible as other chains making certain moves impossible. and finally, the rotational stress imposed by spinning requires that the cable be attached to a spinner to prevent it from twisting, warping and breaking. Such spinners are notorious for sticking causing the same stress as if they weren't there.
Ball chain is all spinners so there's never a problem there, and it almost never kinks making it the best choice for poi. This is a delicate art of direction, not control. any change in the behaviour of the poi in any position can lead to mistakes.

SWL: Odd, I've checked my SS chain at very high stress and have had no problem. To prove my point once, I pulled my truck through sand with my poi. I can generally subject my #10 SS ball to more than 200 lbs. But I'll check into it.

Just to confirm what I've gleaned from this thread, if using ball chain get some rated 100lbs or more and try for stainless steel. Right? I was just in the hardware store yesterday, saw the stuff and immediately fell in love (sick to death of tangles and pinching). What do you reckon is the best way to attach ball chain to the handles and the wicks though?

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- K.A.O.S.

Tedward, where did you get your ball chain that is strong enough to pull your truck through the sand? I would like to use ball chain but it just doesn't seem strong enough.

*snip*