Wire Wool ---- Sparkly poi

(this is a double post i have already put it as a reply to somone i just thought it may be usfull in hear if not i will deleat )
if someone could spell check this for me I would be most grateful

Ok so having done an extensive search of nearly all the threads containing “Wire wool” and “Sparkly poi” respectively

I have come up with a bit of info.
But I have discovered an answer to a common myth .
Yes there are lots of sparkly poi threads but most of them are useless with limited info
And some quite outdated advice that is actually quite dangerous ………….

Wire wool spinning is spinning of wire gages (usually made of chicken wire) filled with burning Wire wool it is very very dangerous as hot lumps of molten metal are spraying out all over the place.

But it dose look very pretty.

I have used Wire wool a few times and hear are my following top 20 tips.

1 make sure your cage and chain construction is solid (don’t want it falling apart mid spin) good solid quick links should be used

2 make sure the holes in your cage are quite big not to big about 1 to 2 inches across

3 use fine grade Wire wool it works better the finer the better

4 don’t pack your cages to tight you need good air flow over the wool for it to work (as we found out in Falmouth)

5 opposite to 4 don’t pack it to loose the burning wool wont pass its burn to the rest of the wool effectively (trial and error to get this right)

6 you don’t need to dip if you do your cages are badly constructed with not enough air flow.

7 spin fast but don’t do any body-cross moves (rotation flowers ect) (in-fact don’t to flowers you don’t want the poi head spinning towards you) (buzz saws are right out)

8 don’t make your cages to big this will make them heavy and un-wielding

9 try to make the bottom of your cage round improves air flow over the hot end of the wool

10 in-fact tube shaped is best no sharp edges to catch on stuff

11 if you want to have longer burn time line your cages with a metal can so only the end of the wool burns and the rest feeds down into it as the wool burns away

12 if you do have feed tubes make sure they are smooth or the wool will just snag will not feed into the end of the cages

13 spin in the open (I mean open your back yard will not do)

14 don’t spin near any combustible stuff IE the dry ground, cars, people, buildings that sort of stuff. best done after a good rain shower

15 keep people and animals well back say 20 m or so (you never know what might happen (we once had a head come completely come off))

16 keep all skin and hair well covered ( I got a very bad burn just by one glancing my arm)

17 if stuff dose go wrong drop them and walk away don’t try to put them out they are dam dam hot if you can drop a very damp towel on them or even better fire blanket

18 when you have finished don’t try to empty the remains out straight away wait for it to cool the lump in the bottom is semi molten metal and is hot

19 empty the remains into a metal tin it will still be hot for a long time (don’t want to start any fires now do we )

20 be sure you are a good spinner don’t do silly stuff and practice with full cages unlit to get used to the feel of them




Out of the links I did find some were vary good please read them all before even attempting wool work


This link has some great safety info by fireNice and has some good replies.

Wire Wool Safety

This one has a bit of useful info and some nice links by fluffy

(LINK COMMING SOON SEARCH IS PLAYING UP )



A quote from Frodo someone who’s advice I would trust.

Written by: Frodo

---

use the finest grade Wire wool that you can, DON’T dip, and don’t light!!!

sound confusing? well just use a normal household 9V battery, thats what i use, dry Wire wool and a 9V it makes an even brighter wall of wooll!!!


don’t take my word for it, try it!!

frodo out

---

Hear is a pick of a good design with a feeding tin for longer burn times.

http://home.wanadoo.nl/rhoutappel/plaatjes/poi/wirewoolpoi.jpg



This is just an example one of the many picks I have found and is how not to go about it not enough space sparks are hitting what looks like a wooden fence and who knows what is on the other side of the fence ( may be a cat doing an impression of a dog wwooooooooofffffff)

http://www.homeofpoi.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=3444



Always think safety first



if someone could spell check this for me I would be most grateful

don't forget to check your links(quicklinks)

i see you note to check the construction, but also make sure the chains are attached well, and won't pull off

that's a great job Mint sauce.

A question - and it's really only a semantic one, does the term sparkly poi refer to both Wire wool poi and poi with sparklers attached or to just one? Is it a broad term for those toys that create sparks, or the illusion of sparks?

quite curious...

Yeah, I asked the rotational flowers question before and was told it was possible if I offtimed it so that it didn't aim at my face.

O_o not sure if I want to try that one though. Maybe I'll stick with regular flowers first.

Unless you can pull off flowers really quickly I don't think it'll be all that great. The throw of the sparks is dependant on the speed of the chains just as much as the make and wool in them.

Personally the one thing that I would put on there as a very very serious requirement is eye protection. I'm a sculptor and a mailler so welding and metalworking dealing with sparks is no big deal to me, the few times I've done wool I was actually just in a double layered t-shirt and had some gloves, the sparks don't bother me, but always protect your eyes.

Remember that just as many sparks that are going out to the sides, are also going straight up, and straight down on top of you.

The best way to "put them out" is to dunk them in water. I've always done it on a dock, so I have plenty of water around me, and my extreme emergency backup plan for a horrible flamy accident was to dive in..

Basically for the most part stick to easy stuff, spin hard and spin fast. Fountains are a crowd pleaser.

How do you make chicken wire into a cruvey / ball shape for the cages? I need to make some.

Oh, and on a side note, a slightly different effect, but safer (sparks "flake" off instead of shoot out in a huge area) is pine charcoal. Safe for your more crowded areas, but may leave a mess of embers / ash around you...

roll the cage into a hollow column.

bend the bottom in towards itself and twist/tie the ends together

repeat on the top after you've loaded it and attach handles

I've made some great cages from all-metal bird feeders - works very well and you can get a pair of cages out of a reasonable sized feeder

Good Post Mr Sauce informative indeed - i wouldnt argue with anypoint you have made there.

can i just add i taught frodo everything he knew

biased great pic one

biased great pic two

Play safe kids

yeah stugz, they are great pics, i'll second that.

really good complete thread mint

I have rated this thread a 5.

Longer chains are worthwhile too; they'll help you get the cages moving faster through the air.

so did! yay for useful threads!

Minty... My name is Jon, not Jay.

Hm, was always interested in sparkly poi/staff, but I was never sure on the construction. It looks like the size of the holes in the chicken wire is relatively unimportant... for some reason, I was fearing the wool falling apart into pieces and huge flaming chunks coming out at the end. Guess it doesn't do that since it is only the very top part that is burning during the spin? Hum hum...

Anyway, great tips in here! I might be crazy enough to try it myself one day.

Tip 21: Don't expect security guards at music festivals to exercise common sense even if you've already talked to them and moved to a nice open area to spin.

Instead expect them to drive straight through the shower of molten metal.

Only if it was on 3 for 2.

Right I have the wool for falmouth... I now have but to make the cages I hope I get the packing right...I don' want to wase the wool.....

I'm going to bump this because it's a worthwhile read for anyone who wants to spin Steel wool.

aww thanks man

I rated it a .. oh.. I already said that.

i will update this as some poit i have loads more to wright and i still need to change all sthe spellings skully sent me

just a quick note, thru my testing i have found that makeing up a Wire wool head in a similar way to a fire head works well and removes the need for a cage. if u keep the wool loose enough and hold it firm to ur chain with a single piece of fine wire all the bits which spark off are so small they dont do damage, and it burns nearly all of the material (wiith only a little left around where its attatched to the chain) makeing it easy clean up and verry little waste... but then, i guess thats not for everyone...

Great post, I had a few questions i wanted to clarify..

as far as the feeding tin , thats hollow at the top a well?

I have my tins hollow on both ends, is this going to be a problem as far as safety?

My cages are about 12-15 inches in length total , with the poultry wiring curved and sealed at the bottom. chain attached with quicklinks to the wiring , then quicklink at the top attached to ball chain.


Does this sound about right ^^? Or any advice on modification to this design? Also, how much wirewool should i put in this out of a bundle of 12 sheets.


Thanks!

I've been reading up on how other people rig up their Wire wool for burns, and ive found that for me, wrapping the Wire wool around an old piece of scrap steel tubeing similar to makeing a fire head gives a good result. i fasten it on with a piece of fine wire twised firmly around the middle of the Wire wool head... it gives a nice burn and the time of the burn and level of sparks can be controaled by how tightly u wrap the Wire wool around the steel tube. a looser wrap will give a shorter, more sparkey and brighter burn than a tighter wrap, but if the wrap is too loose the Wire wool wil come off and burn on the ground, too tight and it will just smolder on your chains (part of the reason for the steel tubeing especially while exparamenting.

ALWAYS REMEMBER: Wire wool burns VERRY HOT, so be safe!

I finally did my first Wire wool spin last night. I was a little disappointed when they stopped sparking after 20 seconds. But I think I can fix that by making the openings in the cone bigger and packing the Steel wool a little more densely. The cages are 12 inches long, with a 4.5 inch diameter, and made with ½ inch wire mesh. I used VERY loosely packed, 0000 gauge, Wire wool for the burn.

For protective clothing I wore; Carhartt pants and jacket, over a hooded sweatshirt, with a hat and welders mask.

Cage design:


Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtFrkMrae2U

I take it that you have to spin these things really hard to get the effect??? i was wondering about putting these cages on the ends of a stick and making a staff for them??? has anyone tried this yet??? was the outcome lame or deadly???