Customizing toys

Okay so I have some questions on how to trick out some toys.

#1) I want to make my fire fan heads fatter so they'll hold more fuel. Can I just take kevlar and wrap over the existing heads. I usually glue these things (like my torches for fire eating) with elmers glue (it hardens and works better with heat) but I've also heard of stitching them. Which would u reccommend or should i not even attempt this?

#2) my hoop is a little wide. It was good wen i was first starting but now I want somthing smaller with a little more whip to it. So can i just unconnect my hoop cut a couple inches out of it and reconnect it? Or will that screw it up?



Thanks!

I don't have experience with fire yet so I'm not gonna touch #1 (leave that to someone with more knowledge)

As for #2, I don't see why that wouldn't work... Don't take my opinion as definitive though.

i wouldn't use glue with the fire, even if it maintains it's strength with the heat(which i wouldn't trust) it will hinder your fuel absorption & burning, which would pretty much defeat the purpose of the exercise. Stitching with kevlar thread would work but would be a lot of work to do and the thread would probably wear out faster then the rest of the wick(and you don't want it unravelling onto your arm), it'd be easier to simply replace the wick with a fatter one. Ok it's gonna cost you a little more for kevlar but it'll last for a couple of years if it's bound good and tight. (and you can use your old kevlar to make other random props/torches/whatever)
As for the hoop I'd be careful, the sectional one's can come apart under normal conditions if the cord isn't tight enough, the extra strain of bending it more might make it pop out all the time

1. You should be able to do either, stitching would be more reliable I think. But for fans, I don't think that matters as much.

2.If you cut out a couple of inches out of a circle. That ould no longer make in a circle. Unless your hoop bends enough, I don't have any experiences with hoops so I don't entire know about the flexibility part of it.

Yes you could cut out a few inches of the hop but it would mean that two of the wicks would be closer together than all of the others.

A thought on the hoop: I'm assuming your hoop is in 3 sections. If you were to take and equal amount out of each section, you wouldn't have to worry about the extra strain that liquidtrance mentioned while still maintaining a full circle.

A thought on the stitching, put glue on the stitching so you only need a small amount and it stops the stitch from wearing.

Most fire hoops will be fine under the strain of being made smaller. Unless it is made of some thing unusual I make mine way smaller than most people do from the beginning and i have never had any problems with it coming apart. Just make sure you secure the connector well when you reconnect it.

WOW! Who knew there would be such an outpouring of info! Okay so here's some additional info for all of you geniouses.

#1) Okay if I was to get new wicks where would I get them and how do I switch them out??

#2) My hoop is in ONE section, with one connection. Its not a fire hoop its just a regular 160 psi tubing hoop. Its not a big deal but id like it to be just a couple inches smaller.

I can not see why this would not work....

That's what I'm thinking Aston but knowing me I'd try it and seriously screw it up because of some sort of strange law of physics I didn't know about

Having made hoops from tubing myself I don't see why it shouldn't work: various people in my group have made a variety of sizes, from isolation all the way up to beginner for a tall guy.

We just cut the length we wanted, curved it into a circle and joined it without any problems.

If you've decorated it that may end up uneven but the underlying hoop should be fine.

Awesome! Thanks