Forums > Other Toys > Any Fire Contact Jugglers out there?
Login/Join to ParticipateSimplicity Convoluter & Cabbage Friend
126 posts
Location: In the shadow of the wolf (somewhere over melbourn...
All Fire balls on the market currently suck, does anyone know of anything good. I'm working on my own but I haven't got all the bugs out yet. Was hoping someone out there might have some crazy ideas to share, or skill swap.
“What are you creatures of Fantastica? Dreams, poetic inventions, characters in a neverending story.”
Gmork
‘The Neverending Story’
2,419 posts
Location: la-la land
I got told about an amazing contact ball that sits on a little metal dish to charge up and when you are playing with it - it's like one of those static machines with the purple lighting in them - not sure if it's for real tho - my friends like to make fun of me sometimes..
I honour you as an aspect of myself..
You are never to old to storm a bouncey castle..
Carpal \'Tunnel
2,617 posts
Location: Berlin, Ireland
@ MisStix*
I live in a world of infinite possibilities.
4,308 posts
Location: York, England
i've heard some ideas here andthere but nothing seems to work.... people mostly seem to beworking on cages..... what you would need would b a way to mske an interior and an exterior w/o throwing the balnce out if whack, holes are orlly the best option, i dunno what material you'd want the exterior though..... but you could then soak the ball and wipe off the exterior and theholes, (sfter shaking) and then light it
might have sometrouble still, but...
Keep your dream alive
Dreamin is still how the strong survive
Shalom VeAhavah
New Hampshire has a point....
1,591 posts
Location: Nova Scotia, Canada.
I was thinking about covering a wooden ball in one layer thick of kevlar or cotton and soaking it in rubbing alcohol (burns really cool) But it would need a good routine of arm roles and stuff to keep the ball from staying in one area to much. I totally suck at arm roles.
4 posts
Location: Dublin, Ireland
the wooden balls covered in kevlar work ok but don't last too long fire-wise. you can get them at Butterfingers juggling
15,417 posts
Location: South Wales
what about a monkey fist knot made from kevlar rope?
2,364 posts
Location: austin,tx
you can use fire juggling balls, but they are too light for my taste. i use big balls for CJ but that's cuz i suck. the fire juggling balls would work for somebody that does small ball cj
-Such a price the gods exact for song: to become what we sing
-Seek freedom and become captive of your desires. Seek discipline and find your liberty.
-When the center of the storm does not move, you are in its path.
Classically British
5,689 posts
Location: Epsom, Surrey, England
I still think it's near impossible to beat Acrylics when it comes to CJ - they're just such beautiful props.
I also use a luminous 4" stage ball which glows in the dark or really shines under UV - I don't think Fire would be that impressive really, none of the isolation stuff would work (alot wouldn't really be possible unless it was a REALLY cool flame)
Still, it's always good to try new things
[ 24. June 2003, 22:54: Message edited by: Durbs ]
Burner of Toast
Spinner of poi
Slacker of enormous magnitude
Simplicity Convoluter & Cabbage Friend
126 posts
Location: In the shadow of the wolf (somewhere over melbourn...
I agree it's never going to have the finess that acrilics have, but I think a combination act would rock - finishing with fire contact and yes probably mostly body rolls (was thinking of putting sheilding in an elbow hold to give you a fixed point giving cool off time when ness. - don't like the cages, bad for finger holds, trying to get a smooth Kevlar covering over wooden base but can't get it flat and even enought yet. - the ones for sale just don't have enough fire on them to get the result I want.
That cool burning alchol stuff sounds good but does it have a good flame? I want something cool burning but not at the expense of teenie fire? Do you get it from artist suply shops?
“What are you creatures of Fantastica? Dreams, poetic inventions, characters in a neverending story.”
Gmork
‘The Neverending Story’
1,591 posts
Location: Nova Scotia, Canada.
It's just rubbing alcohol. It gives off a small flame, but in the dark with a close audience it should still be impressive with a CJ routine.
1,591 posts
Location: Nova Scotia, Canada.
It's just rubbing alcohol. It gives off a small flame, but in the dark with a close audience it should still be impressive with a CJ routine.
still can't believe it's not butter
6,978 posts
Location: Melbourne, Australia
i seens a fantastic workaround at an amazing fire show - Reuben from the troupe 'Psycus' CJ's a huge clear acrylic ball whith 4 firetwirlers around him - the light refracts internally and gives off a nasty Sauron vibe.
It was very ...precious
Laugh Often, Smile Much, Post lolcats Always
2,364 posts
Location: austin,tx
wow that sounds beautiful.
-Such a price the gods exact for song: to become what we sing
-Seek freedom and become captive of your desires. Seek discipline and find your liberty.
-When the center of the storm does not move, you are in its path.
Corporate Circus Arts Entertainer
3,989 posts
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
That does sound really cool.
A not as grand but similar effect can be achieved by taping penlights onto your wrists.
Coloured filters (red blue or green cellophane works well) can be added too.
This looks amazing when CJing acrylics in a dim perfomance area...
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10 posts
Location: derby
I tried contact juggling with fire balls..
I wont try it with them again
Using clear contacts in early or late sun looks amazing and wont burn
For night time i use one of them large led balls
Peace and love....
p.a mccormack
Watcher of 80s cartoons
665 posts
Location: Chepstow & Bristol, United Kingdom
After playing in Falmouth on Sunday with two monkey fists I am now dead keen on fire contact. Lots a curling and butterflying in various plains. I don't know what it looks like yet - Lazy Angel has some footage - but it was mucho fun
I'll post more here after i've seen Lazy's footage. >What do you think about the state of the Earth?
>I'm optimistic.
>So why do you look so sad?
>I'm not sure that my optimism is justified.
Classically British
5,689 posts
Location: Epsom, Surrey, England
*applauds excellent searching and bumping*
He did me
- watch and learn kids 
Burner of Toast
Spinner of poi
Slacker of enormous magnitude
Watcher of 80s cartoons
665 posts
Location: Chepstow & Bristol, United Kingdom
Thanks Durbs
>What do you think about the state of the Earth?
>I'm optimistic.
>So why do you look so sad?
>I'm not sure that my optimism is justified.
1 + 1 = 3
3,540 posts
Location: Bristol UK
Someone did durbs?
I'm telling Linda...
Empty your mind. Be formless, Shapeless, like Water.
Put Water into a cup, it becomes the cup, put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle, put water into a teapot, it becomes the teapot.
Water can flow, or it can Crash.
Be Water My Friend.
Watcher of 80s cartoons
665 posts
Location: Chepstow & Bristol, United Kingdom
Thought it would be wise to mention a few pieces of safety advice:
Cloths: tight sleeves and gloves made from natural fibres soaked in water (do not mistake a bucket of paraffin for a bucket of water - mumbles about people leaving an unmarked bucket right next to a camp fire - not at all my fault that I forgot to smell the contents of said bucket).
I tried with and without soaking – soaked is by far the safest as it limits the amount of paraffin that could potentially soak into the clothing. Steam is not a problem since (unlike poi during wraps) you will drop the balls to the ground before steam could become a problem.
However, the water does evaporate and so re-soaking is required. This is most obvious during the middle of a burn when the fire is at its most fierce. Therefore, in future I will have a water bucket at hand and during a burn I will palm spin and curl with one hand whilst I dunk my other arm, change hands and likewise dunk my other arm.
Hair: tied back – hate the smell of burning hair, especially when its mine.
>What do you think about the state of the Earth?
>I'm optimistic.
>So why do you look so sad?
>I'm not sure that my optimism is justified.
Carpal \'Tunnel
2,895 posts
Location: Cambridge UK
well, having already seen the footage, I can say that it looks very much like fire hands, except with more fluidity as the flames can be pased from hand to hand. Maybe I should post a Falmouth 4 taster with some fire CJ footage in it....
Because ActiveAngel sounds like a feminine deodorant
Like sex, I'm much more interesting in real life than online.
'Be the change you want to see in the world around you' - Ghandi
Watcher of 80s cartoons
665 posts
Location: Chepstow & Bristol, United Kingdom
Yes - please do post a Falmouth 4 taster
would be useful to know what I looked like, see which moves work and which don't etc. >What do you think about the state of the Earth?
>I'm optimistic.
>So why do you look so sad?
>I'm not sure that my optimism is justified.
Carpal \'Tunnel
2,895 posts
Location: Cambridge UK
ooh sorry, already made the taster, but I think I might be saving the fire CJ footage for the video proper..
Because ActiveAngel sounds like a feminine deodorant
Like sex, I'm much more interesting in real life than online.
'Be the change you want to see in the world around you' - Ghandi
That guy from Reno
556 posts
Location: Reno, Nevada USA
Ok about time I came out of hiding, check out my invention.
unlit cj ball
Teaser
First, no it is not a softball it's pure wick.
The good news - It really works Boric acid and denatured alcohol give the green flames that are managable, plus it adds to the illusion of floating because you can't see the ball, just the fire.
The bad news - The darn thing was so hard to make I don't know If I'll make any more. I'd love to sell them, but they would be too expensive. I can handle the heat with just leather gloves but you gotta keep it moving and you need to be able to use both hands and arms to disperse the heat. Makes for a fun hand shake at the end of a performance though.
More pics to come and maybee instructuions to make your own.
Cody Canon
Controlled Burn, Reno Nevada
Watcher of 80s cartoons
665 posts
Location: Chepstow & Bristol, United Kingdom
Haha - love it! Boric acid you nutter - did you try any chest rolls with that?
The huge on your face says it all - fire contact is so much fun and well worth the perseverance. Your needle work gives me a great idea at how to improve the monkey fists that were donated to me. >What do you think about the state of the Earth?
>I'm optimistic.
>So why do you look so sad?
>I'm not sure that my optimism is justified.
That guy from Reno
556 posts
Location: Reno, Nevada USA
Mine does have a monkeys fist in it's core, the trick is to make it round.
Cody Canon
Controlled Burn, Reno Nevada
Watcher of 80s cartoons
665 posts
Location: Chepstow & Bristol, United Kingdom
cool - so you've cut two (for want of a better analogy) sanitry towel shapes out of flat wick and sewn them together with Kevlar thread around the monkey fist right?
>What do you think about the state of the Earth?
>I'm optimistic.
>So why do you look so sad?
>I'm not sure that my optimism is justified.
That guy from Reno
556 posts
Location: Reno, Nevada USA
Unfortunately there is a heck of a lot more to it than that. First you have to make the monkeysfist ball rounder so for every little gap where the rope intersects itself you have to roll up a little piece of 2" kevlar and cut the tail end to a taper. Then you sew that little bugger in there. Repeat untill all the holes are filled then it's a little more roundish.
Now if you have ever taken a baseball apart you'll see that it's simply a rubber ball wrapped with tonnes of string. The string is what allows you to make the perfect(ish) sphere.
After the holes are filled you wrap the ball in kevlar thread a 1000 or so times which makes it a little more round.
Then I sewed a piece of fiberglass tubing arround the ball which smothed out more bumps and filled in more little holes.
Then you wrap it agian in thread, and you have a sphere.
The hard part is the outside. The shell is made out of a PBI blend which has 1000 degrees heat tolerance. I pinned two pieces to the ball in the softball shape then slowly sewed them together.
Well that's the quick answer, and the sucker is tough, I have burned it many times and it's still going strong.
Cody Canon
Controlled Burn, Reno Nevada
1 + 1 = 3
3,540 posts
Location: Bristol UK
That's looks mighty cool!!
What weight and size is it?
I want one!!
I would love a 100mm that weighs aboot the same as an acryl... Probably asking too much, though... And the burn time would be Crazy!!
Empty your mind. Be formless, Shapeless, like Water.
Put Water into a cup, it becomes the cup, put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle, put water into a teapot, it becomes the teapot.
Water can flow, or it can Crash.
Be Water My Friend.
That guy from Reno
556 posts
Location: Reno, Nevada USA
It's about the size of a softball and when fueled it weighs about the same as a 4" acrylic. It has good weight, I usually use a 3" acrylic but I wanted this to be a little bigger for body rolls.
If anyone is going to burningman hunt me down so you can try it out.
Cody Canon
Controlled Burn, Reno Nevada
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