Forums > Technical Discussion > A few Fire Fan questions
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Posted:
I am planning on having a pair of fire fans made for me by a friend, but I need to have all the specifications known before that can happen.
I've searched through some of the other threads related to fire fans, and some of my questions have been answered.
I'd still like to know:
-How thick the rods/tubing should be?
-If I should use rods or tubing?
-Should I use cold rolled steel, or another type of (lightweight)metal?
-Which part of the fan should be about the length of my arm (as poi is), the length or the width?
Sorry if any of these questions have been asked and answered already, but I didn't see them when I did my searching. Any help with this would be great.
I am planning on having a pair of fire fans made for me by a friend, but I need to have all the specifications known before that can happen.
I've searched through some of the other threads related to fire fans, and some of my questions have been answered.
I'd still like to know:
-How thick the rods/tubing should be?
-If I should use rods or tubing?
-Should I use cold rolled steel, or another type of (lightweight)metal?
-Which part of the fan should be about the length of my arm (as poi is), the length or the width?
Sorry if any of these questions have been asked and answered already, but I didn't see them when I did my searching. Any help with this would be great.
PLATINUM Member
Will carpal your tunnel in a minute.
3,286 posts
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Will carpal your tunnel in a minute.
3,286 posts
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Posted:
I'm no metalsmith, but I have used fire fans and I can tell you a few things:
As for thickness and metal types (i.e. rods or tubing), the fans will heat up quite significantly and will bend more easily. Depending on how many wick points you will have, you will find that the outermost wicks will bend a lot more as they are more likely to hit the ground than any other part of the fan. Bearing in mind that a solid construction with heavier metals brings a lot more weight when using the fans, and will restrict you from doing certain moves or tire you out a lot quicker.
I strongly suggest you place a spinning ring in your fan construction akin to the ones seen in the fans available from the HoP shop. This will allow you to do buzzsaws with ease and are quite lovely to look at
As for the dimensions, I've personally found that a good length of the fans is slightly less than the length of your forearms. Place the base of your fans along the line on the inside of your elbow and measure it to where your palm starts. Any bigger and you'd likely start running into problems with buzz saws and other moves involving being close to the body, and will keep the flames reasonably away from your body. Of course, if you plan to go smaller that will work too
You'll find them a tad awkward at first if you've never used fans before, but it is a very addictive art and one where improvisation can lend a very good show.
Best of luck and happy spinning!
I'm no metalsmith, but I have used fire fans and I can tell you a few things:
As for thickness and metal types (i.e. rods or tubing), the fans will heat up quite significantly and will bend more easily. Depending on how many wick points you will have, you will find that the outermost wicks will bend a lot more as they are more likely to hit the ground than any other part of the fan. Bearing in mind that a solid construction with heavier metals brings a lot more weight when using the fans, and will restrict you from doing certain moves or tire you out a lot quicker.
I strongly suggest you place a spinning ring in your fan construction akin to the ones seen in the fans available from the HoP shop. This will allow you to do buzzsaws with ease and are quite lovely to look at
As for the dimensions, I've personally found that a good length of the fans is slightly less than the length of your forearms. Place the base of your fans along the line on the inside of your elbow and measure it to where your palm starts. Any bigger and you'd likely start running into problems with buzz saws and other moves involving being close to the body, and will keep the flames reasonably away from your body. Of course, if you plan to go smaller that will work too
You'll find them a tad awkward at first if you've never used fans before, but it is a very addictive art and one where improvisation can lend a very good show.
Best of luck and happy spinning!
ॐ
Owner of burningoftheclavey 
Owned by Lost83spy
newbie
4 posts
4 posts
Posted:
Hi, thank you for the advice.
Just out of curiosity, since you own a pair of fire fans with a spinning ring...about how big is it?
And the little one you put a finger through?
Hi, thank you for the advice.
Just out of curiosity, since you own a pair of fire fans with a spinning ring...about how big is it?
And the little one you put a finger through?
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