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bhawkmember
48 posts
Location: MD, USA


Posted:
hey,I want to start doing staff, but fire isnt really an option for me, so I'll just stick to glowsticks for now. My question is how can I make a staff where I can easily attach and detach glowsticks to then ends of the staff quickly and easily. With my poi, i just attached a key ring to the end of the strings, but Im not sure how I would do it with a staff. Oh yeah, one more thing, whats a good length for a beginer's staff?

pjmember
277 posts
Location: Baltimore, Maryland, USA


Posted:
I can think of a few ways to attach glowsticks to a staff:- if you have a hollow tube, just wedge the stick in the tube. if the diameters don't match, wrap the glow stick with duct tape.- with a solid tube, just duct tape the stick to the end. Of course, if you drop regularly you'll need to spend some repair time.- another solid tube option would be to put some screw eyes into the ends. Then you can just tie the glowsticks to the screw eyes. Sure, they will flop arround a bit, but I don't think this will be a big problem.WRT length, that is a very personal issue. A good rule of thumb is that your staff (for single staff) should be just shorter than the distance from the ground to your armpit.Here is another thing that you will want to know when building a staff: use a light staff body material and weigh down the ends. Getting the weight at the ends of the staff makes all the difference in the world when it comes to spinning it!-p.

FiReSpRiTemember
23 posts
Location: Hudson, FL, US


Posted:
i made a staff that is glowstick friendly about two months ago but i havent put it to much use. what i did was take an old hallow broom handle and cut the ends off. you can just wedge the sticks in there, but ive seen em fly out too many times. on mine i have one of those huge rubber bands going down the center that connects to the glowsticks and pulls them inward. hope this helped some.~Sprite------------------What we call human nature, is actually human habit.

Its hard not to play when theres so many toys.


flash fireBRONZE Member
Sporadically Prodigal
2,758 posts
Location: Sydney, NSW, Australia


Posted:
Hey,I actually had a performance last week and, for the first time ever, was not able to use fire. Instead, I cut two new aluminium staves and drilled holes sporadically around each end, about 10inches from the ends. I then put some foam in the middle of each staff, to support the glowstix that I placed in each end. I plugged the ends with bubble wrap and electrical tape.The idea was that I'd have a glowstick-fuelled "beaming staff" - little points of light emanating from within the hollow tube.This would have been extremely effective if the goddam yellow glowstix I used had been brighter. I had blue in one end and yellow in the other - the yellow was very hard to see but the blue looked great.Fire would have been preferable------------------"she dances in a ring of fire and throws off the challenge with a shrug"[This message has been edited by flash fire (edited 25 June 2001).]

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CharlesBRONZE Member
Corporate Circus Arts Entertainer
3,989 posts
Location: Auckland, New Zealand


Posted:
Doesn't have to be glowsticks! Sticks look cool with poi, but for staffs the staff tends to hide the glowstick from certain angles and can get broken quite easily if you drop. Ie lots of nasty glowing liquid with glass shards all through it that kids and silly people like to play with (too many people hurt themselves if you just leave it there on the ground). An expensive option is the new glow-bead juggling balls, they are a net filled with beads that glow brightly from a little led in the middle. they can be easily sewn onto the ends with thread going through the wick, or attached a number of ways. Because they are usually wider than the staff and not thin and stick-like, you get a much more even and impressive show from all angles.An easier option is to have some wide,strong and clear sellotape to tape five or six sticks on each end of the staff, this can look really cool with different colours and looks amazing in near darkness...And fire is so much safer with staff than poi because whenever you hit yourself it bounces right off, doesn't have time to burn you...it's the physical bruises that are the danger (and I know all about that...)Cheers, Charles (NZ)

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BrainchileBRONZE Member
member
15 posts
Location: Sydney, Australia


Posted:
There is a really (and I mean really) expensive option for an indoor performance staff, which is the glo-staff from aero-tech. Personally, looking at the price, I'm not touching it with a ten foot pole, but I've come up with an alternative:I'm currently in the process of building a staff which contains batteries and LEDs in the handle (Malcolm's LED articles are really helpful) and replaces the aluminium ends with perspex rods that _should_ glow. I have a feeling that this will create a more startling effect than just glow sticks, but, since it isn't finished yet, it remains to be seen.Any suggestions or has anyone else tried anything this drastic before?

flash fireBRONZE Member
Sporadically Prodigal
2,758 posts
Location: Sydney, NSW, Australia


Posted:
Do I know you BrainChile?If not, then I'd like to meet you...I'm interested in your glowstaff concept and would like to see it in motion. I personally am a tad 'allergic' wink to glowstix and would much prefer a LED alternative.Keep me updated.

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AnonymousPLATINUM Member


Posted:
um the best non fire option I've seen was a perspex tube with electroluminescent wire running through it with a 9v battery at each end....there was couple of colours kinda coiled...wen you spin it, it looks like you are holding a length of lightning - no Joke!very impressive.Josh

kmactanemember
97 posts
Location: San Francisco, CA, USA


Posted:
My girlfriend is getting into staff, and I know she'd be interested in this sort of thing. Indeed, I'd already floated the idea of a staff made of transparent plastic with el wire running through it, and she loved the idea.I assume "Perspex" is the kind of transparent plastic you'd want for such a thing? How does Perspex differ from Plexiglass, Lexan, or other types of transparent plastics?How will it stand up to potential scratching?How do you cast (or mold, or otherwise shape) this stuff, anyway? I'd love to know more.

AnonymousPLATINUM Member


Posted:
hey,you can get it in preformed tubes. the rest is just dependent on how well you know your Gaff smileI dont know how it differs, although, I'd go for thicker stuff, cuz the one I saw kinda bent when you twirled it fast.Josh[This message has been edited by [Josh] (edited 28 June 2001).]

adamricepoo-bah
1,015 posts
Location: Austin TX USA


Posted:
kmactane--Perspex is the British word for Lexan.

Laugh while you can, monkey-boy


BrainchileBRONZE Member
member
15 posts
Location: Sydney, Australia


Posted:
Flash Fire, I twirl with UNSW Circusoc most of the time, so if you know anyone in that, they'll possibly know me . . .umm, Josh, do you know how to get some of this electro-luminescent wire? I'm keen on looking at all possible ideas, because I've done very little construction so far and I can still change my plans quite easily. Also, the idea of a solid perspex rod (kmactane - yeah, it's just solid clear plastic basically) I'm now thinking may not light up as well as something that glows all along the rod, ie, EL wire in a tube or something similar . . .A friend of mine also came up with the idea of using multiple bundles of optic fibre (not real optic fibre, that's far too expensive, just cheap plastic stuff) and a laser pointer in the handle. They snake up from the handle in a perspex tube and make lots of little points of light along it.Ok, I just looked up a few sites on EL wire and it looks amazing . . . I think this could be what I'm looking for . . . although all the stockists seem to be in America and it's looking like it'll cost me another $50-100 for the lighting . . . this staff's getting more expensive by the day . . .About the durability of perspex (sorry, this post is getting huge grin ) It's quite tough stuff . . . and is sometimes used as a building material because it's light and strong, a bit like fibreglass . . . but yes, when it gets scratched, it doesn't look as good as before. I do have a feeling that it can be polished back up to a shine though.

AdeSILVER Member
Are we there yet?
1,897 posts
Location: australia


Posted:
It's a little, little, little world. BrainChile I twirled with the same circusoc a year ago for a very short time, but haven't had time to reconnect with them. Those that have read about my setting my hair on fire - I did it with circusoc grinDo you think either yourself or circusoc might do a show and tell of constructing led staves?

AnonymousPLATINUM Member


Posted:
I bought it off a friend that bought it off of a website...there are a lot of them and they tend to be in the USHonestly, the EL staff was amazing...very very cool. almost as cool as fire smile but a far rarer effect. my friend used Pink and white I think...together they made a lightening colour...I've actually got a 6 foot length of Pink...think I might have to make meself up another staff!Josh

BrainchileBRONZE Member
member
15 posts
Location: Sydney, Australia


Posted:
Ade - yes indeed . . . small world. I've only been hanging out with circusoc this year, so we probably haven't met. Circusoc defintely won't be doing a show and tell of making glowing staffs because none of them know how to make one tongue . . . and I've only just started on this one. I guarantee, however, that when i'm finished, I'll post photos and construction details to everyone, and maybe even make a few complete DIY kits.Hey Josh, do you know what kind of tubes people use in EL wire staffs? I'm wondering what sizes and cost and stuff . . . I guess I'll have to find a plastics supplier and ask them.Too many decisions . . . I'm so glad I asked you guys about glowing staffs, though, because otherwise I never would have found out about EL wire, which has got to be one of the kewlest things for twirling I've seen in ages smileNext Project: Beaming Poi with EL wire chains?

AdeSILVER Member
Are we there yet?
1,897 posts
Location: australia


Posted:
Thanks Brainchile, feedback on your experience would be great! Good luck with the construction.ade

Peregrinemember
428 posts
Location: Mystic, Ct. USA


Posted:
hey yay UNSW circsoc smileI'm an UNSW alumni of a few years ago and they kicked me out of the country when i graduated and my student visa ran out so i probably don't know you at all...sadly picked up poi in my last couple months of honours year so didn't do much with circsoc... (and also i have this weird american/australian tendency to swap back and forth between honors and honours...I am ruined for life, spell checkers everywhere hate me) you can make me homesick and take a picture of you guys twirling by the library lawn metal thingie smileand just to be on topic, what if you put a set of christmas lights into a clear tube (battery powered, batteries at the ends for weight?) cheers, Pere

SilverOnymember
9 posts
Location: Calgary,Alberta,Canada


Posted:
I've made a staff with glow sticks. What I used is an acrylic rod... I think its something like plexiglass. But I lathed the ends out so I can insert 4 inch glowsticks in it ( the little fellas) I cover the ends with plastic chair ends. I've made another staff with mag lights in the end as well... it works sweet with fog or smoke. The acrylic staff holds up pretty well although I wouldn't use it on cement. It cost me about $40 Canadian to build.

kmactanemember
97 posts
Location: San Francisco, CA, USA


Posted:
Hey, Folks--A big thanks to all who answered my various questions. The thing I still don't understand is, how do you get the el wire inside the Perspex/Lexan? Or does the preformed tube it comes in have a hole down the center or something? Or were people talking about running the el wire around the outside of the staff? I'd been hoping to somehow run the el wire on the inside, so the staff would be internally lit, and the Lexan/Perspex would protect the el wire (and hold it rigid, hopefully in a sort of double-spiral or triple-braided shape).Yeah, yeah, I've just always got more questions, don't I? confused

adamricepoo-bah
1,015 posts
Location: Austin TX USA


Posted:
kmactane--To get some Lexan, go to https://www.mcmaster.com/Type
"polycarbonate" into the search field, and then click on the obvious items.They've got both solid rod and hollow rod, in lots of diameters, lengths up to 8 feet.McMaster-Carr, btw, is an amazing resource for materials, tools, and hardware. Huge.

Laugh while you can, monkey-boy


kmactanemember
97 posts
Location: San Francisco, CA, USA


Posted:
Re: MacMaster-Carr:Damn! These people got all kinds of stuff, don't they? Thanks, Adam!

StoneGOLD Member
Stream Entrant
2,829 posts
Location: Melbourne, Australia


Posted:
Has any one tried Spectrum wire in Melbourne? They seen to have a great range of wire (~ AUS $25/m) and other glowing stuff. https://www.spectrumwire.com.au/index.html[This
message has been edited by Stone (edited 06 July 2001).]

If we as members of the human race practice meditation, we can transcend our fear, despair, and forgetfulness. Meditation is not an escape. It is the courage to look at reality with mindfulness and concentration. Thich Nhat Hanh


BrainchileBRONZE Member
member
15 posts
Location: Sydney, Australia


Posted:
I'm back (went bushwalking for a week) and I've got an update on the Light Staff.I've bought the Pure Flame 3-piece staff (it's in the shop here) and I'm using the handle on it as the basis for the staff. It's clamping system is perfect for holding removable perspex hollow rods. This is great because I'm storing the batteries and inverters for the wire in the handle and I'll need to be able to take the ends off to change batteries. I've sourced some AAA inverters that will fit inside the handle of the staff with minimal modification and EL wire for AUS$17/m from a place called Flexi-Glow Lighting in Sydney.All I have left to do now is source some perspex rods locally and get a job so I can afford the rest of the parts smileTotal cost at the moment is looking like about $200 for a staff that's interchangeable between EL wire and fire and has two colours of wire (probably spiralling around each other).Peregrine - When I've built this staff, I'll send in photos and hopefully take them in front of the stargate (what we like to call the big metal thingy).

DJ DantanaBRONZE Member
veteran
1,495 posts
Location: Stillwater, Ok. USA


Posted:
My friend John made a glow stick staff out of some semi-transparent water pipe from the hardware store, it is sort of soft and flexible so it does not shatter, and a milky-transparent which seems to enhance the glow. He inserts the long skinny glowsticks down the entire length, then crams some regular glowsticks in the ends to hold every thing in (friction fit). we put it through hell and it held up, It looks realy cool at night. Kind of like a light saber!

we eat and we drink and we smoke and we try!


flash fireBRONZE Member
Sporadically Prodigal
2,758 posts
Location: Sydney, NSW, Australia


Posted:
bumping for Mr Serpentice...

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BrainchileBRONZE Member
member
15 posts
Location: Sydney, Australia


Posted:
It is done.I finished the staff last night . . . it takes four AAA batteries in the handle and has four 50cm sections of EL wire running up hollow acrylic tubing coming out of the handle. The wires are in pairs, red and blue twisted around each other so when it twirls you get concentric circles of red and blue colour coming out of it . . .It's quite bright and glows like neon and frankly, I'm quite pleased with how it's turned out. I'll be showing it off next monday night at UNSW, and hopefully will get some photos of it in action to post up.I'm also going to write an article to send in on how to make one of these.Flash Fire: Serpentice???

flash fireBRONZE Member
Sporadically Prodigal
2,758 posts
Location: Sydney, NSW, Australia


Posted:
nice one Brainchile!! I can't wait to see pics and please PLEASE email me construction tips.about how much did this cost you to create?(Mr Serp was asking about a glowstaff or something similar on another thread - just doing my moderator stuff)

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Blackbirdmember
337 posts
Location: London UK


Posted:
Surely, as I think someone said, the easiest thing is to find a make of clear plastic tube which will fit glowsticks all down the length? You would have to get the diameter pretty close, but it needn't be exact... then stuff a half a dozen in and stop up the ends with something so they dont fall out.

x X x ß £ Å Ĉ К ß î я Ð x X x


AnonymousPLATINUM Member


Posted:
yeah expensive and wasteful - I love glowsticks. El wire staves, although expensive to set up, should last a long time the hands of a proficent twirler. They will also be lighter to twirl.Josh

BrainchileBRONZE Member
member
15 posts
Location: Sydney, Australia


Posted:
Ok, here's the inventory of all the pieces I used and their approximate costs:Pure Flame 3 piece staff $90 (delivered)2m Acrylic tubing $351m red EL wire $181m blue EL wire $182 EL wire inverters $24 ($12 each)EL wire postage costs $5Heat shrink tubing $4The acrylic tubing was sold by length, so I've still got some of that left, as with the heat shrink.Construction was maybe a total of five or six hours work . . . Design took a lot longer.So, basically, with all those costs added up, the staff costs about $200. The end product is a complete package that can be used as an EL wire staff or a fire staff, all packs to a length of around 2 feet (so is portable) and looks absolutely kickass (sorry, I had to say it).I looked up the prices of the Aero-tech LED staffs and they sell for between $600 and $900 for 1m staffs . . . Mine's about 1.5m. I'm not sure about the pricing on glowsticks, but I know that my batteries will probably last a lot longer and be cheaper (since glowsticks are single use and they'll cost a lot to cover a metre).So, in the end, I'm really happy about this project and I'll publish a design article very soon.[This message has been edited by Brainchile (edited 26 July 2001).]

Liquidmember
28 posts
Location: Raleigh, North Carolina, United States


Posted:
buy glow stick whole sale, its alot of cash up front, but since you use as you go its so much cheaper when you do the math. also try getting the 8" inch ones tie two to gether and do nunchuck, just a suggestion

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