Forums > Help! > My staff broke! How do I go about making a new one?

Posted: 17th Jul 2003
i depends on what u are going to make it out of...wood is a lot easier then metal and hurts less but fire and wood do not mix!!!!u can use some aluminium wrapped around the staff and that stops it from burning but again is a pain in the arse to stick down. I don't know much about metal as i have neer used it. I am sure though if u do a search on the HOP website that there would be heaps of ppl giving answers on how to make staff, so u might want to try that

cheers

Look to the moon, look to the stars, and if you still can't find happyness...find a bar!!!

Posted: 18th Jul 2003
Easiest answer I can think of: look at your old staff. But otherwise - the bits I use to make mine Kevlar, aluminium tubing, two wooden dowels (about as long as your wicks are wide, and narrow enough that they just fit nicely inside the tubing), a drill, four screws with washers, some foam racing bike handlebar tape, and a roll of black insulation or elctricians tape and a tape measure.

1)cut the tube to the length you want your staff, measure it and mark the half way point, then measure and mark the length you want your handgrip (I usually go 15cm either side of the halfway mark.

2)stick the handlebar tape to the staff in a spiral helter skelter type pattern, in between the two handgrip marks. it's ussually self-adhesive. use the insulation tape to wrap round each end of the handgrip.

3)get some masking tape and use this to sick one end of your wick to the staff, and wrap the rest of the wick around the staffbe sure to fold back the last 3 or four centimetres of the wick, tape that using masking tape so it doesn't unwind itself, and make sure its still tightly wound, repeat this for the other side.

4)Next get the drill, and a metal bit thats about the same width as your screw (or a little smaller is even better), and making sure your drill is set to a really low speedcarefully drill through the wick and ONE side of the tube. The kevlar can clog up the drill so you have to do it slowly, if the drill gets caught in the kevlar just stop it and gently remove it and remove any bits that have got stuck. its best to put two holes in each wick and not too close to the edge.

5)then pop the dowel in each endand screw in the screws tightly as possible, making sure the washers are on. its best to have screws that are just long enough to touchthe inside opposite edge of the tube. this depends also on how much kevlar you use for the wick. all thats left to do then really is to take the masking tape of the outside of the wick.

hope that helps

If you dont want a firestaff you can make a pretty good uv one with a broomstick, some rubber walking stick bottoms and some UV spraypaint. Put the rubber walking stick ends on each end of the staff to protect them (And you can also use them for bounce moves! )

Posted: 18th Jul 2003
if you use dowl and burn regularly it will burn and the screws will come out. the dowl can also crack when you drill the screws in if you are using the wrong type. you are better off using metal self tapping screws. this creates a small problem of the fire burning inside the tube. you can overcome this by using metal foil (used for cooking) you need about 60cm x 20cm fold it up so its 5cm wide then roll it up until you have a tight metal cigar shaped thing. Then place this in you pipe instead of the dowl so that a bit hangs out the end (~1.5cm). once the screws are screwed in hit the bit sticking out with a hammer and you will get a good seal. It will last much longer than using dowl and will also make your staff slightly lighter

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourself, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous and talented? Who are you NOT to be?

Posted: 18th Jul 2003
I've never had a problem with the dowel burning.

I do seal the ends of my staff with automotive putty, more to stop the ends from cutting me (gets all jagged when i drop it).


Anyway, if you do have burnt doweling. just put a mixture of PVA and sawdust into the screwholes and let it dry for day or so. The pva will harden with the heat and you will need some serious force to get the crews out after a few burns...

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Posted: 19th Jul 2003
my first stick had dowel ends and it burnt but it didnt have automative putty in it. no you need to do anything to the putty before burning??

if you have the wick slightly over the ends of the stick it wont cut you and hurts way less if it hits you

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourself, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous and talented? Who are you NOT to be?

Posted: 21st Jul 2003
The automotive putty is designed to fill in gaps in and around an internal combustion enegine.

After it's hardened it's rated up to 1100 degrees C!

I'm pretty hard on my wicks, and they tend to fall apart at the ends if I don't have a bit of pole sticking out. I do most of my practice on concrete...

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Posted: 21st Jul 2003
just dont drop your stick

ill definately give the putty a look into might give my sticks a nicer looking seal than aluminium foil mashed into the end with a hammer. thanx for the info

Posted: 21st Jul 2003
I've found if you use hardwood for doweling it only really starts to burn if you dont shake off properly. Another good way of solving this is adhesive metal tape, then you can just stick it over the exposed end. Softwood tends to burn away quite quickly though.