steffie268newbie
8 posts

Posted:
to what extent is it important for a devilstick to be tapered?
if a devilstick spins too slow or is too diificult for direction changes, would adding weight to the centre of the stick help?
Or rather, adding weight between the centre and the ends of the stick...
I a going to try to develop my own LED-illuminated devilstick, since none of the stuff being sold today satisfies my needs for a fast-spinning yet controlable stick...

JauntyJamesSILVER Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
3,533 posts
Location: Hampshire College, MA, USA


Posted:
It's not integral, which is why flowersticks aren't tapered. It mostly just helps with the weighting.
Adding weight anywhere wouldn't help, you'll want to make it lighter if you want it to go faster. The heavier it is, the slower it will go, weight on the ends just has more impact.

-James

"How do you know if you're happy or sad without a mask? Or angry? Or ready for dessert?"


steffie268newbie
8 posts

Posted:
well, the stick i was referring to already is very light...i can get it up to speed with some effort, but direction changes, like swordfights, are nearly impossible...i am quite surprised by the fact that weight distribution doesn't affect a stick's handling...

colemanSILVER Member
big and good and broken
7,330 posts
Location: lunn dunn, yoo kay, United Kingdom


Posted:
the distribution of mass along the length of a rod (stick) does affect its handling since it changes the rod's moment of inertia.



by tapering a devilstick, you distribute more of the mass towards the ends - this increases the stick's moment of inertia.



this has the effect that you need to apply a greater torque to accelerate the stick.



or in simple language, the tapering helps to make the stick more controllable by increasing the force you have to apply to the stick to change its speed.



without the tapering, a small tap on one end of the stick would have a much larger effect on its speed of rotation - it would feel very light and 'delicate' in that you would have to be very accurate in your manipulation of the devil with your handsticks and use a much 'softer touch'



so in summary: a non-tapered devilstick would go from stopped to spinning really fast with a lighter tap than a tapered one would need but it would also be much harder to control overall.



a non-tapered stick can be given similar rotational properties to a tapered one simply by adding weight to the ends.



and conversely, if you want to make a spin faster with the smae amount of 'effort' from you, simply add weight to the centre of the stick smile



hope that helps,





cole. x

"i see you at 'dis cafe.
i come to 'dis cafe quite a lot myself.
they do porridge."
- tim westwood


steffie268newbie
8 posts

Posted:
thank you very much...now to find a way to add weight around the centre of the stick...

UCOFSILVER Member
15,417 posts
Location: South Wales


Posted:
Bluetack! biggrin

steffie268newbie
8 posts

Posted:
don't understand, need more explanation, what is "bluetack"?...

Gasuyinamember
30 posts
Location: Currently nr Salisbury, but occasionally Bath, or ...


Posted:
but bluetack holds the universe together...

it's sometimes called white tack, it's a slightly sticky gum that you can mould into shape, used mostly to stick posters to walls in my experience. it doesn't set hard, but can stain some things blue after a while, which is why white tack is useful.
and it's squishy.

--,--'--|@



Similar Topics No similar topics were found
      Show more..

HOP Newsletter

Sign up to get the latest on sales, new releases and more...