Flint_413GOLD Member
Fire Artist and Hooper
181 posts
Location: U.S.A


Posted:
Has anyone made these before? I'd like to make some but I would like a little guidance if anyone knows how. I'm sure I could just get some wire for the frame and wrap it in kevlar but I'd rather be a bit more educated before I mount flaming things on my back. So if anyone has any tips or "what not to do" anecdotes I'd be happy to hear them!

If you can't stand the heat, get out of my way.


astonSILVER Member
Unofficial Chairperson of Squirrel Defense League
4,061 posts
Location: South Africa


Posted:
Not tried it, but some sort of quick release may be a good move. smile

'We're all mad here. I'm mad, you're mad." [said the Cat.]
"How do you know I'm mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "Or you wouldn't have come here."
- Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures In Wonderland


entheogenGOLD Member
member
173 posts
Location: Berlin, Germany


Posted:
You're going to need something much mors sturdy than wire to base the frame, like aluminum or steel tubing bent into the general outer shape and screwed securely onto shoulder straps.

Try to not make the first pair too stupidly big, I've seen a girl with 4 meter long wings knocking things down and nearly smaking people while trying to get on stage with them- very embarrassing and dangerous. Also, make sure the wire holding the fire points are very tight and secure- the same girl secured herfire points with very loose chain which at one point she managed to wrap around herself. I doubt she ever used the wings ever again, but at least you can learn from her mistakes.

Another thing to consider is how are you going to light the wings? If you have several non connecting points behind your back you probably won't be able to light yourself, and it will take a lot of time- you know how long it takes to light up a hula hoop? Whereas if it were a single rope on each wing you probably could light it easily yourself, but then you have to be careful the fire is still far enough away not to burn you.

But actually the biggest problem will be transportation. Can you somehow build the metal frame sturdy enough but that can still be taken apart into pieces? Bigger questions will be, can I fit this into my car, or any normal car or do I need a huge van for the thing and if yes will I always have access to a van? If I ever need to fly with it can I somehow fit it into a suitcase?

'There are two mantras in life, yum and yuk. I choose yum.'


Kerosene_FalconSILVER Member
fire twirly girly
46 posts
Location: Victoria, Australia


Posted:
no idea how you could make it work, but if you can it would be amazingly awesome, good luck

Of course my horse is clumsy he has two left feet


FireTomStargazer
6,650 posts

Posted:
just a few thoughts:

I think it a splendid idea - not new, but still amazingly beautiful picture in creation... yet: as you said yourself: they might be extremely dangerous.

The effect will depend on the amount of kevlar and the size of the wings (both width and height). They will look different, when set on fire (as flames naturally burn upwards). So you may want to start with less and upgrade with experience.

Quick release and protection for your hair...

For construction you could buy a second hand backpack and take everything off besides the straps, then attach a wing-shaped framing to it.

The frame could be made from bent aluminum pipe or brass wire. I've seen headpieces made from brass and wick attached to its ends... remember you will end up with a significant amount of weight... bit heavy for flying wink

check these vids




see lindas headpiece @ 1:00? it's made from brass wire




@ 2:10 should be brass wire or similar
@ 3:30 - fire wings, btu maybe you're not exactly thinking of this design but nice for inspiration

I'd say it's definitely doable... but you need to take super care for safety and it's a project requiring a lot of consideration and effort.

as to lighting it up, you could use kero and colemans in a mix to make it light faster... (one reason why it takes so long to fire hoops up is because you need to light each individual spike... if you have a system of kevlar running from the downside up and out, you only need to light the lowest points - the rest is done by nature)

if you intend to make fire wings that you can flap you definitely need to protect your arms and hands extra... remember that it's extremely difficult to operate and I would advocate a great deal of meditating on the topic before attempting to light a construction soaked with 1-2 liters of kerosene, strapped to your back... but you figure that already yourself wink

Splendid project, hope my words helped a little smile

the best smiles are the ones you lead to wink


Icarus FordeBRONZE Member
Just Icarus//Spinner//Pyro//Geek
261 posts
Location: New Zealand


Posted:
I think this could be very cool.

I think FT had the right idea with a backpack - possibly a tramping pack with a aluminum frame that you could weld/otherwise connect tubes onto.

The way I was thinking of is similar to those dome tents, with the socketed poles and a long, thin spring down the middle to hold the poles together.

Lighting them could be an entirely crazy act - it would almost certainly require someone else to light them for you, as the logistics of it (twisting and lighting something whilst not being able to see the other flames) would be almost impossible.

Ultimately, protection is the first thing though. Fireproof clothes, fireproof headwear, all of that has to be considered BEFORE you even start making this stuff. If you make the fire wings, can you afford to buy the protective gear? It won't be cheap, but it'll be cheaper than a hospital bill if it all goes horribly wrong. smile

I wish you luck! I'd love a pair if they did work well. grin

Flint_413GOLD Member
Fire Artist and Hooper
181 posts
Location: U.S.A


Posted:
Okay so here is what I'm thinking right now...

I have some steel rods that I believe I can bend into the shape of wings. I'm not gonna do giant condore wings but maybe a 3 foot (at most!) wingspan. I'm going to use thick kevlar wick and wrap it around the edge of each wing individually. So I can just touch each wing with the fire and it will light itself. I will most likely be doing fire eating while wearing these (imagine poi with wings, NOT gonna work) so I can use the torches to light it. I'm gonna solder each wing to a metal bar so that gives them something to sit on and something to attach the mounting mechanism to.

As far as mounting them goes I'm going to creat some wire hook things that lay over my shoulders, so there is no straps etc, they just sit on top (But are secure). So I can do my thing with them but can ditch them quickly if necessary.

If you can't stand the heat, get out of my way.


Icarus FordeBRONZE Member
Just Icarus//Spinner//Pyro//Geek
261 posts
Location: New Zealand


Posted:
Might be a good idea to put some extra length on the rods coming out from the lower end, near your butt, so you can push them up and backwards away just by grabbing them if you need to in the event of an emergency.

Make sense?

entheogenGOLD Member
member
173 posts
Location: Berlin, Germany


Posted:
Steel rods should do the trick.

Brass wire works for headpieces, but will not be strong enough as the main frame for wings. Remember wings are much heavier and longer, meaning they need to be multiple times more sturdy/bend resistant. Maybe you could get them to work a couple times, but they would quickly fall apart after a few burns.

Another really important key is to give plenty more safety distance from the fire to body, its really easy to reposition hand candles or fans if its windy, but if the contraption is strapped to your back on both sides, you can't really escape unless you throw the whole thing down.

'There are two mantras in life, yum and yuk. I choose yum.'


Flint_413GOLD Member
Fire Artist and Hooper
181 posts
Location: U.S.A


Posted:
All great ideas! I'm planning on not having them open too wide because, if they are open real wide then they are closer to my skin. If they are more closed they are farther away. If that makes sense.

If you can't stand the heat, get out of my way.


FireTomStargazer
6,650 posts

Posted:
Originally Posted By: entheogenSteel rods should do the trick.

Brass wire works for headpieces, but will not be strong enough as the main frame for wings. Remember wings are much heavier and longer, meaning they need to be multiple times more sturdy/bend resistant. Maybe you could get them to work a couple times, but they would quickly fall apart after a few burns.

Fair point. Headpieces are less heavy and the geometry will apply gravity to the head, meaning there is less force pulling on the individual parts. If made from brass you need to go for some mesh-kind of construction. Though steel rods are heavier, you could get away with thinner rods.

the best smiles are the ones you lead to wink


MetalsavvySILVER Member
Your official poi jeweler
5 posts
Location: Tiny Town, Ohio, USA


Posted:
Just a few notes you may want to try so you keep away from being bogged down by weight but maintain shape/integrity.

For the fire reasons...I would suggest looking to fasten these by a length of thin kevlar rope worn around your neck and keep some scissor on you smile...so that you wear it like a reverse necklace.

Ok...hold up your right hand palm facing your eyes.

For each wing, I would use a thin steel rod bent inwards (where your pinky is) toward your thumb as the 'spine' of each wing.

Attach a two or three thinner rods either welding if you can, or with some kevlar thread for lashing, etc...at any rate I would use two from the center point of that arced pinky piece and then string guitar wire from each end of the 'spine' rod.

Very lightweight-ish, and easy to fill with some strapping/stringing that when lit on fire will 'fill' up the voids to create the wing.

However, this would be very easy to make by using kevlar thread or very thin rope, like embroidary floss size, and first making a net, and then using the rods to flex the net out to where you need it to be. It'd be easy to fill where you want with and over/under wrapping with some flat thread etc.

*** Please wear a soaked longsleeve thick shirt!!! smile

I still have some instructions for netting laying around in the files...if you're interested drop me a pm with your email and i'll hunt them up.

~M

p.s. You may be able to convert a couple sets of fans to suit your goal...

Honey, are you packing?

Hmm..? Yes Dear, I'm just putting away this liquor.


Flint_413GOLD Member
Fire Artist and Hooper
181 posts
Location: U.S.A


Posted:
Metal savvy great ideas!!! x) this is gonna turn out good! grin

If you can't stand the heat, get out of my way.



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