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I've been wondering if there's a reason (apart from price) why people don't tend to make metal hoops rather than using plastic tubing?
In my quest for the smallest and lightest of hoops, I've found that there seem to be compelling reasons to try using aluminium tubing - for one thing, I prefer really skinny hoops (the practise hoops I made are 8' of 3/8" 90-psi tubing, and because they're the infinity-sign design they collapse so small they fit in a messenger bag), and when you're getting into hoops that small and thin the irrigation tubing simply isn't sturdy enough to support wicks. I would love to be able to have a hoop that didn't have to be 3/4" in diameter and subsequently be that much heavier than the ones I practise with, but I've never seen a metal fire hoop (though I HAVE used aluminum practise hoops, which are completely awesome).
The only downside I can really see to using aluminium is that I'd have to come up with a different way to collapse them (probably screw-together sections would make the most sense), but I've not made many fire toys so I'd love some input before I start working on my design.
Do any of you fabulous hoop-makers have any experience/experiments with making hoops out of metal that you could share with me?
In my quest for the smallest and lightest of hoops, I've found that there seem to be compelling reasons to try using aluminium tubing - for one thing, I prefer really skinny hoops (the practise hoops I made are 8' of 3/8" 90-psi tubing, and because they're the infinity-sign design they collapse so small they fit in a messenger bag), and when you're getting into hoops that small and thin the irrigation tubing simply isn't sturdy enough to support wicks. I would love to be able to have a hoop that didn't have to be 3/4" in diameter and subsequently be that much heavier than the ones I practise with, but I've never seen a metal fire hoop (though I HAVE used aluminum practise hoops, which are completely awesome).
The only downside I can really see to using aluminium is that I'd have to come up with a different way to collapse them (probably screw-together sections would make the most sense), but I've not made many fire toys so I'd love some input before I start working on my design.
Do any of you fabulous hoop-makers have any experience/experiments with making hoops out of metal that you could share with me?
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Boston
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Re: Question about making ultralight fire hoops
Tue, December 2, 2008 - 9:30 AMcost in flex vs fold scenarios. Weight. wait... WEIGHT!!! Plastic is about 400 times lighter than metal, even aluminum. Cost of production time (plastic tubing naturally spools round, Aluminum tubing is straight and must be bent. Connectivity, yes. Machinability (plastic is WAY easier to drill and cut). -
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Re: Question about making ultralight fire hoops
Tue, December 2, 2008 - 12:28 PMTedward~
3/8" aluminium tubing is not very heavy at all, even though it is heavier than the equivalent in plastic...
Cost isn't really a problem, considering that I would only need 8' of the stuff.
I have access to a machine shop complete with a pipe bender and a drill press, and a professional welder and a professional mechanic at my disposal, so the machinability is covered.
Production time also isn't a problem, as I'm only making hoops for myself.
I want to use metal because I hate 3/4" tuning and like a hoop that's made with tubing under 1/2" in diameter - the skinny plastic tubing isn't strong enough to support wicks...
Do you (or anyone else) have any suggestions about making super-light wicks that you'd be willing to share?
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Re: Question about making ultralight fire hoops
Tue, December 2, 2008 - 1:55 PMWel, also the skinnier the hoop the more it "cuts" into the hooper. They're just more confortable when larger.
For that matter, you could take an 18" band and bend it back on itself.... -
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Re: Question about making ultralight fire hoops
Tue, December 2, 2008 - 2:48 PMTed,I think he understands the pros and cons of skinny hoops verses thick hoops and is actually looking for help making a skinny fire hoop.
Lux, I am having exactly the same problem with finding a fire hoop that i like. My hoop style draws a lot from a circus background and we use really skinny hoops, It becomes very difficult if not impossible to use a thick hoop once you have three or more of them going on different parts of your body at once and the skinny hoops are really good for fast precise movements. The same reason skinny hoops are so good is the same reason a lot of people don't like them, it takes a lot more skill and practice to make them look good but once you get it you have heaps more control over the hoop rather than being controlled by it.
I have previously made my own hoops using some of the special hoops we made out of pipe we got custom extruded from a plastic company this worked well because the plastic is a lot more ridged than your usual polypipe. But unfortunately I do not have the equipment needed to make this fire hoop collapsible and the width of the one i made once i added the wicks was really difficult to transport.
Also Ted I have never found a skinny hoop that 'cut' into me at all even when using ones made of aluminium that was quite heavy. -
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Re: Question about making ultralight fire hoops
Tue, December 2, 2008 - 2:52 PMOh. Really? Well, then yeah, that's easy. Gimme a couple of days. How skinny you want them?
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Re: Question about making ultralight fire hoops
Tue, December 2, 2008 - 3:23 PMGah,
Your not understanding. Both Lux and i are looking for advice. We are not looking to buy your fire equipment and I don't see how you can make me a collapsible fire hoop in a few days out of hoops that i have and you have never seen?
Also the other limiting factor to me buying a fire hoop which i did not mention before (because i don't intend to buy one) is the fact that the cost buying just one from the states and having it shipped to Australia would probably cost as much as my entire kit plus some and i am looking at getting 4 or 5 It is not feasible. -
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Re: Question about making ultralight fire hoops
Tue, December 2, 2008 - 7:28 PMOkay, I re-read, and yeah, I got off track, the ADD kicked in before I read the last couple of sentences of the original post.
So, you want to collapse a thin aluminum hoop?
Hmmm, since you're working with metal, some of these ideas should work better than plastic:
- Compression fittings have a slide ring that locks ball bearings into place. Cut a groove into the inside of the tube and use a small compression fitting in the other pipe.
- Thread a guide in one tube and drill a hole on the outside edge of the other and hang a spring off the end of the guide tube with a small handle and a pin that fits in the hole.
- or a guide tube with a grab and pull latch (like on a tool box) -
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Re: Question about making ultralight fire hoops
Wed, December 3, 2008 - 8:11 AMBlueberry ~ Thanks : )
Yeah, I learned a lot of my hooping from two circus performers who used teensy metal hoops, so I find them way more comfortable and maneuverable than the standard huge plastic ones...And my fire hoops are an endless source of dismay because of that. The thicker tubing is too heavy and bruises me like crazy...
Tedward ~ I quite like the idea of the compression fittings, though I feel like they would add rather a lot of weight. I'm trying to come up with a system in which the wicks attach at the connection points thus holding the hoop together, any ideas? I saw something once that involved a metal tongue welded inside one of the tubes, which had an insert nut attached and stuck into the other tube, which had a hole drilled in it for the wick to come through and screw into the insert nut, but I don't remember exactly how it was made.
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Re: Question about making ultralight fire hoops
Wed, December 3, 2008 - 10:54 AMYeah, that's tobascos idea.
www.irongypsy.com/hoop.htm
It's workable on larger scale, but I don't know what it would do on smaller scale. Give it a try though...
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