# Wire Wool Spinning



## GIZTO29 (May 8, 2009)

Ive been dying to try this and as the early nights are here i arranged with a workmate to give it a try. Firstly as the wirewool breaks up easily we decided to make something to hold it in to spin it...... a basket of sorts. We thought it would be best to attach it to chain so that it would have a bit of weight to swing well or at worst if some rogues appeared and liked the look of the D5000 i had a canny weapon to ward them off ;D

Found some mesh at work and got busy with the TIG









Under construction









Now i was a bit weary about getting burnt alive so out came the protective gear! Heres the full kit we would use. I had my overalls on which are fire retardant.









We chose a location outside the workshop away from anything flamable and got the wirewool, swinging contraption and the 9V battery we would use to ignite the wool ready. We had already tested the wools ability to ignite with the battery and let me tell you its pretty ferocious! 
After showing my mate how to work the camera etc we set up and i got the battery etc ready.
We had limited success to be fair and the wool was gone very quickly!

Attempt #1










Attempt #2

I put double in this time ( a full piece as you would get for detailing) but it went wrong. I wanted to try and get the sparks to approach the camera bouncing across the floor but the circle was at the wrong angle and just looks a mess! 










Last #2 Attempts with the last piece.



















The wool we used was very fine and i think this mayve been the problem as it was down to a small cindering ball in a matter of 5 seconds!

Has anyone else tried this and do you have any tips?

Oh and for the record i dint get burnt but did nearly rip my little finger off and also hit myself in the toon halls with the cage when i tried to change direction! OOF

Thanks, Phil


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## Davemm (Mar 9, 2009)

some nice pics there


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## Porta (Jan 3, 2007)

Cool pictures!


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## Sharpy (Mar 25, 2007)

lmfao @ toon halls havent heard that for years 

I know the second pic went a little wrong but they still all look really good, good on you for going to such lengths to create a great picture :thumb:


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## Leemack (Mar 6, 2009)

Lol Phil

Nights in Toon must be boring at work


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## Katana (Mar 31, 2007)

Wire wool poi, used to do standard fire poi but never had the guts to try swinging two of these around my body. Hitting yourself in the nuts is reasonably common when swinging stuff around, i've done it enough and it never gets easier.
Here's a nice guide on safety and tips for them in general Steel wool sparkly Poi - safety guide

Tips for camera work, get a tripod even a cheap one, if you can't use a remote release use the camera's self timer (normally for family group shots) so you don't have to touch the camera while it's in operation. Stand back a bit more, seems all the trails weren't in shot.

Good first attempts certainly, keep at it


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## GIZTO29 (May 8, 2009)

Sharpy said:


> lmfao @ toon halls havent heard that for years
> 
> I know the second pic went a little wrong but they still all look really good, good on you for going to such lengths to create a great picture :thumb:


Thanks Sharpy. Its trial and error i suppose. It couldve went worse i suppose:lol:



Showshine said:


> Lol Phil
> 
> Nights in Toon must be boring at work


Haha, We did it straight after work, 20 mins in total was all due to running out of wool!



Katana said:


> Wire wool poi, used to do standard fire poi but never had the guts to try swinging two of these around my body. Hitting yourself in the nuts is reasonably common when swinging stuff around, i've done it enough and it never gets easier.
> Here's a nice guide on safety and tips for them in general Steel wool sparkly Poi - safety guide
> 
> Tips for camera work, get a tripod even a cheap one, if you can't use a remote release use the camera's self timer (normally for family group shots) so you don't have to touch the camera while it's in operation. Stand back a bit more, seems all the trails weren't in shot.
> ...


Safety.....haha, i did have Proban Overalls, gloves and glasses/hat on so i pretty much was working safely and well away from anything flamable (apart from humans):lol:
We had the camera on a tripodand used the ML-L3 remote but the guy operating the camera had never used it before so it was a little frustrating.
Thanks for the guide and feedback
Phil


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## Katana (Mar 31, 2007)

Heh just re-read that post and noticed you said you had a D5000, i got one as well. I have mine insured in case i ever get mugged, i also put black tape over every Nikon marking or label on the camera body and lenses so you can't tell what make or model it is in passing, i also don't use that show-off nikon brand neck strap, horrible thing, might as well advertise what camera you have, i put it on my cheap polaroid camera 
Ever had issues with that ML-L3 remote? i've found the D5000 has a issue sometimes where it won't use it from the rear IR sensor only the front one.

I wasn't worried about the safety aspect (though it is important with this stuff) it's just that the guide was safety and tips, i just copied the post title for the link.


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## GIZTO29 (May 8, 2009)

Katana said:


> Heh just re-read that post and noticed you said you had a D5000, i got one as well. I have mine insured in case i ever get mugged, i also put black tape over every Nikon marking or label on the camera body and lenses so you can't tell what make or model it is in passing, i also don't use that show-off nikon brand neck strap, horrible thing, might as well advertise what camera you have, i put it on my cheap polaroid camera
> Ever had issues with that ML-L3 remote? i've found the D5000 has a issue sometimes where it won't use it from the rear IR sensor only the front one.
> 
> I wasn't worried about the safety aspect (though it is important with this stuff) it's just that the guide was safety and tips, i just copied the post title for the link.


The ML-L3 is spot on and works from behind at around 45 degrees. I wasnt aware there was an IR sensor on the front........ BTW, mines a copy off EBay and it was £3 Spot on aswell
Phil


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## Katana (Mar 31, 2007)

OK, maybe it's just my one being a bit annoying. The front sensor is on the hand grip just below the red strip, a small opaque circle. I'm guessing so you can do self portraits or group shots with you in them.


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## Auto Detox (Dec 22, 2007)

That looks great fun, good effort mate


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