nawl

On Sunday I got a lesson in poi spinning from someone at the juggling club. This was my second time playing with poi. I was hooked.

I bought a pair of shoelaces ($2.19) and a pair of socks ($2.99) from CVS, put a juggling ball into each sock, and tied it to the ends of the shoelaces. It worked surprisingly well, and did not fly apart. However, it's not the real thing.

Second try. I got some wonderful advice from Eric on the details of his poi, and tried to adapt them to my resources as best I could.

Ingredients:
2x 18" 2mm dog collars, $4.99 at PetSmart
"power" split rings (8 ea), $4.99 at Dick's Sporting Goods
"power" swivels (5 ea), $2.99 at Dick's Sporting Goods
quick links (3 ea), $2.19 at Home Depot
5 pack ball set, $3.99 at Target

In the interim, shoelaces and socks from above.

The intended construction goes something like:

wick - quicklink - swivel - split ring (2) - chain - split ring - swivel - split ring - handle

My first-round construction goes something like:

ball - shoelace - quicklink - split ring - swivel - split ring - chain - sock handle

I was given detailed instructions on how to wrap a wick, but I think I'm a long way from using fire, so I was looking for a soft ball that wouldn't hurt too much when I whack myself with it. Until I figure out a better way to attach the balls, they're tied to the quicklink with shoelaces. They haven't flown off yet.

These split rings are hard to work with. It was a lot of struggling with pliers and four hands to get them on anything. I briefly tried out the chains without any swivel, and one swivel really does help with most of the twisting. I experimented with placing the swivel on the handle side of the chain, but it didn't seem to make any difference. Two might be ideal, but I was ready to start playing with them.

The dog collar probably needs to be made out of better metal than it is if I'm ever going to set it on fire.

Stores selling handle-type materials were closed by the time we got there, so I tied the socks in a couple of loops through the top loop of the chain.

They are a couple of inches off the floor with arms down, and the ball just barely clears my body with my arm extended.

Chains make really satisfying whooshing noises as they pass by my head. They hurt more when I hit myself (particularly in the face and hands), but the ball hurts less (and hits everything), so it's about even. The whole assembly is actually lighter than the sock-and-beanbag construction I had before, and it feels cleaner when it moves.

(Note to interested parties: I am actually also doing real work in the form of an exam, final project, homework, reading, and grading this week. It's just less bloggable.)