Build Fire Contact Staff

Materials

• Tape
• Grip Tape
• Tubing
• 2x 8" Wooden Dowel
• Should fit snuggly in your aluminum tube.
• 10'(~3m) of 3"(~7.5cm) or 4"(~10cm) Tape Wick
• Kevlar Thread
• 4-6x Screws
• 4-6x Finishing Washers

Jump to 3"/4" Wrapped Contact Staff's Construction

First thing to do is to drill two (3"(~7.5cm) or 4"(~10cm) Wick) or three evenly spaced holes (4"(~10cm) Wick) in the end of the tube.These holes should not go through both sides of the tube. With aluminum tube you can make the holes smaller than your screws. However with steel or titanium, you will dull your screws if you have to put them through the metal. Then fit the dowels snuggly into the tube. The dowel serves two purposes, to prevent rapid transfer of head down the tube, and to plug the end of the staff to prevent strange, potentially dangerous effects from happening. You can also use metal plugs to increase the end weight. Next drill pilot holes in the wood where the holes you drilled in the tube were before. Then use tape or a marker to mark the end of the staff where the dowel is to show the orientation of the pilot holes. This will help you put the screws in the right place after you have wrapped the wick.

Cut the 10'(~3m) of wick in half, then take one of the halves and tape one end onto the staff and wrap it tightly around the tube. When you near the end of your wrapping, find the where the holes you drilled should be. Then place the washers on the screws and then screw them through the wick into the dowel below. Once the screws are in place, wrap the wick over the screws then sew the wick down. You don't need to cover the screws, but it can protect you from the hot steel.

Putting on the Grip Tape

Find the center of the staff by balancing it on your finger. Mark that point with tape or a marker then take your grip and wrap it on each side of the tape for about a 1' and a half. Use tape, either gaff or electrical to tape down the grip, you may want to do this on both sides of the grip if it is unwrapping.