Damian Jay Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Hi all, Once again I'm on the look out for any help or advice :-) I'm looking to either make or have made a set of giant magic wands ranging from 9 inches up to 10 feet in length.There is a company in the US that markets a seT (see the product and specs HERE ) however I dont like the fact they have to be 'built' as thats not a practical option for my show. (please dont ask me for the method C.M. use I cant give that out. It wouldnt be fair to C.M.)A video clip of the wands in action can be seen and [/url]The second clip shows what the wands look like when a child has all of them together. My objectives for these wands are as follows :-I would like these wands to be made out of a FOAM so its light enough for a child to hold onto several wands at once, and also so that for transporting them they can 'squash' up into a long Parcan style flightcase. During my searches I have found an option to have these made out of a foam similar to the stuff used in bed headboards. A major limitation being that the manufacturer can only produce lengths of upto 1 metre which would then be glued together. this may affect the compressability tho.The other option is to have them made out of the same type of foam used in the manufacture of swimming woggles (the long foam sticks used as flotation aids) The main limitation with this material being its not compressable at all. My questions are these:- 1- does anyone know of a foam manufacurer that can make these for me (ideally in one piece) Several manufacturers can make the larger wands, but only in 1 metre sections that are then glued together which affects the compressability.2 - can anyone offer a suitable alternative to foam ? 3- Any other advice help that I havent considered ? Thank you for your time and help Regards Damian :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ImagineerTom Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 I'm missing something here, why can't you use the CM one - they are made of foam and seem to be everything you're asking for - and at £100 you're not going to get anything custom built for anywhere near that price Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladyjayne Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 2 - can anyone offer a suitable alternative to foam ? Cloth covered coiled springs, like those magic snakes that did the rounds in the 70's? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slipstream Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 I was thinking pipe insulating tube for smaller ones and foam fun noodles for the swiming pool and a "sock" - cheap to replace the cores as they give up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jivemaster Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Noting how much you get for how few dollars I'd be getting them sent by a reasonable speed courier now. With any search time and prototype time the DIY version will likely be inferior to the commercial product and more expensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damian Jay Posted February 25, 2011 Author Share Posted February 25, 2011 Hi All, Bit of a gap in replying as have been busy over the half-term working my little butt off. Thank you to everyone for their help and advice. I have now made the inner parts of the wands :-)I found a very local marine upholsterer that did me a great deal on some foam woo hoo. I have the fabric currently drying over the line (I used Flamebar as I prefer all my material to be fire retardent)Come Sunday I will be sat behind the sewing machine making the covers for all the wands. If I can work out how to get a photo on here I will post a pic of the finished wands :-) Once again, Thank you to everyone for their advice. I made a note of the springs idea :-) that idea loged in my brain for use at a later date :-) Kind Regards Damian :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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