Fire Wire
Most people don't consider steel flammable but steel wool will burn vigorously if you give it enough oxygen. An easy way to achieve this is to swing the burning wool in a wide circle. The result is surprisingly entertaining because tiny bits of material melt and fly off, creating a firework-like pyrotechnic display.
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danger level
- negligible
- moderate
- high
- do not do this
tools
- C. Lighter / Matches
materials
- A. Extra Fine Steel Wool
- B. 1/8" x 6' Steel Rope
photos
how-to
- Dress yourself in pants, a hooded long-sleeve shirt, and safety glasses. There will be sparks flying everywhere so it is vital to protect your skin and face. Also find an open area without anything flammable nearby.
- Tie a slip knot at the end of the steel rope. Steel rope is necessary because the heat will be intense.
- Tighten the slip knot around a wad of steel wool.
- Use a lighter or match to start the wool burning then quickly start swinging the rope around in a circle.
- Clean up: When the wool is finished sparking the remaining metal will glow red hot for a long time, so have a bucket of water handy to cool it off.
Jul 22, 2007 | 6:26 am
rik wrote:
wow this is freaking awesome!!!!! i will try that later..
Jul 24, 2007 | 7:59 pm
E.O.D. wrote:
Looks like the plasma wip from that video game “Raghet and Clank”
Jul 25, 2007 | 12:03 am
Anonymous wrote:
dude ,i tried that and my yard caught on fire!!!!!!!!
Jul 29, 2007 | 12:30 am
Awesome wrote:
Haha, thats awesome, gotta try that sometime.
Aug 1, 2007 | 11:18 pm
ddp wrote:
Those look like Kratos’ Swords.
Aug 9, 2007 | 3:40 pm
kid@skool wrote:
man this is cool. will try it when we have to do something for science.
Aug 9, 2007 | 9:03 pm
Jack wrote:
This starts fires very easily so have a generous supply of water nearby (for the ground AND yourself). Other than that its a riot.
Aug 22, 2007 | 8:03 pm
fsdfsdfsfs wrote:
i´ve just did that it was so cooooooooool
Aug 28, 2007 | 6:17 pm
beatgnu wrote:
Will be tryin it this weekend! Yup.
Sep 4, 2007 | 5:46 pm
A BETTER WAY TO DO THIS wrote:
Use any regular rope, tie it to an unbent metal clothes hanger, and clasp the metal around the steel wool pad. This way you don’t have to buy steel rope.
Sep 5, 2007 | 9:49 pm
Just Call me Mark wrote:
this is wicked, i’m on a high school robotics team and this will be one of our many ill advised activities during the off season.
Sep 18, 2007 | 6:31 am
irolo! wrote:
haha this sounds like fun so i will be sure of trying it and like the robotics kid said i will make a(or try) launcher for the wool or a catapult which would be fun
Oct 3, 2007 | 8:08 am
alchemist wrote:
dude this is so cool but betr yet try usin 4 to 5 pads of steel wool thth will be so much fun….
Oct 15, 2007 | 9:10 pm
iarewelder wrote:
what a great website find. I am a welder by trade and have a friend who owns an analytical laboratory. I can make almost all of these experiments.
Yes, steel wool is highly flammable. I remember as a kid back in the seventies, I saw a show on TV that gave a survival tip for starting a fire with steel wool and a D cell battery. I went and got the steel wool out from under the sink, then took apart the flashlight and went into my bedroom and closed the door. DAMN, the steel wool lit up like gunpowder, kneejerk reaction , I threw it and it sends the curtains up in flames, which fall onto the bed starting the bed on fire.
Oct 28, 2007 | 9:16 am
Firedancer wrote:
you see, it’s quite popular thing among firedancers due to nice look and the effect it makes on spectators…
and imagine this move http://www.yellowtrip.pl/img/thumb/fireshow002.jpg
(so called “flower”) with such a gear…
THAT’S nice
Nov 3, 2007 | 9:43 pm
Jaythedogg wrote:
Wear long sleeves, pants & a hat, like the warning says.
Try wearing gloves to protect your hands from abrasions from the steel cable.
Brillo “Soap Free” polishing pads are fine steel wool & work AWESOME for this. I take two pads & put them in the loop, they last a long time, but your arms tend to get tired after a bit if not used to it.
Also, do not look up when doing this, burning pieces can hit your face, or eyes. Also, wear a baseball cap backwards to keep embers off your neck as well.
I have burn holes in my shirt, as I did not button my jacket & the pad came loose mid burn, yea, I’m glad I smelled the burning before it started on my flesh. :)
Be safe folx!
Nov 9, 2007 | 8:21 pm
KP wrote:
Hm…maybe i could combine this and the spudgun???
Nov 18, 2007 | 5:50 pm
Serith wrote:
Not to mention dangerous, which makes it better!!!!!
So thats why this website is called dangerouslyfun.com
Nov 26, 2007 | 11:28 am
Sam wrote:
you can use a battery to light the steel wool too
Dec 11, 2007 | 11:07 pm
2bapyro wrote:
Try combining this with the ping pong pistol variations.especially the revolver one. just put a hole in the back of the ping pong balls and stuff it with the steel wool. BOOM! Flying ping pong balls on fire going everywhere.
Dec 14, 2007 | 9:41 pm
Anonymous wrote:
a 9v battery actually works better than a lighter or match because it gets it sparking faster
Dec 16, 2007 | 8:26 pm
sphinx1618 wrote:
I’m gonna setup my r/c WW2 fighter plane to ignite and drop these little bundles of joy as well as pack my toy rocket with steel wool instead of the parachute. Aaaahhhh the possibilities…..
Dec 19, 2007 | 6:32 pm
random wrote:
should fire a lit piece of steel wool out of a spud gun cuz it would spark tonnes in the air
Jan 21, 2008 | 1:01 am
hooligan wrote:
I tried this and filmed it and its a great effect but i set my neighbors front lawn on fire and had to call the fire dept. This is extremely dangerous. You might want to wait till you have snow on the ground, although it doesn’t snow here in florida.
Jan 23, 2008 | 8:01 pm
Anonymous wrote:
I want to put one on a bike.
Feb 15, 2008 | 9:25 pm
IzKraK wrote:
I just did this last weekend and its hella cool. it only cost me $5.50 too. i think it burns faster and brighter when you unwrap the wool and reroll it loosely, but of course it doesn’t last as long, idk try it out and tell me what you think.
Feb 17, 2008 | 10:44 am
grenfish wrote:
Don’t try this on grass, better do this on sand / concrete.
Mar 3, 2008 | 2:58 pm
Toasted wrote:
VERY,VERY COOL!
Remember kids, “STOP-DROP-AND-ROLL” HA,HA!
Mar 5, 2008 | 6:41 pm
brillo man wrote:
Always handy to have a brillo pad in yir back pocket when flying in case you need material to start a fire when you crash up a snowy mountain. Bit itchy on yir arse though!.
Mar 9, 2008 | 10:48 am
anonimo wrote:
where I can find steel wool?
Mar 10, 2008 | 7:57 pm
Dangerously Fun wrote:
@ anonimo:
You can buy steel wool at any hardware store and usually Wal-mart, Target, etc.
Mar 12, 2008 | 4:35 pm
TheJadedStoner wrote:
you can start the reaction with a 9V battery, just fluff up a bit of the steel wool and brush it against the the battery terminals
Mar 14, 2008 | 8:13 am
Hard2theCore wrote:
This shal be the highlite to any teenagers street party keep it up.
Apr 11, 2008 | 9:09 am
Be Careful wrote:
hey guys, just be sure you wear a hoodie, this WILL cause 3rd degree burns. nothing like having molten pieces of metal dug out of your arm.
Apr 15, 2008 | 9:04 pm
juliet wrote:
i have always loved fire. so i decided to do a science report on it. and now it’s safe to say: im a (safe) pyro. thanks. this provided me with awesome info, and kept it entertaining.
May 30, 2008 | 4:15 pm
ananomous wrote:
cant wait till 4th of july
Jun 24, 2008 | 9:56 am
that is not as cool as the thing i invented wrote:
this is not that cool but it is nice but not as nice as the invention me and my cousin
Jun 28, 2008 | 5:39 am
2D wrote:
wat do u do if u dont have about 2 of the materals…hee hee
Jun 30, 2008 | 12:04 pm
Brenden wrote:
I didn’t know where I could post it, so I went to the first thing on this page. This is to dangerously fun. Did you know that your contact email address doesn’t work, or is fake? I tried emailing it, but I got an error email back saying there was no such email. I was trying to email an idea.
Jun 30, 2008 | 8:45 pm
amityville horror wrote:
well this just completly rocks man
Jul 7, 2008 | 5:40 pm
Dom wrote:
nice1 dude’s this will b jokes when i show it 2 the lads
Jul 15, 2008 | 11:00 pm
caca wrote:
its so cool i did it at a empty parking lot i was a mess the wool flew off into a bush and it burned down
Jul 16, 2008 | 4:06 pm
cool kid wrote:
cool I will try it later!
Jul 18, 2008 | 6:57 pm
joseph wrote:
lol so cool. I want to try that!
Jul 23, 2008 | 3:13 pm
pimp… wrote:
lol, totally pimp :{P
Jul 31, 2008 | 10:01 am
will wrote:
will you be publishing any more articles as these are awesome :D good on ya mate
Aug 7, 2008 | 7:04 pm
pakistanipatriot wrote:
Where can I buy the steel rope. I looked on Lowes and Home Depot website but I couldn’t find it. Do they advertise these things.
Aug 19, 2008 | 9:25 pm
mateo wrote:
Dude, that’s awesome, gotta try that. You guys should post more projects, this website is awesome
Aug 27, 2008 | 9:55 am
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Aug 27, 2008 | 1:24 pm
Concerned Person wrote:
Are you guys gonna post anymore projects?
Aug 28, 2008 | 4:42 pm
kewl wrote:
you should put the patassium nitrate and suger smoke bomb on your list
Sep 16, 2008 | 6:41 pm
outlawbt wrote:
This has reminded me of my childhood… I was doing this as a kid :)
Sep 24, 2008 | 2:01 pm
Pramod wrote:
Hey, it seems very interesting. I will definitely try it soon..
Oct 7, 2008 | 7:42 pm
fantom fire wrote:
thts wat i was thinking mixing this with another 1 like kp said
Oct 16, 2008 | 5:41 pm
Physics maniac wrote:
Do you have a video of this experiment? I’d like to see it done!
Oct 20, 2008 | 4:44 pm
dildolizard wrote:
i whiped my sister with this it burnt her good
Oct 20, 2008 | 4:46 pm
redbull wrote:
yea i hit my neighbors cat with it and it died!
i hate jews fuk jews off
Oct 23, 2008 | 10:38 am
maddog wrote:
steel wool also catches when you apply a 6v battery to it, ez to start camp fires =)
Oct 24, 2008 | 9:34 pm
Mick wrote:
F***King AWESOME!!@!@(%$^&%$&%$*(%!*(^&)!^(!&^&*(
WOOT WOOT FIRE BURN YAY
E[ =
Oct 30, 2008 | 6:21 pm
Geof wrote:
This thing inspired me! Now i will make IMPROVED NAPALM with combination of grinded (if possible) steel wool in it! MUAAHAHAHA BURN!
By the way.. i hope i survive…
Nov 3, 2008 | 10:28 am
alec wrote:
wow this experiment sounds like so much fun! and i wish i could do it but my mom would kill me if i did and my grandma and grandpa for messing up their yard
Nov 12, 2008 | 3:42 pm
Marshall Sellers wrote:
68n81i3dj73934l5
Nov 15, 2008 | 10:07 am
orangesrhyme wrote:
@anonimo
From a metal sheep! Ba-dum-chh!
Nov 16, 2008 | 1:32 pm
ACDC wrote:
sweet
Nov 17, 2008 | 1:25 pm
awsome wrote:
i tried this and it flew through my neighbors open window and set their house on fire.
don’t try this at home kids
Nov 17, 2008 | 1:28 pm
fermine wrote:
i did the same thing but i set my back yard on fire
Nov 21, 2008 | 8:06 am
Tim wrote:
it looks very dangerous !
Nov 28, 2008 | 2:41 pm
astrdytfkugl wrote:
maybe i can launch this out of my spud gun some how
Dec 1, 2008 | 9:02 pm
jakoby wrote:
omg!!!!!! i make the biggest mistake possible by not reading this clearlt …” A. EXTRA FINE STEEL WOOL “… now i’ve ender up with minor burns and two bags of the THICKEST steel wool available.
P.S. i’m such a peff!!!!!!!
Dec 11, 2008 | 10:46 am
pseudonym wrote:
you don’t need steel rope.
i didn’t have any.
insulated copper wiring works fine.
Dec 11, 2008 | 10:51 am
pseudonym wrote:
i accidentally hit myself with it.
my arms were getting tired so i switched hands.
lemme tell you, that stuff gets hot.
just a smack, i didn’t even hold it on my back, just bam and then it bounced off. even then, it still burnt a hole through my hoodie and my tee shirt and gave me a good little blister.
BE CAREFUL.
Dec 17, 2008 | 6:54 pm
blah wrote:
will cap gun caps ignite steel wool?
Dec 18, 2008 | 3:07 pm
blah wrote:
this stuff is like thermite Ill bet!
Dec 19, 2008 | 4:36 pm
jjkrockon wrote:
I’ve done all of theese and want more dangerously fun stuff to do what other web sights are there
Dec 19, 2008 | 7:15 pm
drummer69 wrote:
dude i almost got kicked outta school for using this as a science project lol
Dec 21, 2008 | 6:55 pm
BRENNO wrote:
instead of matches or lighter dab it with a 9-volt to light
Dec 24, 2008 | 5:48 pm
Penisface wrote:
WHY ISNT THIS WEBSITE GETTING ANY NEW MATERIAL? THEY’VE HAD THE SAME F*CKING EXPERIMENTS FOR YEARS.
Dec 26, 2008 | 1:52 pm
kimo wrote:
Very cool but It’s a pity that your site haven’t updated
Jan 4, 2009 | 5:01 am
itmirit wrote:
dudes you know these leafe blower`s for lawn .. tie it on front of it , light and start blowing .. its like a sparkle thrower .. cool stuff
Jan 4, 2009 | 8:58 pm
Tat3rt0t wrote:
i tried this out. very fun but air gets dense around u and smells when u spin it. but it was awesome but shortlived. lasted maybe 5 seconds with one and 15 secs with 2. (steel wool)
Jan 7, 2009 | 8:10 pm
me wrote:
omfg… i just brought 1 of these kits to do this and it costed me $120… :(
Jan 28, 2009 | 8:34 pm
a chinese boy wrote:
It’S good?
???????????????
Mar 3, 2009 | 5:44 am
Alexwebmaster wrote:
Hello webmaster
I would like to share with you a link to your site
write me here preonrelt@mail.ru
Mar 10, 2009 | 6:29 pm
pyrodave wrote:
WOW! I GZOTTA TRY THIS! this site is awesome I already built the spud gun and stilts
Mar 18, 2009 | 10:38 am
lalalala wrote:
hmmm…. looks cool but like something for 4th of july
Mar 28, 2009 | 8:39 pm
astrdytfkugl wrote:
All this stupid shlt is for n00bs.
Mar 30, 2009 | 8:52 am
(h!3f wrote:
useing steel wool and putting it in wiffle thats the right size for a spud gun would be something to try and to and weight to the wiffle ball so that its gets distance i would say maybe adding a marble”or a few” in the center of the wiffle ball but the flame from the spud gun going off might not be enough to light the steel wool depending on what you use as the combustent acohol might work
Mar 30, 2009 | 2:27 pm
Guilty1 wrote:
I had that same Thought… And Acted on it…
My “Combustent” of choice is, “Nail polish Remover”
It gives a Great foot long Flame when Fired, And Did ignight the Steel Wool Because of the Natural Oil within the stuff…I Did however have to Wrap the wool around a 4In. Bolt for Weight, and just tied it on tight with Kite String…
Mar 31, 2009 | 8:28 am
Mark wrote:
Here, in Argentina, children used to use this as fireworks in Christmas, now we left this “danger” aside for “safe” illegal, crappy, chinese firecrackers.
Apr 5, 2009 | 5:10 pm
ANARCHIST wrote:
HAHA try it.. write something with gas on the ground.. and then drop your toy on it xD it will burn whatever you wrote with the gas and it will leave it for a while have fun getting it off tho lol.. ohh yeh highly dangerouse seeing as gas explodes ALOT! :D have fun kids
Apr 10, 2009 | 12:19 pm
jplumbob wrote:
Wow I made this and it flew off and went in the window of a car going down the road. Car caught fire and went off the road and hit a house which also caught fire. House fire was so big that a helicopter flying overhead caught fire and landed in the local gas station. As you would expect the gas station exploded and there were propane tanks there that went off like rockets. One of the tanks landed on the school roof and it also started to burn. As luck would have it the school was located beside a fireworks shop and it looked like the 4th of july in november. When all was over 45 buildings were destroyed but at least no one was hurt. So be careful.
Apr 28, 2009 | 8:15 am
lol wrote:
dose it work….
May 6, 2009 | 12:10 am
nice wrote:
NICE, my friends and my tried it, it worked realy good, but we only got steel wool with soap in it, is that bad???
May 8, 2009 | 3:53 pm
Raj o.O wrote:
i love this i had great fun with it around my village
if you get wire wool and get a battery thats good fun as well you can light lots of thing. i sometimes use it to light my fags if i have’nt got my lighter
May 28, 2009 | 11:11 pm
pckopatF1 wrote:
i tried it but be careful if you don’t you can burn yourself :D
Jun 14, 2009 | 12:40 pm
go-outside-already wrote:
I can’t believe you have read all the way down to here. Go outside and get some fresh air for f**k sake.
Jun 29, 2009 | 2:19 pm
Dangerman wrote:
I will try that on the 4th of July.
WAHOOOOOOOOOO!!!