Thread: Fan veils Right-Left conversion

Ooooo, I was so tempted to name this thread 'fanveils and body piercing' but that just creates too many weird pictures in my head...LOL.

Anyway, while I'm asking for help here on Bhuz re. extra-long fan veils, I thought I'd also add a thread that may be of use to anyone who (like me) finds that they need a pair of left- and right-handed fan veils....but ends up with two right handed ones.,f::

I knew that I needed to remove the silk (carefully) from the two end staves, remove the pin (depending on the pin type this bit may be a job for someone who knows how to use power tools safely....i.e. not me, I enlisted help here ..l;,), and reorder the intervening staves (i.e. reverse their order top to bottom).

So far so good...g.: However, finding a replacement for the broken pin was a nightmare. I searched the internet for rivets of a suitable size......then moved on to those pin things that are used to bind books/photo albums etc. (too wide), then jewellery or gardening wire (too bendy)......and finally, yes you know what I'm going to say by now don't you.........body jewellery !!!

Strange but true, I think the stainless steel barbells are absolutely perfect for reconnecting fanveils, although once you've got the right size you will need to use superglue or similar to glue the end ball in place (they're threaded but will come undone with use if not). I ended up buying a 1.6mm (14G?) diameter bar that was 22mm long (but they're available in a wide range of different sizes).

Would love to hear whether anyone has found other ways of reassembling fan veils. Has anyone else tried ....or am I the only crazy one ,r:; ?

That's a good idea. I reversed one fan veil.....well, I didn't do it, my Dad did, since he has a lifetime's collection of odd tools and funny shaped pieces of metal and I do not. Sure enough, it took him about five minutes. The funny shaped piece of metal sort of did the trick, but the staves have a tendency to start slipping off - one end of the pin is OK but the other end was folded over and the fold isn't quite large enough to keep them in place. I've added a hair elastic round it and that seems to be working. A bar bell would be a more elegant solution though.

Originally Posted by mellilahdance

Would love to hear whether anyone has found other ways of reassembling fan veils. Has anyone else tried ....or am I the only crazy one ,r:; ?

Sounds like pretty much the best way - I don't change mine b/c I find it easier to not have them keyed in different directions (in case I pick them up in the wrong hands or for when I switch hands during a dance), but removing the pin and re-ordering is the way to go if you want to switch them out