This is a spinning top with my usual design with a recessed tip, which can spin for almost one hour when it is spun by multiple twirls. The flywheel is made of copper. The wooden parts are made of snakewood. Diameter mm 60, weight 332 grams.
I used opals for the decorative ring of the top; it is the first time I use this expensive material, it is very nice, it is partially transparent and has reflections with different colors, from green to blue, sometimes even orange. The appearence of these opals changes depending on the light, if the light is scattered the brightness and color of the opals are more uniform, when the light is direct instead, isolated bright reflections of different colors become evident, as you can see in the video.
The sequences of the video with close-ups of the opals were made in direct sunlight, which best reveals the beauty of these gemstones. The last sequence too was made in direct sunlight, with quite closed diaphragm, to simulate the night, while maintaining the bright reflections of the opals.
I made a case for this top. Usually I don't make cases, but this was requested from the owner of the top.
I used leadwood for the case, a very dense, hard, and stable wood. The lower parts of the case are made with Delrin. I never used Delrin before, and I can say that it is a fantastic material to turn on the lathe, it turns easily, and it can be sanded and polished and the quality of the finish is good.
Above all I used Delrin because it is a very suitable material for making the thread of the screw closing of the case. In the past I used aluminum for the aim but Delrin is better because it is a smoother material and the action of closing is more comfortable, while with the aluminum thread instead there is a slight tendency to get stuck, nothing serious, but aluminum on aluminum doesn't slide so well.
The inside of the case is covered with a black carpet.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYgQDRWWockThe tip of the top is easily replaceable. There is a taper joint and the tip is simply press fit into the top.
Tips can be replaced with pliers, like so:
(the photo above is about the top Nr. 37 but the taper joint is the same in the Nr. 39. Flywheel not polished yet.)
This top can be used with a HSS tip or with a carbide tip. The carbide tip allows for longer spins, up to almost one hour. With the HSS tip there is less wear and longer duration of the contact points.
Normally I use a HSS tip in tops like this, I use the carbide one only when I want longest spins.
When the tip becomes weared out, it can be resharpened, so that, even after many years, it is possible to restore the tip, and the top will spin perfectly again, like a new one.
There is a honing guide, which has to be used with a diamond sharpening card, which makes easier the procedure:
In tops like this, also, the balance can be fine tuned.
I am very finicky about balance, a well balanced top is beautiful to see while it spins.
Also, a well balanced top is more suitable for to observe the behaviour of a spinning top, trying to understand the physics which rules its movements. I like to think about the physics of spinning tops, I made a few videos about and I will make others in the future.
I developed a method for to balance accurately my tops. This method requires some time, patience, and some manual skills, so it is not suitable for persons feeling not to have them.
I teach the method to the persons interested in my tops.
Also I described it in two or three of my older videos.