Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[James]

Hey!





I have recently finished (given up) manufacturing Top Nr. 6. It is Nr.6 according to my youtube channel because some of my earliest tops were so bad I didn't want to showcase them. In reality this is my 9th spinning top. My plan was to make a top with brass flywheel and aluminium knurled core; similar to those of Lambda. Unfortunately, due to my extreme lack of expertise on the lathe, I made many mistakes ... constantly. My first attempt buckled due to a too-thin stem. The second had an incorrectly sized hole for the tip. Considering this, the top spun for 9 minutes with the first stem and for 13 on the second. Not too shabby. Here is the link to a short and poorly made video about this spinning top. Please consider subscribing to my channel: Spinning Tops.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uu5sO7qE3Js

[Iacopo]

Hi, James.  You made a nice top !  I like the idea of the replaceable cores/stems. You could develop a modular spinning top with replaceable parts, and experiment with different combinations.
As for the errors, see the positive side of it; recognizing many errors means you are learning many things.

[Mermouy]

Hi, James.  You made a nice top !  I like the idea of the replaceable cores/stems. You could develop a modular spinning top with replaceable parts, and experiment with different combinations.
As for the errors, see the positive side of it; recognizing many errors means you are learning many things.

Agree! My grandmother used to say : you always learn more of your m8stakes than your successes ...

[jim in paris]

salut james

there is a saying which we came up with, at the time of pirate radios in France

" c'est dans les expériences négatives que l'on trouve le ferment pour continuer"

it's in negative experiences that one finds the ferment to go on


keep it spinning

jim

[James]

Iacopo,

Thank you very much. Yes I had been thinking about the modular spinning top idea, or at least being able to replace the brass flywheel as so much effort goes into making it! (as i'm sure you know) A 3 piece top: flywheel, tip and stem would be easy to make modular. The items can be press fitted. As you may know, with my early tops, the tips were held by bluetack! This may not seem great because there is a looseness to the top, however adjusting the tip is very easy. I used the paint technique to find the leaning side, and gently pushed the tip in that direction. After a few minutes, the balance would be decent. What i am trying to say is, I think maybe a modular top is a good idea as an experiment. Perhaps you might try making one some day. I'm sure you would do a good job.

-James

[James]

Mermouy and Jim in paris,

Thank you very much. I have definitely learned a lot in the making of this top. I am certainly continuing manufacturing them.

-James

[the Earl of Whirl]

Thanks for your interest and your perseverance with you it top making.  We need more people like you!!!