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[Christop]

I've been learning how to use my lathe and ended up making a 4" diameter 400 gram solid oak top with a delrin tip and have no idea how to throw it. When I try to throw it normally it falls on the ground before full extension or doesn't turn all the way over. I'm sure part of it is the rope but I managed to make an ok 3-ply rope made of 6 strand of size 10 crochet thread that should work ok to at least just get it spinning if I could actually throw it.

Any tips on how to throw a big top?

[Texture]

This video may or may not help:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdWT19Z9fj4&ab_channel=DazzlingDave

This method only works if you have a slightly shorter string.

[jim in paris]

salut christop

I know what you mean  and there are some solutions 
the problem is the weight of the top and maybe the shape too..
you could try the under hand throw , with a thick enough rope and a good length (2.50 m to start)
or
you could also try the taiwan style throw ,like for target shots: the top is presented slightly tilting to the left, and the top is released when the arm is in full extension , in fact , the throw is exactly similar  to when you play "pétanque"
try to find one video with taiwan target shots

have fun experimenting
jim

PS :on the whole , you could also "diet" this top  so as to reach 300 grams

[Christop]

salut christop

I know what you mean  and there are some solutions 
the problem is the weight of the top and maybe the shape too..
you could try the under hand throw , with a thick enough rope and a good length (2.50 m to start)
or
you could also try the taiwan style throw ,like for target shots: the top is presented slightly tilting to the left, and the top is released when the arm is in full extension , in fact , the throw is exactly similar  to when you play "pétanque"
try to find one video with taiwan target shots

have fun experimenting
jim

PS :on the whole , you could also "diet" this top  so as to reach 300 grams

I used a drill press to cut some material from the inside and manages to take about 30 grams of weight and finally managed to spin it with a sort of koma style throw and it's extremely unstable, lol

Maybe I'll just need to try a big top again later when I have a tooth chuck so I can hollow it out

[Watts' Tops]

I have made 4 inch and larger Watts' Tops for years.  All mine are patterned after the Duncan Imperial.  The shape has much to do with its spin. Also the balance is so very important.  This can be improved by trial and error.  Maybe drill out a bit extra toward one side. Sometimes it is best to throw the top away and start over.  I have done this many times.  Also the length of rope.  Best to start out long and cut off when the right length works. 

[Christop]

I have made 4 inch and larger Watts' Tops for years.  All mine are patterned after the Duncan Imperial.  The shape has much to do with its spin. Also the balance is so very important.  This can be improved by trial and error.  Maybe drill out a bit extra toward one side. Sometimes it is best to throw the top away and start over.  I have done this many times.  Also the length of rope.  Best to start out long and cut off when the right length works.

Thank you so much! Mine is definitely more like the shape of the YYF Short Circuit which probably makes it especially top heavy. After getting it spinning and on the string it was so unstable that I think there might be a hidden knot in the wood or something that will make balancing it especially tough. I think I'm just going to repurpose the tip for a different top and try more of a Duncan imperial shape next time.

[johnm]

From the photo in your post in the lathe thread, it appears that without the tip, the body height is fairly close to the diameter.  This may be allowing the three principle axes of rotation to be very similar and not well defined just as with the Short Circuit when people have attempted to install the metal tip.  (There should be a couple threads in the forum about the Short Circuit balance problems)
Before scrapping the top, you could reduce the maximum diameter while leaving the height the same.  This would help distinguish the tip axis from others and may result in better behavior.  I'm not sure how you are mounting the top in the lathe but if you are driving it between centers it would be easy to remove some material (maybe 1/4 inch from the diameter), test the top and repeat a couple times to check for improvement.  Probably best to throw a spinner to the floor to avoid any nasty hand strikes from wildly spinning tips.

[Christop]

From the photo in your post in the lathe thread, it appears that without the tip, the body height is fairly close to the diameter.  This may be allowing the three principle axes of rotation to be very similar and not well defined just as with the Short Circuit when people have attempted to install the metal tip.  (There should be a couple threads in the forum about the Short Circuit balance problems)
Before scrapping the top, you could reduce the maximum diameter while leaving the height the same.  This would help distinguish the tip axis from others and may result in better behavior.  I'm not sure how you are mounting the top in the lathe but if you are driving it between centers it would be easy to remove some material (maybe 1/4 inch from the diameter), test the top and repeat a couple times to check for improvement.  Probably best to throw a spinner to the floor to avoid any nasty hand strikes from wildly spinning tips.

Currently I only have a mounting plate and a couple live centers so once I cut it off of the plate I don't have as much ability to fine tune. I'm going to buy a jaw chuck to make this process smoother but I'll keep the top around until then and try taking some bulk off the side.