The making of a special Simonelli spinning top

[Iacopo]

I add an ergal rod which will be the frame of the stem:



I turn the ergal parts some more and I add the brass flywheel:

[Iacopo]

I prepared the other pieces that are going to be glued on the top. This is the top with the turquoise:



This is one top after all the pieces are glued in place:

[Iacopo]

Here I am adding the opals, glueing them with cyanoacrylate. When the glue has hardened, I put some adhesive tape so to form a little tub around the opals, in which I pour some epoxy resin for to fill all the voids between the opals themselves:



In the end I add temporarily some sticks for to stiffen the stems when I will turn them on the lathe.
The assemblies are ready, in the next days I will turn them.
Without setbacks, the tops should be ready before the end of July.

[ta0]

It amazes me how many pieces make up these tops and how many steps it takes to make one. Top craftsmanship!

[Iacopo]

It amazes me how many pieces make up these tops and how many steps it takes to make one. Top craftsmanship!

Thank you! I never made so complex pieces in the past but I wanted to try to see how they come out. I am happy about the egg cases so I think (and hope) that the tops will be equally nice.

[Iacopo]

The metamorphosis:

[Iacopo]

[Iacopo]

I finished the top with the turquoise first, so I show you it.
In the next days I will turn the bottoms of these tops.

[ta0]

The metamorphosis:

Metamorphosis is the right name. From worm to butterfly.

I cannot wait to see the finished tops!

[Iacopo]

For now, we can see the upper parts of the trio:



But I hope to finish them soon, maybe in a week or so.

[Iacopo]

I finished the bottoms of the three tops:



Then I added the writing, which I make with a laser:



At this point I only need to polish the brass flywheels and the tops will be ready, in a few days.
I will make a video too, as always.

[ta0]

Are you doing your own laser engraving?

Just over 70 Simonelli tops in the world. Some people are lucky!

[Iacopo]

Are you doing your own laser engraving?

Yes, I have the xTool F1, which is good for to engrave little objects:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CC56W8P6

[Iacopo]

The tops are finished. They were very labor intensive, and they took many months and effort for to be made. But the result is good to me, I am satisfied. I show you some photos:

[Iacopo]