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[SpinQueen]

Two snaps and a spin from me     Love it...it's like the Energizer top..."it keeps going and going"..

[Neff]

Is the delrin tip reinforced with steel such that the point is exposed metal or am I misinterpreting the picture?
Do you play this size with a custom made string or some sash cord?

How very astute, sir!  I expect no less from John M.  The fixed tip is actually HDPE (more on that later) with a threaded bolt epoxied in.  The bolt goes all the way through and is held by a nut inside the top.  The idea is to add some tip weight, reinforce the neck of the tip, and make the point of the tip more durable... all without me having to buy a metal lathe 



The finish is fiberglass resin, AKA Bondo resin.  I've done two coats but it is still not entirely smooth, but I think it's done.  The inside will get a coat of lacquer to seal it up.  In the hole picture above, you may be able to see that things are not entirely on center  , but she's well balanced  .  The layers of the plywood are dead square with the turning axis.

I was prepared to find the perfect size string for this one but sash chord works great so mission accomplished.  It plays well with this cord:



This is one of two tops that I've finished lately that look (IMHO) and spin wonderfully, but they are just heavier than I wanted.  More on the other top in a separate, forthcoming post.  I'm anxious to make lighter tops, but I need a 4-jaw chuck in stead of the 3-jaw I have with the tiny cleats so I can hold some wood for some hollowing.  The holes were pre-drilled on both of these and carefully aligned in the gluing process.



Sooo... to be totally transparent, I am selling off my "misfits" to fund better top-making in the future.  I should move this thread to "what you want, what you have"...

I almost forgot about the HDPE.  So, I have a scavenger / collector friend who built and lives in a spaceship and drives Isettas and boat-cars and stuff like that.  Anyway, he works for the local nuclear power plant, and they recently replaced the underground steam piping at the plant.  The pipe is something like a 6' foot radius (i can't remember what he told me) and it is 4" thick.  He had some scrap and he chainsawed me a chunk of it.  I don't know what type of HDPE it is, but it's not quite as easy as Delrin to work with, but it's darn close.

[Apex]

Those are both beautiful tops. I love the moment in the video at about 25 seconds when the direction of the spin appears to change.

[rusty]

Really nice.
So when you make these tops you make lots of circles of different sizes and glue them together before working on the lathe? Do you not do anything with the inside on the lathe so the circles have to be perfectly aligned on the inside?

[Spinningray]

Very Nice!

The bolt through the tip makes it very durable.
Love that Bondo for a finish. A final cut with a very sharp skew will give you a very smooth surface.
I like to use it on the inside too. The top needs to be turned in two halves to use it on the inside.

Did you use wood dye for the red color?

[Eric]

Beautiful work Chris.....!
If you are looking to get a 4 jaw chuck I highly recommend the Vicmarc.  http://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/store/Chucks___Vicmarc?Args=  They come in 3 1/2" and 5 1/2" and are the most precise wood lathe chucks I've ever used.

[ta0]

The speed with which you became a spintop craft master is as amazing as the speed in which you became a spintop master player!

If the HDPE picked up some radioactivity at the nuclear plant, it may glow in the dark . . .  

I think if you build more Misfits, they will sell .  .  . (put me down for one) 

[johnm]

The fixed tip is actually HDPE (more on that later) with a threaded bolt epoxied in.  The bolt goes all the way through and is held by a nut inside the top. 
I'm anxious to make lighter tops, but I need a 4-jaw chuck in stead of the 3-jaw I have with the tiny cleats so I can hold some wood for some hollowing.

Clever solution for the tip.  Not much really sticks to HDPE (or Delrin for that matter), what epoxy are you using? 

From the pics of the insides of #18 and #22, I assume that at least the first layer of wood (closest to the tip) is really a disk rather than a ring with a hole sized for the bolt (I'm guessing the label in #22 is a washer below the nut such that the tip and washer sandwich that layer of wood to hold the tip in place.)  If it is true that there is simply a bolt hole through that layer, for turning the inside of tops with that design, you could put a bolt through that hole from the inside and a nut/washer on the outside to secure the top to the bolt.  With about an inch or more of bolt protruding from the top where the tip would be, the assembly can be held in your three jaw chuck by clamping on the bolt.  For a little added safety you could 'sleeve' the external nut with a sacrificial wood (or plastic) disk such that the nut is in a hole in the disk.  Then one side of the disk gets pressed against the face of the chuck jaws and the other against the top.  In this mounting you can turn the inside and outside in one installation, thus not changing the rotation axis when flipping the top and re-chucking.

If you mount like this, remember that the bolt head is inside and avoid it with your tools.  The hole in the cap looks pretty small for inside turning.  You'll have the cutting edge rather far from the tool rest so cutting might be a little rough.  Having a larger hole would allow you to insert a tool rest (probably not the stock rest with your JET) to better support your cuts.  If you are set on the small cap hole, Alan's approach of turning two pieces and gluing them together provides excellent access to the inside.

Another note, when tightening the chuck on the threads of the bolt you may crush the threads a little making it challenging to remove the nut and extract the bolt.   With a bad catch on the tool, the bolt could rotate or pull out of the chuck or even bend in some cases so there may be an unrecoverable top once in a while.

[poptop]

Good stuff.

Alan, do you chuck the glued tops after they are joined?  Jamb chuck?

[Neff]

So when you make these tops you make lots of circles of different sizes and glue them together before working on the lathe? Do you not do anything with the inside on the lathe so the circles have to be perfectly aligned on the inside?

Yeah, holes are cut before gluing, but when I get my new chuck I'll hollow it on the lathe

Did you use wood dye for the red color?

Water color paint yielded interesting results, and a mahogany wood stain over that brought it all together.

I think if you build more Misfits, they will sell .  .  . (put me down for one) 

I'm gluing three more blocks tonight, and I've ordered my new chuck, so, woot!

JohnM - thanks for all the input    I've done some bolt-driven stuff before, and although it was before I really knew what I was doing (perhaps I still don't  ) I won't trust it for anything over 2-1/2" unless it is held by the tailstock also.  The chuck that I have has an MT2 taper instead of being threaded for a spindle - darn thing has worked loose on me more than once, despite my poundings.  So basically I am quite eager to work on a new chuck.

Oh, and I'm just using a 7-minute plastic epoxy, but I threaded the HDPE.

[pplgrande]

I think if you build more Misfits, they will sell .  .  .

I agree
Very nice work Neff

[Spinningray]

Alan, do you chuck the glued tops after they are joined?  Jamb chuck?

The lower half is still connected to the lathe via a jamb chuck when I join the top half. Then I can turn it as one piece of wood.

[Larry D.]

Thanks Chris!

Misfit #2 arrived safe and sound at 12:20pm ET today.
It is even more beautiful in person!
The button size works well for me and the softer green cord is more to my liking at the moment.

Keep in mind that you are entitled to visitation rights whenever you want, and if ever I make it to a show…
Misfit #2 will travel with me so that every member of the Forum who wishes to give it a spin will have their chance.