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[jim in paris]

hi all

nothing new
just a variation on Ray's tops









materials : bicycle spoke,aluminium can,metal wire from a bottle



jim

[ta0]

Good job Jim.  Recycled, no doubt!

Now you need to recycle the other 99.8% of the bicycle!   

I will try to finish mine today.  But I also need to work on cleaning the forum: we were hacked!    Nothing of concern to those connecting, but it can slow the forum a lot.

[Kirk]

Jim,
I love the how the shadows play with the top!
Kirk

but it can slow the forum a lot.

Wow it takes me a few minutes to see a page.  Best wishes on a fix.  One wonders about the motivations of such folks.

[ta0]

Here is my entry, one full week late    Last weekend I had the hacking problem. But also my first idea did not work. I tried to deform a yogurt container by softening it in an oven but the plastic (#5) did not become as malleable as I hoped.

So this morning I tried this quicky.  The materials were a yogurt container, a soda can, the core of a toilet paper roll and a used ball point pen, plus some adhesive tape to keep it together.  The only tools I used were scissors and shear scissors (complete overkill, the aluminum of the can is so thin it can be cut like paper).

 

 

 

Here it is wrapped. The string is not recycled 



Unfortunately, when I pushed the pen through the cone it went a little off center, so the top is pretty unbalanced.  I would have to do it again to make a boomerable top, but here is spinning a few seconds on the ground (at 120 fps so it lasts longer):
Edit: Remade the cone and centered the pen better.  I can have it for a second on my hand from a boomerang, but I think it would need some weight close to the tip to work better. Here it is spinning (new video, 120 fps):

[ta0]

Here is the new cone:



Now that I think about it, if the pen still had ink this would also be a drawing top. 

[jim in paris]

Salut Jorge

very good treatment of the subject
recycled material for sure//looks sturdy
fair spinability and bonus for being launched with a string

final comments
Pierre 
the presentation of the 5 tops spinnning on fingers is great
the skills to make them : cutting and gluing are a bit simple
the overall look is nice with the spinability limited by the materials used
Jorge
 the goal of making a string launched top is a real bonus
the skills involved are basic but the output is good: lack of creativity on the use of an aluminium can (holes decorations colour etc)
Jim
it's not easy to comment one's own work
for sure i must have spent more time on the making than you: the spoke is so rigid and hard to bend that every "curve" is a challenge in itself
even if it's mostly inspired by Ray Palmer's work, it deserves some credit for the unusual shape and look

now the 3 of us could give our vision of the scoring
spinning capacity
look/production
intention/ creativity
each criteria on 5

my own scoring for the 3 of us is already prepared
i'm waiting for your response

jim

[ta0]

I should be disqualified for being late (or Pierre should get a big bonus for being early).

If you force me I would score them like this:

Pierre
1) spinning capacity: 3  (I am surprised how well balanced they are)
2) look/production: 4 (Great look, although using holographic paper seems kind of a cheat)
3) intention/creativity: 2 + 2 = 4 (this is the most basic finger top design, except for the not-falling top, but gets 2 bonus points for spinning on 5 fingers)
Total: 11

Jim
1) spinning capacity: 3
2) look/production: 3 (the decoration of the wire top with symmetric Ts on both loops is original and nice but the wire bending is not very smooth)
3) intention/creativity: 3+1 = 4 (the originality is mostly in the decoration but gets one bonus for work involved)
Total: 10

ta0
1) spinning capacity: 2+2 = 4 (gets 2 bonus points for being a throw top instead of a finger top)
2) look/production: 3 (clearly showing the yoplait and coca cola brands is a plus, as well as effective but simple production)
3) intention/creativity: 5 (the recycled nature of the top is very clear, the top construction is unique)
Total: 12

Oops! You should not let me score myself 

By the way, I was very lucky that the toilet paper core diameter exactly matched the opening of the yogurt container. It made for a relatively sturdy top, what would have been difficult otherwise. When I have time I will add some (recycled) weight inside the cone section and try to film a boomerang.

[jim in paris]

scoring on
spinning capacity
look/production
intention/ creativity
jim 4 4 4
pierre 4 4 5
jorge 5 4 5

if you allowed Pierre a bonus for the magic fingers
there would be a tie

jim

[Pierre]

I'm not found of scoring, but I'll do my best, with as much of bad faith as I am able.

Jim :
spinning capacity : obviously not bad, but nothing really exciting. It deserves 3 points, no more.

look/production : By the sight of the pic, not much, the spoke is too badly bent as TaO said. But the video is really great, good jazz, very nice colours and shadows. Should have deserved 5, would the beginning of the throw be inside the screen. So only 4 points.

intention/ creativity : Ray's idea maybe, but one can feel a personal style. 3.

3 4 3, that is 10.


Jorge :
spinning capacity : OK, it's a throw top, so it should be better than an average finger top. But when you throw it, it spins for a very short time; you say you can boomerang it, well, let's say I have to believe you without any evidence; So I do say a throw top which spins so badly do not deserve more than 3.

look/production : In my opinion, showing one brand has nothing respectable nor adds anything to the look. By showing two of them, you make it worse. But the button makes me laugh and I am a kind soul, I'll give 2 points.

intention/ creativity: I have to admit the level is high. Great idea, the components have a perfect fit, elegant solution for the cone. 5 points, the higher possible note.

3 2 5, all in all, 10.



Last but not least, Pierre:
spinning capacity: not bad, a very good balance (as Jorge had to admit) as every single top of mine, but could have been better: 3.

look/production: I admit using holographic paper for every top is kind of a repeated cheating. 1 point, not more.

intention/ creativity: definitely absolutely awesome. 5 tops instead of the only one presented by my poor colleagues, more constraints than expected and beautifully followed, magic fingers, the vid shows as much suspense and surprises as a Hitchcock movie. So it deserves no less than 6 points.

3 1 6, that's 10, much more than the others. In my opinion, I win.

[ta0]

 

. . . you say you can boomerang it, well, let's say I have to believe you without any evidence;

I was waiting for somebody to ask.  I will post a video.

By the way, I should have given you more points for spinning capacity, but I am biased in favor of throw tops.

[jim in paris]

ah ah !!
very good dialectics , Pierre ! i have enjoyed reading it all the way!

too bad we had only 3 entries .....

good day
jim

[ta0]

Here is the promised boomerang video:



I left the first boomerang because I am surprised I caught it 

I have not added any weights yet (well, I tried but unbalanced it more, so I took them off).

Next step is to get a thin marker, replace the pen and make some drawings 

[czyoyo]

When I first saw Jorge's top I thought it was a whip top.

Is there enough weight that it would work to be whipped?

Maybe some "recycled" duct tape to give the whip some friction.

[jochs12]

Or a left over Spaghetti noodle to whip it.

[ta0]

The body does indeed look like a whip top.  Ideally the tip should not be pointy in order to stand up when hit.
The Chinese whip tops come with whips that are recycled (shredded) car tires.  And I have plenty of those   

One day I'll work again on this design, but I have too many project right now.