Print

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

[poptop]

This just keeps getting better!

I want to see what Ta0 picked up...

[the Earl of Whirl]

While reading through some old posts I came upon this one of an earlier Toycrafter adventure.  I have only been back a couple of days but I am already dreaming of another trip!  We all sure appreciate Don's time to allow us to look through his lair and share his stories.

[the Earl of Whirl]

And two years later, after another visit to The Toycrafter, I have run across this post once again!  Thanks for the great reports and the fascinating pictures.  It is amazing how these rooms continue to yield so many stories and other treasures.

[CUPER]

Increíble espero conocer ese lugar ufffff,gran por compartir...

[Turegano]

ia wonderful   awesome   very important for the history good joob

[butterfingers]

The Toycrafter facility is always fun to visit. Looking at the early photos on this post made me realize how much time has passed since my first trip. Even though Don still has an impressive amount of top related items, there is significantly less than there used to be!

[Larry D.]

The Toycrafter facility is always fun to visit. Looking at the early photos on this post made me realize how much time has passed since my first trip. Even though Don still has an impressive amount of top related items, there is significantly less than there used to be!

Your absolutely correct butterfingers!  There certainly is less.
The most fascinating fact to me is that in all the trips I’ve made there over the years I’ve spent more than 10 full days (10:00am - 6:00pm) searching through Don’s inventory and have NEVER failed to discover items previously unseen.   There is always something new to discover in the next box!  This last visit was no exception.

So, my advice to our fellow Forum members is that you visit Don soon because his collection will not be around forever.

[Mermouy]

Thanks for sharing! This workshop looks amazing!
This could be a whole spinning top festival exibition... Just saying... 

[ta0]

Here is a video playing one of his Balaroo in another room:

Today I got to play Balaroo with my son. The left six balls were mine, the right six were his. It was a lot of fun.
When I originally played it at Don's, I thought we had been very lucky that all the balls had fell. But now I know that this almost always happens if you don't stop the top, as it spins for a long time.
That US patent is from 1936 (#2049267).

I do need to replace the ball for one to play with and leave the original wooden (cork?) ball untouched, as it's disintegrating from bumping against the spinning top protrusion. 

[the Earl of Whirl]

After several more years, once again I am resurrecting this thread.  It is hard to believe Don is down to one room which includes his computer/laser printer and a paint area.

I am bringing this thread up again because today I was in a building very similar to Don’s.  It did not have five floors (only three) but it was shaped in a giant U like the Fedder building there in Rochester.  The building is in downtown Dayton (Ohio) and two floors have been totally stripped down so they could build an indoor bike park.  It is very interesting and has oodles of ramps and bumps and banked turns.  I gently biked around a bit (I still have stitches on my upper back) and thought about the Toycrafter the whole time.  Interestingly enough, the place is called Mike’s Bike Park.

[the Earl of Whirl]

It is hard to see the word “lair” and not think of Don!!!

[the Earl of Whirl]

Once again, it has been a couple years since I have looked at this thread.  I have lost track of how many times I have been to this magical place.  I am thankful for this forum to remind me of my top adventures to Rochester.  Don continues the long process of moving his tops and more out of the Fedder building.  He is doing pretty well with all of that but still has a number of things at his dad’s old house (next door to Don’s house).  That is where Jim Neff and I headed to before attending the RIT juggling fest.  Don kindly boxed up a number of books and other top building supplies.  I am pretty excited about having that here in Miamisburg so my grandchildren and I can make tops together.  A few unique tops from Don say that they are from the “please touch museum.”  I keep these by the main entrance and keep working on making my garage a very hands on area.