New Tops

[Top-Az]

My first order from Spintastics arrived. I got several Gladiators along with some strings and extra points. I'm practicing my throw and it's getting much smoother and less dangerous for innocent bystanders. When I throw a spinner, the top lands on the point but it leans quite a bit. Any advice on how to get it to land more vertical?

[Neff]

That's a hard one to correctly advise without seeing you in action. The most simple bit of advice is that; providing there is nothing wrong with your equipment (string lenght etc.), then the top will always come out 180 degrees opposite of how you threw it... in other words you are not releasing it tip straight up. If the tip is pointed back at you when the string releases it, then you let go with the point away from you a little bit. If you are certain you've released it tip straight up, try turning your palm towards the ground a little as you release (thus releasing with the tip pointed toward you a little bit). The release should be across your body, not down, and don't move your elbow, pivot at the shoulder. Also, tops like jazz music, so play some while you throw.

[Watts' Tops]

I suggest trying different string lengths. That might help. You might also try holding the top a bit differently each time for a while until you find a release position that comes up straight. Keep using that position and try other things.

[the Earl of Whirl]

I suggest using blues music until you get one to spin correctly. When you get a great spinner, switch to jazz music and stay there for a while. Personally, I would stay away from rap but I'm a 57 year old fuddy duddy.

[kevinm]

it takes a while to get the string length figured out for how you throw, but one thing you can try, if the top is consistently landing at a tilt, is to adjust your hold.
in other words, if the top is always landing on your hand tilted to your left, try holding it tilted the opposite direction as you release it, to compensate. then as you kind of get the feel for how the top handles, you can start experimenting with the string length.
btw, i think that's basically what neff was describing, i'm not sure, i'm half asleep...

[Top-Az]

Thank you all for your help. I know there are folks here who recommend and use the Gladiator. For a reference, could someone tell me how many wraps of string they use on their Gladiator? With the standard string that came with the top, I have 19 full wraps consistently. Just looking for a starting point for string length. Blues music-good, jazz music-good, rap-I'll just say 60 year old fuddy duddy here and let it go at that.

[ta0]

For a reference, could someone tell me how many wraps of string they use on their Gladiator?

If you want to know, I have right now a Gladiator in my hand (with two internal weight rings) that lands perfectly vertical, and I put 20 wraps using what I believe was the original 18 gauge string, 65" (165 cm) long. However, that would change with a different string. What remains constant when you change strings is the height of the wrap (winding) on the side of the top. On the gladiator it should finish at about the second groove from the tip.

[Top-Az]

taO- Thank you. I just grabbed a Gladiator, wound it and found the string was too short. Maybe it's a little thinner than the one you are using. Using another string I wound it to the second groove (21 wraps) and I got a vertical landing. Yay!! Now to work out the rest of the bugs that us beginners have.

[MarkHayward]

You're all crazy. Tops work best with Lady Gaga and ABBA.

[Neff]

You're all crazy. Tops work best with Lady Gaga and ABBA.

... and Gwar.

[Daveid]

You're all crazy. Tops work best with Lady Gaga and ABBA.

... and Gwar.

... don't forget Ace of Base, Deee-Lite, and Björk (I'm not kidding).

[MarkHayward]

Yeah... it's a little embarrassing, but I'm not either. Although I don't actually have any Ace of Base.

[Free]

As long as you dont wear anything that resembles Lady Gagas outfits while spinning you shoulld be OK. Although some of th ose outfits offer interesting tagets for boomerangs

[the Earl of Whirl]

What I have found is that her outfits are really fun to wear while spinning tops......except that meat outfit. I couldn't get those dogs to leave me alone when I spun tops with that getup.