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Spinning Tops and Launchers

Don,

I have turned hundreds of tops over the years from wood, segmented wood, polymers, composites, stone and metals. You want to make sure your wood materials are dry and stable, if not your tops will fall out of precision balance as they change moisture content. I have turned a few precision metal tops that will spin for a long time.
 
Thanks for the reply! I will try to post a video of two of my tops in action, the larger top is 5.5" diameter and the smaller is 3.5" diameter.
The center stem is made from Iron Wood (American Hornbeam) and the disks are slices off of assembled stave segmented cylinders. Looks like have to display the video some other way.DSC00080.JPG
 
Don,
Interested to see your segmented spinning tops, which are superb, I was recently in the Hakone area of Japan where there are several craftsmen producing segmented work of many kinds: segmented blocks sliced with a hand plane, the slices used as veneers, for their traditional 'secret boxes', they also turn bowls, platters and many other things including spinning tops. Amazing craftsmanship.2019-04-08 09.51.44.jpg 2019-04-08 10.14.10.jpg
 
I did see a segmented hollow form type top that looked to be maybe 12 inches high. More in the traditional string top style. These are nice. I have been experimenting with Delrin for the tips so I can spin on wood floors with out drilling holes, and they can be remounted and the tip trued up again too... These are nice.

robo hippy
 
robo hippy said:
I did see a segmented hollow form type top that looked to be maybe 12 inches high. More in the traditional string top style. These are nice. I have been experimenting with Delrin for the tips so I can spin on wood floors with out drilling holes, and they can be remounted and the tip trued up again too... These are nice.

robo hippy
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Question? The tops I have been making are launched by warping a string around the stem, hold them with the launcher (my name for it) and pulling the string, is that the "traditional string top style" ?
The American Hornbeam or iron wood that I use seams to hold up well with out damaging the surface but the metal point would be nice if I could figure out how to make it sign my name.
 
Don,
For long lasting points for spinning tops a hard material will last a long time. I have used ceramic balls, glass marbles, tungsten balls, steel balls, Corian and Delrin polymers. They make the ceramic and tungsten balls in various sizes which can be pressed or glued into a spinning top body to provide a durable tip that will stand up to a lot of abuse. These are what I usually use on my metal turned tops but I have also used them on wood tops also. You can use colored marbles which add weight to the bottom of the top and will last a long time just so long as you don't abuse the glass marbles by dropping them on hard surfaces or concrete.
 
Mike Johnson said:
Don,

I have turned hundreds of tops over the years from wood, segmented wood, polymers, composites, stone and metals. You want to make sure your wood materials are dry and stable, if not your tops will fall out of precision balance as they change moisture content. I have turned a few precision metal tops that will spin for a long time.
Click to expand...
Do you have any photos of your various tops that you can share? I'd like to see some, as this is a new interest of mine for teaching.
 
Tom Albrecht said:
Do you have any photos of your various tops that you can share? I'd like to see some, as this is a new interest of mine for teaching.
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Tom Look at American Woodturner issue 27.4 page 20. Some fantastic tops there.
 
They make different diameter Tungsten Carbide balls that will take a lot of abuse and still provide a precision turning surface for a top. Some of the wooden tops I make have an internal thread that allows a new point to be screwed into the body when it gets beat up. Ceramic and Glass works fine but they can get chipped if they get dropped onto a hard surface.

Tungsten Carbide.jpg
 
Tom Albrecht said:
Do you have any photos of your various tops that you can share? I'd like to see some, as this is a new interest of mine for teaching.
Click to expand...
I'm not Mike, but here are some recent ones I made for our club to sell at the recent Woodworking Show in NJ last month. All proceeds go to the Children's Specialized Hospital. The club has been doing this for quite a few years now, and usually when we reach a $2-3 thousand threshold we have a hospital representative come to a meeting for a presentation.

Never posted a picture before....and this one was downloaded from the club website. Hope this works!
 

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Mike Johnson said:
They make different diameter Tungsten Carbide balls that will take a lot of abuse and still provide a precision turning surface for a top. Some of the wooden tops I make have an internal thread that allows a new point to be screwed into the body when it gets beat up. Ceramic and Glass works fine but they can get chipped if they get dropped onto a hard surface.

View attachment 28813
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Hmm, where does one get Tungsten Carbide....SPHERES?
 
I made a few tops when my boys where small and again some for our grandchildren, nothing fancy and mostly scrap and cutoffs was used, they where to be toys and used.

For the tips I used stainless steel pop rivets, first the center nail of the pop rivet is pushed out and the body is then pressed onto a ⅛” drilled opening in the tops shaft and I use the opening of the pop rivet for the live center to go in there, and to true up the shaft and body, after the shaft has been pressed into the tops body.

After finish turning and some sanding the nail of the pop rivet is cut shorter and hammered into the shaft, that keeps the point from getting damaged too quickly and the rounded end does not damage our floors, these Pullstring tops turn way too long for the kids and they get grabbed before done turning and placed again, the kids are usually more interested in tops that are dancing around, than just sitting there turning, my observation.
Top matrial.jpg Pop-rivet-stainless.jpg Tip part.jpg opened string incert opening.jpg

Stringtop.jpg other type.jpg skirt top.jpg
 
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Leo,

That is simple and effective solution for a spinning top point and the price is right. Great Idea!
For bigger tops I use a rare earth magnet recessed into the body of the spinning top on the bottom and a steel ball bearing of the same dimension recessed half way into the body. This adds weight at the turning point and provides a replaceable point for the spinning top. This also allows the top to be spun upside down on a steel surface. One of the prolific top makers made a set of these with a holder that displayed them hanging upside down from a small wooden stand with arms.
 
Don Wattenhofer said:
With that type launcher how do you keep the top in it? Do you have to keep it on the surface?
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The top doesn’t fall out Don,the kids are usually sitting on their knees, so they did not let them drop from 3 feet up, but usually have them 6 to 8 inches of the floor.

I have one here in my collection ( and another one in the shop for copying, as I sold some) so I just made a picture showing the top hanging free, and as you can see the top sits fine in there, just a pull and it will be spinning :).

Stringpull top.jpg
 
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Mike Johnson said:
Leo,

That is simple and effective solution for a spinning top point and the price is right. Great Idea!
For bigger tops I use a rare earth magnet recessed into the body of the spinning top on the bottom and a steel ball bearing of the same dimension recessed half way into the body. This adds weight at the turning point and provides a replaceable point for the spinning top. This also allows the top to be spun upside down on a steel surface. One of the prolific top makers made a set of these with a holder that displayed them hanging upside down from a small wooden stand with arms.
Click to expand...

Thanks Mike, my tips are replaceable as well, but none of them where ever turned long and often enough to require a tip replacement :D
 
Those tops that are launched from a handle with a pull-string were called "drop-tops" back in the day. How 'bout a "finger-top" with a fidget spinner built in:
54c1049ab275272b8f41bc725521fa91.jpg
 
The top that John Rander showed is the only kind I remember!!. There was no launcher, it was wound as shown and thrown side arm out in the streets of Chicago. Everybody knew how to spin a top. You could launch them very high underarm and when they hit ground, they would spin. Not good on the parked cars though. Dime stores always sold them. A button on the end of the string fit between your fingers.
 
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