A spinning Top

[Timothy Mann]

I made this for my Fiancee's grandson, the holder and body are made from black walnut. The top has an inlay of ebony. The tip and the finial are african blackwood. I thought, mistakenly, that this would be an easy project. The first one that I made yesterday that is similar to this one would not spin at all. I finaly determined that it was just to top heavy, the finial was to thick I believe. So this morning I set out to try and make one that actualy worked and would spin. I first made some that were all one piece from some maple firewood I had roughed into cylinders. I made these all one piece, the first one failed to spin as well. After a couple of different trys I think I have the right combination of diameter for the top, and weight of the finial. So I moved on to this one which spins great. The top is about "3 1/2 tall by "2 1/4 in width. Beall buffed and REN waxed. Comments and Critiques are always welcome.

[Thom Sturgill]

I spent a week at the county fair turning tops for kids. None this fancy;)

I would probably make the finial about half the height of yours, but if it spins well, that is the whole object. I'm sure the boy will appreciate it.

[bob svoboda]

Tops are fun to do and this is a beauty!

[Dale Coons]

Nice and pretty! I've always had better luck with tops when the body shape is convex or straight on the bottom rather than concave. I think probably because mass of the body is greater relative to the spindle/finial. I also tend to make the finial a little shorter than this. The box is total class!

[Allan Ferguson]

A great looking top. Keeping the mass low with a shorter and light weight finial seems to make a more stable top. Play around with different woods and shapes to see what happens. Allan

[Steve Peterson]

That ia a really great looking top.

Mine are plain looking. I start with a round plug of wood drilled through the center with a 1/4" hole. Glue in a hardwood dowel in a contrasting color that becomes both the tip and the handle. I usually cut the handle down to about 1/8" diameter so you can get a faster spin.

Some of the handles wobble and others spin perfectly straight. They depend on a uniform density of the base. I made one from a chunk of pine that had a knot on one side and clear wood on the other side. The center of mass was so far off that it could only spin for a second or two before falling over.

Steve

[Billy Tallant]

Very nice looking top!