Pull String Tops - an old Christmas present

[Jim Underwood]

I found an old Christmas present the other day. A pull string top was given to us children by our grandparents probably 45 years ago. I'm sure it was bought during their extensive travels as ambassadors from the US to Pakistan. I still remember being fascinated by it that christmas morn. Mom says we played with it a long time. The holder, string, and a possible string handle have long since been lost. It's been so long I have no idea what they looked like. You can see the old top with a make shift holder which I hacked out of an old oak board 30 years ago. It has a copper tack in the the tip to stave off wear. So the other day I made some more similar and realized why my original attempt to replicate this toy did not work. It simply didn't have enough mass to overcome the axles tendency to roll around hole in the holder. The large mass keeps the top stabilized and spinning around its axis so that it can drop out of the holder. The lighter mass dissipates its energy by rattling around the hole and never develops enough speed to behave as a top should. You can see three new tops, the old one, and the light weight top with its replacement. Enjoy!

[charlie knighton]

thanks for sharing Jim

send your info to Mary Lacer, she had a very good rotation on tops but she did not have one of your type......she looks for them wherever they travel, she had some from Japan that were interesting

[Thom Sturgill]

Looks like something I need to make for some of my younger grandchildren. Good job Jim!

[Michael Stafford]

I made some of those pull string tops when my son was younger. I also made a few throw tops which were definitely more exciting if the kid loses control when they throw.

Good stuff, Jim!

[Brian Kent]

What are the dimensions on the one that works the best?

[Jim Underwood]

I don't have them in front of me so I can't give you dimensions... But I do know that the forstner bit I used for the 2 new holders was 1" diameter. The one picture that shows the two tops with the one holder, the hole was at least 1-1/4". That should give you a sense of the size of these things.

[Brian Kent]

That's enough. Thanks Jim.