Fidget Spinner

[Dave Lehnert]

Ok, all of a sudden I see kids playing with Fidget Spinners. Everybody is selling them. I don't see the attraction to them but..............
Anyone make one of wood?

Any guess on how long it takes to see a Fidget Spinner kit from one of the woodworking supply vendors?

[Bill Dufour]

I would say by the time there is a kit out there the fad will be over. maybe you need a thumb twidler while you think about the resurection of the Pet Rock.
Bill

https://www.futilitycloset.com/2010/07/23/nothing-doing-3/

[Keith Westfall]

Made a couple...

Top and bottom of both. Made out of a Skate board!!

Should have had an edge view - multi coloured ply on the board

[Yonak Hawkins]

I wonder what the bearings in the wings are for.

[Andrew Hughes]

My grandson has three,The bearings in the wings are just for weight I'm guessing.The one in the middle is different.I know because I've cleaned them many time.
I also never win a spin contest because I'm stuck with the junky one.:(:)

[Bill Dufour]

Outboard bearing are mainly for weight to keep it spinning. cheap ones just use metal slugs. The center bearing is shielded for low friction. the outboard ones are rubber sealed but they will spin somewhat.
Crazy thing is the bearings are like class 7 or even 9!:eek: which is a huge waste of money. This is a step or two up in precision, and cost, from most metal working machines. I can not even understand how that tolerance is calculated. You are talking run out which most measuring gear can not see much less measure unless you spend hundreds on the micrometer and take all precautions such as, climate control, body heat, vibration etc.
Motors and woodworking machines are maybe class 5 or even class 3. might be better in a router at high rpms.
Bill D.

[John K Jordan]

I would say by the time there is a kit out there the fad will be over. maybe you need a thumb twidler while you think about the resurection of the Pet Rock.

Bill, that was exactly my first thought , Pet Rock and all, but then I am reminded of the lasting interest in little finger tops I've been making for years - people from 5 to 75 enjoy spinning them. A girl, 12, told me recently that her whole family still spins the one I gave her when she was in my kindergarten class. I've heard the same story from others, some still have them after a decade. Perhaps the fidget spinners have the same type of lasting attraction.

I bought several different types of bearings last week from Amazon, some steel and some ceramic, and I've started on making some from wood. I'm using cocobolo and plan on some with other heavy woods. I'll add the mass at the rim using the wood rather than metal slugs or additional bearings.

This from a discussions on another forum might be of interest to anyone interested:
This is from Ed Davidson, otherwise known as yoyospin. http://yoyospin.com/

Re: Fidget Spinners
Ed Davidson <edd777@comcast.net> 5/14/2017, 5:21 pm

Here's some pointers on making spinners, based in my experience:

- Almost all bearings will come out of the box with grease or oil in the races, which is a speed and spin-time killer. Bearings run best if they are clean and completely dry...no lube. However, most cheap bearings are steel (not stainless), and will rust.

- Start with a skateboard size "608" bearing that is stainless steel (both balls and races). They'll run between about $1.00 and $8.00 each through eBay or Amazon, depending on if you get them from a Chinese or domestic seller. Direct from China is much cheaper, but will take 4 to 8 weeks to deliver.

- Another alternative is a full-ceramic (all white) bearing, but they will cost between $8.00 and $15.00 each, no matter where you get them.

- The best bearing solution I've found is a "608" design with ceramic (white, sometimes black) balls and stainless races and body. They are available on Amazon.com in packs of 8 for around $27. Search for: Amphetamine Ceramic Skateboard Bearings

- If you use full ceramic (white) bearings, note that the body is made from Delrin or Nylon, and will flex. If you squeeze (press-fit) the bearing body into a tight hole, expect spin time to go way down.

- Most bearings will come with a plastic or metal shield on each side that protects the balls/races from contamination. You'll have to remove (maybe destroy) those shields to clean the bearings.

- Clean bearings with any de-greaser...citrus based works best. Rubbing alcohol or acetate works equally well if you don't mind handling flammables. Dry the bearings with high pressure compressed air.

- Yes, you definitely need some weight around the outer rim...to help with spin times/speed and general momentum.

- Note that almost all spinners have some kind of cap that your thumb and finger rest on that is proud of the bearing races...so your hand doesn't touch (slow down) the spinner. The caps also help keep dirt out of the races. All caps are two-parts, press fix or threaded through the bearing hole. They can be purchased online from people who do CNC machining, plastic injection molding and 3D printing. Search for fidget spinner "buttons" or "caps"


Ed makes them out of wood and metals. You can see some of his on his web site at the link above.

Reading on the net, a lot of people seem to be making spinners on 3D printers using free pattern files. That's nice, but it would be a shame to not use wood for those of us with the capability!

BTW, here are some of my finger tops, old photo. I've made hundreds out of domestic and exotic wood:

360649

JKJ

[Prashun Patel]

I am makin some with my son. The best ones are the three pronged ones. Still trying to figure out how to make them balanced.

On the other hand this is an excuse to buy a 3D printer....

[Wayne Jolly]

I had never heard of these things before reading this thread. Two hours later and I am at my sons house and his daughter had one spinning on the table. I looked at it and immediately thought pet rock, but I was wondering about the bearings outboard in the wings too. They looked like pretty good bearings. Her dad said she got a killer deal on it. She paid 10 cents.

Wayne

[Rick Potter]

I read an online article about them. Custom ones go for as much as $500 and more, and are kept in display cases. Ceramic bearings, custom CNC'd billet unobtanium, laser etched with inset gems or whatever.

Reminds me of collectible beanie babies. I had some that were supposedly worth $1500. I gave them to a friends kid. I picked them up from a street vender in China for next to nothing.

Maybe they were Chinese knock offs of Chinese products :rolleyes: .

[Paul K. Johnson]

Search YouTube. Literally hundreds of spinners have been made out of wood. I recently read an article that states these things do nothing that they're claimed to do in regard to helping people stay focused, be less susceptible to distraction, etc. But that doesn't mean it's not worth making one or seven just for fun.

[Paul K. Johnson]

I've seen custom ones for thousands of dollars. It was linked from something I was reading but I didn't save it. Same with custom tops that I've seen for as much as five grand.

[John K Jordan]

...I recently read an article that states these things do nothing that they're claimed to do in regard to helping people stay focused, be less susceptible to distraction, ...

My observation from working with kids is the spinners help with the focus all right. The focus is the spinner and the kids quit paying attention to anything else!

JKJ

[Vince Rosypal]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zP3kt42bzTo

[Bill Bukovec]

I have one of the original fidget spinners. It's called a fishing reel.

[John C Cox]

Outboard bearing are mainly for weight to keep it spinning. cheap ones just use metal slugs. The center bearing is shielded for low friction. the outboard ones are rubber sealed but they will spin somewhat.
Crazy thing is the bearings are like class 7 or even 9!:eek: which is a huge waste of money. This is a step or two up in precision, and cost, from most metal working machines. I can not even understand how that tolerance is calculated. You are talking run out which most measuring gear can not see much less measure unless you spend hundreds on the micrometer and take all precautions such as, climate control, body heat, vibration etc.
Motors and woodworking machines are maybe class 5 or even class 3. might be better in a router at high rpms.
Bill D.

If you look at how they do it.. They cheat! Its all about less rolling resistance - and that doesnt necessarily require ultra high precision. They do it by reducing drag...

For example....
Very low drag shields. Very thin metal with the merest coat of rubber... Just barely big enough to fit in there... Made so it doesnt drag both races - only one.
They only put shields on the "outboard" side. The inner seal groove is empty = less drag.
Few rollers. My super zoot bearings have like 5 rollers inside...
Super low contact/friction bearing retainer spacers. The spacers ade made of something like acetal or UHMW PE and fit the balls fairly loosely for minimum resistance.. Remember - at most, these things support what - 300 or 400 lbs across a full set of 8... So like 50#/bearing load.... More likely to be 25% of that...

What all that adds up to is a really fast bearing when its perfectly clean - but a bearing that clogs and jams up if dust even gets near it... Dont ever use those fancy pants high zoot skate bearings on your saw guides... They choke on sawdust about 3 seconds into the cut...

[Rich Harman]

I've been making these for the past couple weeks to sell at our local farmer's market. They are very popular. I've been buying plain open bearings (no shields, no lube), yesterday I grabbed a random large spinner and timed it at six minutes 40 seconds. It uses 16 7/16" steel balls for weight, the frame is laser cut acrylic. Others use nickles or quarters for weights but I weigh them on a grain scale to sort them out for balancing purposes first. Also the center bearing hole is reamed for a precise fit because a laser cut hole is not precise enough. All of them will spin for two minutes, many for three minutes or more.

I've received suggestions that I need some that are more appealing to the girls, so I am going to experiment with making them a bit more sparkly using Swarovski crystals.

[John K Jordan]

Rich,

I've seen some at about 2.5" and some smaller, about 2". Seems like at some point it would be too big to hold in one hand. By "large", what diameter do you mean?

I'm making some for the grand kids and got some bearings I have to pry off the shields and clean out the grease. Do you have a good source for the bearings?

Do you use a straight (22mm?) reamer or a tapered reamer? I'm making the spinners from wood, turning on the lathe.

JKJ


I've been making these for the past couple weeks to sell at our local farmer's market. They are very popular. I've been buying plain open bearings (no shields, no lube), yesterday I grabbed a random large spinner and timed it at six minutes 40 seconds. It uses 16 7/16" steel balls for weight, the frame is laser cut acrylic. Others use nickles or quarters for weights but I weigh them on a grain scale to sort them out for balancing purposes first. Also the center bearing hole is reamed for a precise fit because a laser cut hole is not precise enough. All of them will spin for two minutes, many for three minutes or more.

I've received suggestions that I need some that are more appealing to the girls, so I am going to experiment with making them a bit more sparkly using Swarovski crystals.

[Rich Harman]

Rich,

I've seen some at about 2.5" and some smaller, about 2". Seems like at some point it would be too big to hold in one hand. By "large", what diameter do you mean?

I'm making some for the grand kids and got some bearings I have to pry off the shields and clean out the grease. Do you have a good source for the bearings?

Do you use a straight (22mm?) reamer or a tapered reamer? I'm making the spinners from wood, turning on the lathe.

The large ones are 92mm in diameter.
I use a 22mm reamer (straight) in my drill press, after turning down the shank so that it would fit. I have an adjustable reamer on order, the current 22mm reamer makes for a perfect fit but they slide too easily. It should be a few thou undersized for an interference fit.

[John K Jordan]

The large ones are 92mm in diameter.
I use a 22mm reamer (straight) in my drill press, after turning down the shank so that it would fit. I have an adjustable reamer on order, the current 22mm reamer makes for a perfect fit but they slide too easily. It should be a few thou undersized for an interference fit.

Thanks,

I wondered about the clearance. For wood, I bought some metric forstner bits and 22mm cut way too big. Using a boring bar for metal or plastic should work but I'm afraid it wouldn't be clean for wood. I thought about reducing the diameter of the bit by grinding but drilling 21mm and reaming for a press fit would be better. All my over/under reamers for metalworking are too small. I see a Uxcell 21-23mm adjustable (hand) reamer on Amazon that looks good but it's not Prime.

I'm going to try some Cocobolo and Lignum vitae, both fairly woods. Maybe one from aluminum or brass (or a combo of the two or with wood). I made one quick and ugly sample from scrap burl with turned ebony finger buttons to get started, epoxied a bearing in the sloppy 22mm hole.

JKJ

[Rich Harman]

This is the reamer I ordered;
smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FXJEHKM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FXJEHKM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1)
Ordered it on Saturday and is supposed to arrive on Tuesday.

[Bill Dufour]

Bearing fits should be a bored a few 1/1000 undersize but... loctite and others make special glue to hold bearings in place if bore is too large.
Bill

http://www.jegs.com/p/Loctite/LOCTITE-Bearing-Mount/2342113/10002/-1

http://www.skf.com/us/products/bearings-units-housings/roller-bearings/principles/design-considerations/radial-location-bearings/shaft-housing-tolerances-fits/index.html

[Rich Harman]

... loctite and others make special glue to hold bearings in place if bore is too large.

It's definitely an advantage for the bearing to be removable by the end user, for cleaning or upgrading.

[John Helles]

Question on the bearings .....

I have a steel bearing, probably not stainless. Originally it barely spun a revolution due to all the grease. I took the shield off as described above and soaked it in a degreaser (TSP) overnight. Then it spun pretty good (while still soaked in the degreaser fluid) ..... until it dried off. Dry, it spins just so-so. I've resoaked it and hit it with compressed air, but still not great dry.

Should I try WD40 ? Or a silicon lubricant? Thanks for the advice!

[John K Jordan]

Question on the bearings .....

I have a steel bearing, probably not stainless. Originally it barely spun a revolution due to all the grease. I took the shield off as described above and soaked it in a degreaser (TSP) overnight. Then it spun pretty good (while still soaked in the degreaser fluid) ..... until it dried off. Dry, it spins just so-so. I've resoaked it and hit it with compressed air, but still not great dry.

Should I try WD40 ? Or a silicon lubricant? Thanks for the advice!

One article said a bit of silicone spray lube will work but I haven't tried it. (Keep silicone overspray away from any wood you might want to finish someday!)

I also like dry lubricant (applied wet, dries to a film) for things that might be subject to dirt or dust but again, I haven't experimented with the spinner bearings.

Also, I bought a variety of 608 bearings to experiment with and I found the quality varies widely. In some the tolerances are sloppy and the spin is impaired. The good ceramic bearings are better. Note that none of them will spin for very long without some weight an inch or so from the center. I drilled a hole in a piece of heavy wood (dogwood) to push in the bearings to test.

JKJ

[Ted Phillips]

I've built a number of them out of wood in various shapes and sizes - bubinga, snakewood, walnut, kingwood. I like the white ceramic bearings because they spin for longer - but keep in mind that they are a lot noisier than metal bearings. For weight, I use barrel fishing weights drilled into 0.187" holes around the rim. You can fine tune the balance with little pieces of tungsten snapped off of a tungsten welding rod.

[Vlad Evdokimov]

I was avoiding it some time, but broke down (https://youtu.be/HmZjhCT3cf8)

361389

[Steve Peterson]

Here is one I made from a batch that my daughter gave out as goody bag gifts for her birthday party. They were a big hit.

I cut them with a CNC router. The first picture shows plugs to fill pockets that are filled with pennies for weights. I cut a tight fit on the center hole to press the bearing into place. This leaves the wood stressed and a few of them broke in half from a slight drop. I cut the hole larger and epoxied the bearing on the rest of them. A 1/8" roundover bit was used to shape the edges. The center piece was left unsanded with bandsaw marks to provide a bit of grip. The wood is a chunk of big leaf maple that I had laying around. 20 of them can easily be made from a board foot of lumber.

361429361430

Steve

[Dave Lehnert]

Here is one I made from a batch that my daughter gave out as goody bag gifts for her birthday party. They were a big hit.

I cut them with a CNC router. The first picture shows plugs to fill pockets that are filled with pennies for weights. I cut a tight fit on the center hole to press the bearing into place. This leaves the wood stressed and a few of them broke in half from a slight drop. I cut the hole larger and epoxied the bearing on the rest of them. A 1/8" roundover bit was used to shape the edges. The center piece was left unsanded with bandsaw marks to provide a bit of grip. The wood is a chunk of big leaf maple that I had laying around. 20 of them can easily be made from a board foot of lumber.

361429361430

Steve


Looks GREAT! Thanks for sharing

[Paul K. Johnson]

I've been making these for the past couple weeks to sell at our local farmer's market. They are very popular. I've been buying plain open bearings (no shields, no lube), yesterday I grabbed a random large spinner and timed it at six minutes 40 seconds. It uses 16 7/16" steel balls for weight, the frame is laser cut acrylic. Others use nickles or quarters for weights but I weigh them on a grain scale to sort them out for balancing purposes first. Also the center bearing hole is reamed for a precise fit because a laser cut hole is not precise enough. All of them will spin for two minutes, many for three minutes or more.

I've received suggestions that I need some that are more appealing to the girls, so I am going to experiment with making them a bit more sparkly using Swarovski crystals.

Bedazzle Spinner!