Decided to make string tops for the kids this year.  I usually take a hand made toy for each of the kids when the family has Christmas dinner.  Last tear was Yo-Yos and they were a big hit.  Started last weekend and made some brass tips for them on the metal lathe.

 

 

Once the lathe was set up why not make forty.

 

 

There is not much out there about turning the tops.  I want to thank Charles Nichols for his valued input and getting me started.  These are the trial and error specimens.

 

 

I tried to buy a top.  Wally World and Toys Aren't Us didn't have one so I went ahead and turned the one on the far left first.  Made a string for it from a ball of cotton string I had and couldn't get it to spin for the life of me.  Took a break and watched a how to video on top throwing.  Only thing I saw different from what I was doing was the actual string.  Their string was way thicker than mine.  I have a spool of window blind string which is about 1/8" thick and the top worked as it should.  Why the string thickness matters I don't know.

 

 

The first one spun well and for a long time but wouldn't stand up straight.  The next two I lowered the center of gravity and found the last one (far right) spun the best.  I saw only one suggested measurement on the net and it called for 2.5" dia. and a 3" length.  So far I found that if the blank is turned round and a half inch is added to the diameter the top works very well. 

 

 

I also read that there is no need to make them smooth and shiny for two reasons.

1---The string will slip too easily

2---They are going to get banged up on the floor anyway.

So I am sanding with 150 sand paper and will put on a Shellac seal coat and call them done as suggested. 

 

 

6 minutes ago, HandyDan said:

Last tear was Yo-Yos and they were a big hit.

any bad brusing and did take the yo-yos back???

art and function put together so well...

Those are very crafty Dan, I love them. Folk art, and fun, very cool. They have an ol timey feel to them for sure. That I love.

Great idea. I only have been doing the finger tops but these look interesting. I do know the center of gravity thing is important. I always was under the impression that mason string was the string of choice. But never tried these so not sure. Looks good though. 

Nice work Dan!   These are something I've thought about trying and I really appreciate your comments about making them.

 

Steve

 

Great looking tops! I may have to make a few of these for the little ones next door!

Very cool Dan...Great job on the tips too. Enjoyed the T&E learning adventure. A lost art & toy rekindled (no pun intended) and simple to recharge.

Very Nice! I will bet they will be enjoyed very much

1 hour ago, Grandpadave52 said:

. A lost art & toy rekindled (no pun intended) and simple to recharge.

 

 

Not lost, it just moved to Japan  Japanese spinning tops

14 minutes ago, Steve Krumanaker said:

 

 

Not lost, it just moved to Japan  Japanese spinning tops

WOW!!!

and some say we have too much time on our hands..

It is amazing how difficult it is to get the balance just right. Good project

14 hours ago, Stick486 said:

any bad brusing and did take the yo-yos back???

 

No mishaps at all. 

1 hour ago, Steve Krumanaker said:

 

 

Not lost, it just moved to Japan  Japanese spinning tops

 

They sure know how to have fun.  Great video!

Dan, Great looking Throw tops guy! The reason the thicker string works better is that the string is able to grab the body of the top better. You are correct, you do not want a slick top, or the string will not hold

 

The best Throw top I have is a 1.5" wide by 3" tall one. That one stands straight up and spins for a while, but I banged it up a lot while learning to throw. So much in fact, that the tip is now flattened on the end. But that's ok, because it is mine and will never be sold. If I get tired of it, I will cut the end of the top off, reglue another piece of maple on, and re-drill and put another tip in it

 

Here's where I get my tips from, unless they are out of them http://turnertoys.com/Spinning-Tops-amp-YoYos/Spinning-Top-Parts/

 

Notice the shoulder on the tip, that is for the string to wind around so it stays put instead of falling off to the floor. You solved the same problem by creating a shoulder next to the tip made of wood. A lot of people do that too when they can't find the tips I use..

 

Glad to see someone else making them

 

Beech and Maple

 

 

Tops and marbles was all I did in grade school. This is the only one my mother saved for me or else  I would not have anything to show my kids or grandkids.

Maybe she saved this top for it was the only one I ever had with the ball bearing in the end. I could always win the longest  spinning challenge.  Also it was never used for knocking marbles or other tops out of the circle for I did not want to ruin it.

 If you ever made your own top or yoyo string it took two guys but it was better if you had three people in the act. One on each end twisting the string in opposite directions and the third guy to hold the string right in the middle while the two guys on each end would walk towards each other after the exact amount of turns was put in the string as they were walking toward each other while the guy in the middle backed up to keep the kinks out by keeping the string tight. Then tie a knot in each end after the string was made to twist into each other. This is the only way top strings were made when I was a kid. Finding the right sized very stout single strand string to start with was the problem.

  this was bought probably 73 years ago and you might see by the quarter how elongated and warped the wood became in all that time. This top now runs with a shake and shimmy where is use to spin forever and never made any kind of a sideways movement. It almost acted like it was refusing to stop spinning.

A short fat stubby man was better to spin longer. 

 

I notched out the top side when a kid to get the string to hold better..

 

You might tell the kids to not stand where there is a window behind where they throw the top down as they try to make it spin for if they jerk the string just right the top will come shooting right back toward the person trying to make it spin... This is a toy one has to learn how to throw correctly for one can hurt themselves or anyone else standing around watching.

 

The ends like you made or a hair sharper is what we used to use to split other guys tops.  

 

I forgot to add, this is how all the guy I was around kept the string on their finger and not go with the top as they were throwing it as hard as they could supposedly toward the ground. I do believe the top will spin better if the string stays on a persons finger.

 

 

 

 

Edited October 10, 20169 yr by Smallpatch

57 minutes ago, Smallpatch said:

Tops and marbles was all I did in grade school. This is the only one my mother saved for me or else  I would not have anything to show my kids or grandkids.

Maybe she saved this top for it was the only one I ever had with the ball bearing in the end. I could always win the longest  spinning challenge.  Also it was never used for knocking marbles or other tops out of the circle for I did not want to ruin it.

 If you ever made your own top or yoyo string it took two guys but it was better if you had three people in the act. One on each end twisting the string in opposite directions and the third guy to hold the string right in the middle while the two guys on each end would walk towards each other after the exact amount of turns was put in the string as they were walking toward each other while the guy in the middle backed up to keep the kinks out by keeping the string tight. Then tie a knot in each end after the string was made to twist into each other. This is the only way top strings were made when I was a kid. Finding the right sized very stout single strand string to start with was the problem.

  this was bought probably 73 years ago and you might see by the quarter how elongated and warped the wood became in all that time. This top now runs with a shake and shimmy where is use to spin forever and never made any kind of a sideways movement. It almost acted like it was refusing to stop spinning.

A short fat stubby man was better to spin longer. 

 

I notched out the top side when a kid to get the string to hold better..

 

You might tell the kids to not stand where there is a window behind where they throw the top down as they try to make it spin for if they jerk the string just right the top will come shooting right back toward the person trying to make it spin... This is a toy one has to learn how to throw correctly for one can hurt themselves or anyone else standing around watching.

 

The ends like you made or a hair sharper is what we used to use to split other guys tops.  

 

I forgot to add, this is how all the guy I was around kept the string on their finger and not go with the top as they were throwing it as hard as they could supposedly toward the ground. I do believe the top will spin better if the string stays on a persons finger.

 

 

 

What a great post

Thank you

 

Steve

 

 

57 minutes ago, Smallpatch said:

 

 

 

1 hour ago, Smallpatch said:

Tops and marbles was all I did in grade school. This is the only one my mother saved for me or else  I would not have anything to show my kids or grandkids.

Maybe she saved this top for it was the only one I ever had with the ball bearing in the end. I could always win the longest  spinning challenge.  Also it was never used for knocking marbles or other tops out of the circle for I did not want to ruin it.

 If you ever made your own top or yoyo string it took two guys but it was better if you had three people in the act. One on each end twisting the string in opposite directions and the third guy to hold the string right in the middle while the two guys on each end would walk towards each other after the exact amount of turns was put in the string as they were walking toward each other while the guy in the middle backed up to keep the kinks out by keeping the string tight. Then tie a knot in each end after the string was made to twist into each other. This is the only way top strings were made when I was a kid. Finding the right sized very stout single strand string to start with was the problem.

  this was bought probably 73 years ago and you might see by the quarter how elongated and warped the wood became in all that time. This top now runs with a shake and shimmy where is use to spin forever and never made any kind of a sideways movement. It almost acted like it was refusing to stop spinning.

A short fat stubby man was better to spin longer. 

 

I notched out the top side when a kid to get the string to hold better..

 

You might tell the kids to not stand where there is a window behind where they throw the top down as they try to make it spin for if they jerk the string just right the top will come shooting right back toward the person trying to make it spin... This is a toy one has to learn how to throw correctly for one can hurt themselves or anyone else standing around watching.

 

The ends like you made or a hair sharper is what we used to use to split other guys tops.  

 

I forgot to add, this is how all the guy I was around kept the string on their finger and not go with the top as they were throwing it as hard as they could supposedly toward the ground. I do believe the top will spin better if the string stays on a persons finger.

 

 

 

 

 

Hey there Smallpatch, I almost did once exactly what you talk about here. I threw the top and gave it a yank, trying to get it to come back to my hand. Unfortunately, it did not come back to my hand, but went straight at a window 6 ft from me instead. The only thing that saved the window was that the top hit the bed mattress and got caught in the covers! WHEW!!!!! Needless to say, I don't do tricks or try to with them now.

 

I was in that generation where the plastic, bearing tip tops were the rage in schools. Any kid that had any money to blow had a top and was doing tricks with them. Im a bit behind the learning curve now LOL.

 

 

Edited October 10, 20169 yr by Charles Nicholls

Thanks everybody for the nice reviews.  That is one sweet tip with the ball bearing in it.  Never saw on like that before.  Here is a video on how to make a string by yourself.  Did anyone ever split another guy's top? 

 

 

Really neat Top HandyDan!!!

Them would be really cool to make.

I'm sure all of the kids will like them.

Great Job!!!