December 17, 20178 yr Popular Post comment_134310 Family Christmas Dinner is coming up soon. Every year I like to make a handmade toy for everyone to amuse themselves with. This year it is string top with launchers. Should be about 40 of them there. Used some spindles from a crib I picked up at the curb on a trash day. Ran three sides through the jointer for a flat to register on for drilling the holes. Got four launchers from each spindle. Had a bunch of 3/8 X 4 inch metal shafts and was able to turn them to a point on each end and cut them in half for the spindles. I cut the shafts to .260 inches 5/8" down on the point ends which made a press fit into the hard maple blanks that I drilled .250 inch holes into. Tight enough fit that I didn't have to glue them. Mounted them in a collet chuck and turned them to shape. Report
December 17, 20178 yr comment_134311 Great gifts! Nice reuse of the spindles. Did you make a jig to keep them oriented as they passed thru the planer?? Dan, a family Christmas dinner of 40 would drive me permanently into the workshop Report
December 17, 20178 yr Author comment_134313 9 minutes ago, lew said: Nice reuse of the spindles. Did you make a jig to keep them oriented as they passed thru the planer?? No I didn't. I flattened one end and then just registered the flat end on the fence and that worked surprisingly well. I did use push sticks. Report
December 17, 20178 yr comment_134319 Now those are going to be a lot of fun. That kind of top has been on radar for a while. Yours look great! Outstanding job repurposing those spindles as well. Steve Report
December 17, 20178 yr Author comment_134338 37 minutes ago, Stick486 said: lookin' good... how did ya do the colored rings... Slowed the lathe down and and touched colored markers to them while they were spinning. Report
December 17, 20178 yr Author comment_134344 49 minutes ago, Stick486 said: felt tips??? Yep. Great choice of colors out there too. Report
December 18, 20178 yr comment_134355 Dan you da man. Next time on the tops try very slow (under 60) and do a pull of the marker from center to to top outside. It makes a nice swirl pattern. Love what you do with metal pieces Report
December 30, 20178 yr comment_135487 Missed the intro...these are really cool...great find and re-purpose of the crib parts... So what did everyone think of them? Report
December 30, 20178 yr Author comment_135491 45 minutes ago, Grandpadave52 said: Missed the intro...these are really cool...great find and re-purpose of the crib parts... So what did everyone think of them? Everyone loved them young and old alike. Day before the party I had some time and made a large one, five inch diameter. It had enough weight to run two and a half minutes. Youngest loved it so I promised I'd make them one sometime after the new year started. Pen and pencil kits and ornaments were a hit too. Report
December 31, 20178 yr comment_135567 23 hours ago, HandyDan said: Everyone loved them young and old alike. Day before the party I had some time and made a large one, five inch diameter. It had enough weight to run two and a half minutes. Youngest loved it so I promised I'd make them one sometime after the new year started. Pen and pencil kits and ornaments were a hit too. Glad everybody enjoyed them...great gifts...wonder if you drill a series of equally spaced, angled small holes in that 5" one if it would whistle while spinning? Now that would be really cool for the 2-/12/ minute show. Be sure to post some pics of the next 5" one. Forgot about the pen/pencil sets and ornaments too. Both should have made anyone happy to get those as well. Report
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