December 17, 20178 yr Popular Post 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.
December 17, 20178 yr 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
December 17, 20178 yr Author 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.
December 17, 20178 yr 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
December 17, 20178 yr Author 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.
December 17, 20178 yr Author 49 minutes ago, Stick486 said: felt tips??? Yep. Great choice of colors out there too.
December 18, 20178 yr 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
December 30, 20178 yr Missed the intro...these are really cool...great find and re-purpose of the crib parts... So what did everyone think of them?
December 30, 20178 yr Author 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.
December 31, 20178 yr 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.
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