"Best" kaleidoscope kit

[Jim Smith]

I would like to make kaleidoscopes for two of my grandchildren who will be turing five pretty soon. I noticed that there are several kits available from the various vendors. Can any of you shed any light on which kits are the best. I realize it will only be ones opinion, but that is not a problem for me. The experience of the folks on this board coupled with the willingness to share their knowledge is amazing. Thanks with your assistance with this.

Jim Smith

 

[Dr. Frank N. Stein]

Jim,

Are you looking to make a simple kit geared towards a child, then kaleidoscopetoyou dot com has them for less than 15 dollars called a fathers day kit and decorated in a kids package.

Better made kits that are reasonably priced 25 and on up are at:
http://www.clarityglass.com/retail.asp?category=Kaleidoscope%20Kits

There is also someone linked to here that makes prebuilt clay scopes that are bright colored and she used flowers deco which look pretty neat. If I can find her link I'll post it later.

Another source of information can be found here: these are pricey though.
http://www.brewstersociety.com/artists.html

Bill at Arizona Silhouette has the nice acrylic egg scopes that Ed makes:
http://www.arizonasilhouette.com/Kaleidoscope_Kits_And_Kaleidoscope_Blocks.htm

Good Hunting!
Mike

 

[TellicoTurning]

If you're looking at the egg kaleidoscopes, they are pretty much the same from all vendors... they're pretty small for little kids to deal with, and in my booths this last season I noticed that most really young kids had trouble looking through the eye piece and seeing the colors and shapes inside... I sold a number this past season, but seemed that most buyers were adults for themselves.

 

[Munsterlander]

I don't have experience with a variety, but I did make one of the PSI wand kits (purchased from Woodturningz for about $10) as a Christmas gift and it turned out quite nice, and was extremely quick to make. There is no brass tube - just drill, turn & finish. It does need a 13/16" bit (as I recall). For younger kids (this was for a 3.5 yo), the wand is nice because the colors are visible even when they're not looking through the eyepiece and it gets their attention. If you try others, pls post back with good finds - I do expect to make more of these as gifts...

 

[ed4copies]

Make them out of PVC!!

They'll bounce. Use eighth inch glass front surface or an acrylic mirror. While they won't look as pretty and you won't impress your friends, the KIDS will LOVE them and they can play with them without everyone saying, "BE CAREFUL!!"

MAKE SURE TO PUT SOME TYPE OF EYE PROTECTION IN THE HOLE THAT THEY LOOK THROUGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!