Wooden Spin Top

[kludge77]

Sycamore wood turned into a classic wooden spin top. I thought vintage toys we're suppose to be easy to use?!

Roughing out the blank

Shaping the top

After a handful of dynamic design choices I settled on this shape!

Covering all my sins & tearout with sandpaper....

Considering that I was about to start throwing this at the ground I'm glad I got a shot of it first!

Completed

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

 

[BSea]

WOW, that brings back memories. I was one of the few kids that could throw one of those. They took a little time to master. I doubt I could do it anymore.

 

[ljpilcher@suddenlink]

Tops fun

Brings back fond memories for me too. It is the one game is was reasonably good at. My 7th grade teacher used to join us in playing tops. We had a great time.

 

[ljpilcher@suddenlink]

tops fun

Sorry! I only commented on the memories. It is a gorgeous top.

 

[D.Oliver]

You're videos are so entertaining. I probably shouldn't admit to this, but I chuckled a little louder every time that top didn't spin. Keep up the great work.

 

[GaryMGg]

Great looking top.
We used to play for hours on end; sometimes kinda rough--we had a game called Cracktop (a.k.a. Keeper).
Some of us had a lot of tops.
The tops we played with had a metal tip like these:

Now you've got me adding something to my project list.

 

[kludge77]

You're videos are so entertaining. I probably shouldn't admit to this, but I chuckled a little louder every time that top didn't spin. Keep up the great work.

Thanks!

I put it there for laughing at, so that cool! :biggrin: The birds thought the whole process was a joke!

 

[kludge77]

Great looking top.
We used to play for hours on end; sometimes kinda rough--we had a game called Cracktop (a.k.a. Keeper).
Some of us had a lot of tops.
The tops we played with had a metal tip like these:

Now you've got me adding something to my project list.

Those are some vicious spikes! I presume they spin well on concrete?

 

[kludge77]

Sorry! I only commented on the memories. It is a gorgeous top.

Don't apologize. I enjoyed reading about your memories! I'm glad my top brought some back for you!

Cheers

 

[Band Saw Box]

Great looking top, it sure brought back some memories.

 

[Fatdawg]

Very nicely done! I keep my larger cut offs and make tops at Christmas time and donate to the Toys for Tots.

 

[scjohnson243]

That wood has beautiful grain... Great job! Very clean!

 

[GaryMGg]

Hi Peter,

They spin great on concrete and blacktop.
The "point" was usually somewhat rounded so they're not quite as vicious as they appear.
We played a game called Cracktop or Keeptop.
There was a chalk circle and everyone put at least one top in the center.
Then, players had to drive other tops out of the circle--you kept what you captured.
IIRC--it's been a long, long time ago--one of the more aggressive moves was to throw one of these onto the center of the pile
and try to blow as many tops out of the center beyond the circle (think bowling pins)
BUT you could only keep them if your top was spinning when the others landed beyond the perimeter.

I wonder if any other older folks who grew up in a Northeast city remember this?

 

[TellicoTurning]

Great looking top.
We used to play for hours on end; sometimes kinda rough--we had a game called Cracktop (a.k.a. Keeper).
Some of us had a lot of tops.
The tops we played with had a metal tip like these:

Now you've got me adding something to my project list.

I haven't thrown a top in years... not since they were banned at my school in the fourth grade for playing keeper... they called it gambling?

I have a small collection that goes back to my dad's hand carved tops with sharpened screws for the points. PSI or CSUSA sold a kit for a while, may still... I bought a couple a few years back and made one... it worked pretty well when I tested it. We didn't use a button on the end of the string... I had a loop that fit over my ring finger on the right hand... more control that way.

BTW, that was a nice top in the OP