Throw Top

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bmac

bmac

Member
Joined
Feb 5, 2004
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642
Location
Watson, Louisiana, USA.
Latest project from the shop. For those of us under 60, you probably have no idea what these are or how to use them, but, when we were kids growing up and our Mom's told us to get our butts outside and go play, these are one of the things we played with, even having battles with them.

Bobby
Louisiana
 

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Ha Ha. At first I thought you were talking about a blanket for a couch or bed. Then you mentioned an age. I'm soon to be 65. When I saw the pictures I knew what it was. We just called them tops. Nice work. Brings back good memories. At least the ones I can remember!!
 
Great looking tops.... I have half a dozen I made earlier last year.... had problems getting 2 or 3 of them to spin properly... think I made them too tall or the wood may be out of balance.... I have a few that I played with in school and also 2 or 3 that my father played with when he was young.... he was born in 1914. He has replaced the points with filed down screws, but they work great... the points are pretty sharp.
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This one spins pretty good... don't have pictures of the others that are out in the shop yet.
 
I used to make them, I bought double headed nails to make the points. My son annd his friends would have cotests to see who could split the other tops. Some of those kids got pretty good at splitting tops.
 
Thanks for comments, appreciated. Chuck, yes the tops we had as kids, we filed down the tips so they would be sharp and had battles with other tops to see if we could knock them out of a circle. Would not pass OSHA rules now days.

Bobby
Louisiana
 
Nice job! I've made these in the past. By brother and I taught our nephews how to throw.
I'm curious about how your top, being hollow, performs compared to a solid top. I've only ever made solid ones.
 
I remember those tops from long ago. The ones I had were solid. They were probably cheaply made somewhere in the Far East.

Yours is very well done! The finish is very nice.

I am curious: How did you made the tip?
 
I spent many recess hours having battles with those tops, very seldom lost, but my top did have many battle scars. It did break a few foes in half.
 
Martin G said:
Nice job! I've made these in the past. By brother and I taught our nephews how to throw.
I'm curious about how your top, being hollow, performs compared to a solid top. I've only ever made solid ones.
Click to expand...
This is a new concept for me as well, I was wondering how well they would perform, but seems to to do OK.
 
Thanks for all the comments, all appreciated. The ones we had growing up had metal tips and were great for battle. If someone were to put a metal tip on one today, hell, even with the wooden tip, if someone got hurt playing with it, they would be a prime target for a lawsuit. The tip on this one is a piece of African Blackwood.
 
bmac said:
Thanks for all the comments, all appreciated. The ones we had growing up had metal tips and were great for battle. If someone were to put a metal tip on one today, hell, even with the wooden tip, if someone got hurt playing with it, they would be a prime target for a lawsuit. The tip on this one is a piece of African Blackwood.
Click to expand...
Very nice work!

I've seen a couple where the maker drilled just a slight dimple in the tip and glued a BB in. Seems like that would work pretty good.
 
Nice job.

I watched Micheal Hosaluk doing a demo at a symposium we had here several years back. He tossed a top on the floor and turned a second one and had it spinning beside the first before it stopped. I guess he can have battles with himself.
 
I'm not really old, just been here a long time... I was just over 2 months old when Pearl Harbor was bombed.

At one show I was at some years ago I had a lady come by and wanted to know if I knew how to spin a top... she wanted me to demonstrate,
but at the time wasn't sure I remembered... went digging around in my old keepsakes box and found my tops with the string I actually used as a youngster... had to practice a bit to get back into practice. (Still need some practice)
 
bmac said:
Latest project from the shop. For those of us under 60, you probably have no idea what these are or how to use them, but, when we were kids growing up and our Mom's told us to get our butts outside and go play, these are one of the things we played with, even having battles with them.

Bobby
Louisiana
Click to expand...
bmac said:
Latest project from the shop. For those of us under 60, you probably have no idea what these are or how to use them, but, when we were kids growing up and our Mom's told us to get our butts outside and go play, these are one of the things we played with, even having battles with them.

Bobby
Louisiana
Click to expand...

Look out Duncan…….you have competition from Bobby!
Mine had holes in the sides and would whistle when I was spinning.
 
grpass said:
And marbles if your really old.
Click to expand...
Still have a few of my marbles....

Oh you mean shooters and tahs.... I still have my dad's shooters, they're made from some kind of ceramic material, a little like the old milk crocks my mom used to keep milk cool.... by now I've probably lost or given away all the marbles I played with... I know I gave a bunch to my son when he was little.


Never was any good with a yoyo... they weren't popular in my schools.
 
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