Brian's SPINNING TOP Collection.
I suppose like most top makers, I have given away more than I have ever kept. As I went through the box of tops that I have made I see that all those that I have made have been for my "Best spinner" experiments that I have done of a couple of occasions now. The two groups (probably spaced about three years apart) are differentiated by the fact that one group had an escutcheon pin in the apex to spin on.
I do these experiments very subjectively, but twirling them in my concave shaving mirror and timing them with my watch!! It is fun, but not very accurate.
I have decided that I will talk about these tops just as they come out of the box. That is what I would do if you were standing along side of me. So here goes.
A metal
tipped top. Spun well. It has a low Center of Gravity (CoG) and good weight at
the perimeter of the whorl
.
A nice shaped top but nothing special
about its spin.
A bulky whorl that gives it a bit of good momentum
I made this from some scrap wood. The top is too light to be efficient.
I rather like this shape. I have used it for my aluminum tops (or close to it). It is only an average spinner.
I am not sure if I made this top, but it looks like my design. A bit of bulk near the axel and the whorl lightened to give some perimeter weight.
A good spinner. Nice weight. Would do
better with a thinner axel to twirl it with.( More initial speed)
A small twirler. Fun not efficient.
Spins well, but not a winner
This gave a creditable performance.
A pretty top. Nice sort of circular precession.
A small twirler. Fun only
Another small twirler. Spins quite well though.
A larger version of one of the above. Nice shape.
This top also spins very well.
I did not use nice wood for this top. A bit ordinary.
A bit like my acorn tops. Needs good momentum to get it to spin well.
Spins very well for a small top.
I do not think I made this top. It is light and nicely turned.
Ah... yes. My sputnik top. It spins ok but really I named it after a memorable night with my Dad who showed me the sputnik in the sky the night that it was launched. Dad was a one time navigational officer in the merchant navy. He knew the sky like the back of his hand. He read where it was that we could see it and he just looked there and there it was, a bright fast moving "star". ( I liked my dad a lot.. miss him I suppose. There was so much that he could teach me now, but when you are young there are other things on your mind... !!)
A natural edge top. Quite a good diameter. Spun quite well.
Small twirler.
A really good spinner. Thin axel, heavy whorl. The point could have been "sharper".
Nothing special about this one.
This is a good spinner. It needs the help of a thinner axel.
Made by a person in Sweden. Given to me by Tammy.
A fairly big top. Goes very well, but hard to get it up to speed.
Another version of one of the above. I think I call these "Pyramids"
Really this is best as a palm spinner. Nice precession pattern
That seems to be all in that part of the box. I must have done something with the "winning" tops as I do not recognise the two that got "my" honours. I gave them away I suppose! Typical.
It looks as though I am in my antique section of the box now.
This is quite an old Diablo
One of my two peg tops that have the antique label
Another peg top
This is an old whip top. the 50s I believe. I will not call it antique because I was a boy then!!
Not antique. I bought it in Covent Garden in the UK when I gave a paper at an international conference (Not on tops)
This is American 1930s. Sent to me by an American friend. It was part of her family toys.
This is not antique. It is made in India, but is a copy of a Victorian English top.
Now it is pot luck as the rest are all laying on the bottom of the box in a jumble.
A Bonny Klein top. My current pride and joy!
Here is a nice buzzer that I bought at a wood turning charity event.. I like buzzers. We made them out of the tops of tins. Complete with sharp edges so that they cut "things"
I think that "Champagne" tops rank amongst my favourites. Most tops will spin on their axel if the axel has something of a point. But these really have the champagne glass appearance.
I did not make this. It is a weighty top with a thin axel. A Sydney wood turner made it for me.
Modern Diablo
A fantastic novelty top. Made by French turner at our latest international symposium. he made some great traditional tops too. I am pleased to have this top.
Made by Ernie Newman. After a Japanese type of top I believe. Ernie is a friend of mine from Sydney. I have a gallery of his tops on this site.
I am pretty sure that I bought this in France. A nice figurine top.
Yes I think I got all three in Paris.
Foot spinners. I had never seen these until a friend in Israel sent them to me. You put the three tops inside each other, lay them on the floor, put your foot on them and the you sort of "flick" them with pressure from your foot. They separate and all spin together. It takes a little practice but it works very well when you get the knack.
This is a top made by my friend Gulio. He was one of my first mentors in wood turning down in Victoria (Australia) He made this for me at a recent international symposium. Now there is something special about this top. I have fiddled with the exposure, but I am afraid that it is still hard to see. But if you look at the rim of the whorl in the highlighted area you will see what looks like a circular groove. Well, what that is a mark that delineates the out side ring that spins "separately" from the top. It is a separate ring. Really clever stuff. I came home to see if I could make one like this and, yes I can.
A gift from Jerusalem
This is a "very" large supported top I bought from a junk shop.
A McDonalds teetotum
Tammy sent me this one too. The box on the right is the winder.
A brass, aluminum and a miniature top. The mini is made from a brass bolt.
A Racer Top, from New Zealand.
These are great fun. I bought them from EBay. They are internal spinners. Sort of gyroscope like.
Modern peg top. This is what I practice with. When I do practice!)
A recent acquisition. A bouncy spring top.
Another recent acquisition. I think the idea is to get all these spinning on top of each other. I can, but it is fun trying.
One of mine.
I think I bought this locally.
This is the other old top from America
A very large supported tippe. Made by the teacher from whom I got my first lesson.
I think my friend John Sandstrom gave me this one.
A gift from Israel and the black one from John Sandstrom
My only top from Thailand
A plastic Tippe top.
Three
plastic tops
The top on the left is made from an hexagonal bolt.
Greek and Roman curves. By Ernie Newman
Well that is it. I have to say that I might find more in a drawer or a box somewhere in the future. Unfortunately I live in a small retirement unit and I have so little space to keep all the things that I would like to keep. Hence I think that my "give away" collection around the world is perhaps my best collection.
For example I do not have a set of my ultra miniature bone tops. You will have to find them on Johns web page. I do not have any!! Never mind, tops are fun. Mind you I am getting serious about Japanese tops. But I have discovered that they are so expensive.
Please send me pictures of any of your Japanese tops, together with their Japanese name (in English script please) I f you give me permission I might like to put them on my web page
