Our meeting included a demonstration on making tops, show & tell and wood auction
Dan’s Top Demonstration
Demonstration began with Dan suggesting that it is important to pick the correct style of top to make a good spinner. Some examples of poor design included: stem too thick; top to tall for diameter; disk (body of the top) too thin—the body should have significant mass to it. Ideal shape of the disk is wheel shaped. Remember the top should be large enough that it does not fall through the center of a toilet paper roll.
Dan used a parting tool and a spindle gouge to turn a top. The point of the disk should not be too sharp as it would be a puncture hazard. The stem should be about the width of a finger and 1/8 inch in diameter. Dan tapered both sides of the disk with the spindle gouge and shaped the stem with the parting tool.
Using Sharpies, Dan decorated the top and bottom of the disk. Ken remarked that at Black Moshannon, some of the kids liked the decorated tops, while others preferred to color the tops themselves. Club members were encouraged to turn their own tops over the next month and bring tops to the October meeting so the tops can be distributed to kids who come to the Reeds Gap State Park Fest demonstration, October 11, 2025 11:00-3:00.
Show & Tell
