Marble Racetrack -- NOISY kids toy.
I built this several years ago, but just revisited it recently to put together a more detailed web page with many more photos.
Overview: Drop the marbles in at the top, they race down one of two tracks, banging and clattering all the way...
http://i.imgur.com/ZG1qE8b.jpg
And at the bottom they leave the track, ring the bell, and drop into this sort of catch basin area
http://i.imgur.com/gaztpvD.jpg
I bought this brass counter bell (desk bell) kit from Lee Valley. They don’t sell it any more, but you can find a counter bell at any office supply store, or check amazon
http://i.imgur.com/gYNS2Xr.jpg
This is a two-dimensional marble toy. (Rear view) all the track pieces are simply glued or tacked to this vertical plywood back.
(If you want a complicated 3-D type of marble toy, I recommend checking out one of Matthias Wandel’s, like this one: http://woodgears.ca/mm2/index.html )
http://i.imgur.com/BnxGivU.jpg
Top Down, watching them roll
http://i.imgur.com/9JCkLNC.jpg
Ringing the Bell…
http://i.imgur.com/x0gQSfP.jpg
I used 9/16" diameter chrome steel balls. And then made this wooden track sections from 3/4" wide by 1/4" thick stock, glued up into this U-shaped channel.
http://i.imgur.com/7OOjIIs.jpg
The base needs to be thick + heavy, so it doesn’t tip. I embedded the back into a dado.
http://i.imgur.com/OSsxoHd.jpg