Marble Racetrack -- NOISY kids toy.

[Art Mulder]

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...





And at the bottom they leave the track, ring the bell, and drop into this sort of catch basin area



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



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 )



Top Down, watching them roll



Ringing the Bell…



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.



The base needs to be thick + heavy, so it doesn’t tip. I embedded the back into a dado.

[Bruce Page]

Fun project! I bet the kids love it.

[Lee Schierer]

Fun project! I bet the kids love it.

I agree, but after 20 minutes I bet the parents hate it or the bell comes up missing....

[Phil Mueller]

Well done Art. Nice woodworking with a bit of engineering. Back when our kids were younger, my sister and I would send each other's kids the noisiest toys we could find for Christmas. This would have been a good one back then.

[Art Mulder]

I agree, but after 20 minutes I bet the parents hate it or the bell comes up missing....

Stuff some paper or a rag under the bell and you can mute it.

It's definitely a "keep it in the basement" sort of toy.

[Floyd Cox]

Art, that is too cool! would you happen to know where I could purchase a set of plans or would you have it in sketchup drawing?

[Art Mulder]

Art, that is too cool! would you happen to know where I could purchase a set of plans or would you have it in sketchup drawing?

Floyd, please click on my name, and in the drop-down menu click on the "visit homepage" link. I have more details on my website.

[Art Mulder]

Floyd, A later follow up:

It is now on the newsstands. I just saw it in my local Lowes:
I built this back in 2007/8 and it was published at that time in Canadian Home Workshop magazine. (That magazine has since ceased publication)
This spring/summer I was approached by the folks over at Scrollsaw Woodworking magazine about publishing it again.

It's now on the newstands both here and in the US, in the October "Gizmos and Gadgets", which is an annual(?) special projects magazine that they put out. (I saw it in Lowes just the other day... I had first thought it was only going to be sold stateside.)


And no, I did not use a scrollsaw once on this project. :rofl:

gizmoscover.jpg