Making Fidget Spinners

[John K Jordan]

Is this fad something like the hula hoop??

I suspect it will outlast the hula hoop simply because the accessory is quite portable. Besides, the hula hoop requires some coordination and skill.

Those with flashing lights are mesmerizing as well. We are all doomed when someone figures out they can easily sequence a strand of LEDs to display text as it spins and have them spell out subliminal messages to control the kids minds. No, wait, TV already does that...

Coincidentally, we had a bunch of hula hoops at the church this week for the five dozen kids to bleed off some energy before the group meeting time. I found out I can't hula like I used to but I can still throw one about 30' with some reverse spin and have it come back to me.

JKJ

[John K Jordan]

https://www.mlcswoodworking.com/shop...es/forsbit.htm

here is a supplier of individual sizes.

I don't see the Freud there. I did find plenty of metric sets and individual sizes (and bought some) but the reviews are iffy, but some make you wonder if the reviewer had ever used a Forstner bit. This morning I ordered a CMT 22mm to try. The reviews on those are mixed, too. I'm leaning more toward reducing a stock 22mm bit.

JKJ

[Dave Lehnert]

I don't see the Freud there. I did find plenty of metric sets and individual sizes (and bought some) but the reviews are iffy, but some make you wonder if the reviewer had ever used a Forstner bit. This morning I ordered a CMT 22mm to try. The reviews on those are mixed, too. I'm leaning more toward reducing a stock 22mm bit.

JKJ

I purchased a set of Freud Carbide Forstner bits years ago.
I find them a bit undersized or maybe made to tight tolerances is a better description. Think they may be perfect for fitting bearings if you can find the correct size.

BTW- Fantastic job on the spinners.

[Robert Willing]

Trying to match bit size to bearing size is a crap shoot. I bought 40mm lazy susan bearings on Amazon and ended up using a 1 9/16 forstner bit for a good fit. The 40 mm bit was too big.

[Steve Peterson]

Wow, I really like the looks of the cocobolo spinner.

Here is one I made from big leaf maple. I ended up making 20 of them as goody bag gifts for my daughters birthday party. The weights are pennies with wooden plugs glued in. I cut them on the CNC. A few had center holes that were too tight, so I used the Ridgid spindle sander to open them up and epoxied the bearings in place. I left bandsaw marks on the thumb tabs so they would have some friction.

Skateboard sized bearings are very common. The first ones I made were taken from the blade guides on my bandsaw. They spin OK after cleaning the sawdust out of them, but they are a bit noisy. New bearings cost under $1 in 10 packs. You need to remove the seals and soak them in solvent to remove the thick grease.

fidget1.jpg

btw: I made mine on a CNC router. Nothing touched the lathe.

Steve

[Mike Nathal]

Tim Yoder just published a Youtube video on making fidget spinners. He talks about ceramic bearings and no lubrication.