I find it interesting that this thread was just posted I just finished restoring a Christmas carousel I bought about 30 years ago. It was in pretty said shape when I got it and I just never got around to repairing it till now. Six grandkids I guess was enough to inspire me.

The one I have has a steel rod that is sharpened to a point and the point rest on a flat piece of metal I had to replace. I used a center punch to put a slight dimple in the new metal but it caused to much friction and would not turn so I tried just letting the point set on the surface of the metal and it now works fine.

The grandkids like it but I think grandpa enjoys it the most maybe I need to figure out how to operate it with a smart phone so the kids can relate to it more.