Turning is Tops

[Kenneth Whiting]

I played around for about 2 hours trying to figure out how to make a top. No I didn't mess up 3 times, I found 3 ways not to make a top. It's about 2 1/4 inches across. I sanded it to 320 for some reason then put 1 coat of pecan wipe-on poly.

I think it spins uneven because of the narrow grain on one side, tight grain is heavier right? If so I guess I'll have to watch that next time, didn't even think about that.

All comments are welcome. Point out what I'm missing.

[John Keeton]

Bo, not sure what the problem is on the top as I have never attempted one - too low center of gravity???

Anyway, looks like you are certainly refining your work!

[Paul Atkins]

I've made hundreds of tops and each one spins differently - hey, it's wood. Some of the best looking ones don't spin very well while the ones that have knots and holes might spin long and true. All of mine are end grain. I have another short video in the works showing how I do it. Now if we could get a dynamic balancer for tops ---

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Paul,

We could get a dynamic balancer for tops but I will bet you wouldn't like the price!

[Jim Underwood]

Originally Posted by Kenneth Whiting

I played around for about 2 hours trying to figure out how to make a top. No I didn't mess up 3 times, I found 3 ways not to make a top.

I think it spins uneven because of the narrow grain on one side, tight grain is heavier right? If so I guess I'll have to watch that next time, didn't even think about that.

You're right, some tops have heavier wood on one side.

But more often than not, a wobbly top has a tip that's not quite centered. I found that if you cut the bottom of the top first, and then the stem, that it happens less frequently because the tip is cut cleanly.

If you make the stem first, and then the bottom/tip last, then you're more apt to get a "twist off" when get down to the last cut, and the center is no good...