Latest fixation, be prepared to spend yet more money! EDC Pocket Tops

[marcus fenix]

Well done Ian!

When you say performance isn't great, does it wobble when spinning?

It's actually pretty stable when spinning but not absolutely motionless. The biggest problem seems to be precession, if you start it off and it's leaning a lot it takes a very long time before it pulls itself up in to a nice stable pose. I think I need it lighter in order to be able to generate much higher rpm, and more mass to the outside. I'll also knurl my knob next time for a better grip (fnar fnar). Won't be for a while though as it's not my lathe and not near my house either.

How long do you chaps get out of the commercial ones? Are these guys just freaks?





(I did see the video from the earlier poster on here with 11m from the Vorso too)

[AM94]

How long do you chaps get out of the commercial ones? Are these guys just freaks?

Reading on the Lambda site, he seems to indicate that it takes a fair bit of practice to get spins of over six minutes.

Your spin-time can (and will) vary. However, I'll leave you with the guesstimates below. These are based on my personal experience, and observation of other people testing the Lambda. If you can't seem to hit the numbers below, give it a little more "wax on, wax off!" That means "practice" in case The Karate Kid was after your time. Not the new one, the old one :)
6 Minutes: Most people should be able to hit this without trying too hard. You have to have a good surface where the top can actually stay on it for that long. Try a plate or bowl to keep your top from falling off the table.
8 Minutes: Put in a little practice and 8 minutes can be reached...some of the time. This was the first big milestone. To go past 8 minutes you have to have a good surface...and good technique. At this point I can break 8 minutes almost every time.
10+ Minutes: If you practice a lot, you'll start seeing spins over 10 minutes...but that isvery hard to do. Even now, I might get 1 out of 5 spins that are over 10 minutes.
Just keep in mind that trying for a long spin is one way to enjoy your Lambda, but it's not the only way!

[Skool]

After joining a couple of the FB groups that Thorien recommended, what's really surprised me is how fast and for how much money some of the spinning tops sell for. Several I've seen sell in minutes whilst others attract a bidding frenzy with prices going for over £200. And I thought it might be a cheaper hobby than collecting watches!

[Skool]

Ha ha sorry, but I'm not really! Maybe we can get a group going and do swaps and things in the future
Gratz on the Navigator btw, which one did you go for? I know a few others have pm'd to say they've joined in on the Navigator also.

I went with the most popular SS/Cu/SS combination. What about in the future we stage a TZUK spinning competition for the longest spin with some watch related prizes? Nothing serious just for fun.

[Thorien]

It's actually pretty stable when spinning but not absolutely motionless. The biggest problem seems to be precession, if you start it off and it's leaning a lot it takes a very long time before it pulls itself up in to a nice stable pose. I think I need it lighter in order to be able to generate much higher rpm, and more mass to the outside. I'll also knurl my knob next time for a better grip (fnar fnar). Won't be for a while though as it's not my lathe and not near my house either.

How long do you chaps get out of the commercial ones? Are these guys just freaks?

I honestly don't know how to advise and guess it's a case of trial and error to see what works. Knurling I'd imagine will help to get that good grip and theoretically lower total weight with the mass distributed more to the outside and the lower centre of gravity with a reduced height stem all seem like good things to try. 5 min spins seems good to me, but I'm new to all this myself.

After joining a couple of the FB groups that Thorien recommended, what's really surprised me is how fast and for how much money some of the spinning tops sell for. Several I've seen sell in minutes whilst others attract a bidding frenzy with prices going for over £200. And I thought it might be a cheaper hobby than collecting watches!

It all seems to be going a bit crazy atm, as so many new members have joined the groups. However they don't have to be expensive, the ones that go for the most are usually fancy metals or anodized versions etc. Here's a link to another indiegogo project I came across last night, though at this one is China based prices seem very reasonable, small tops though by the look of them:


https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/t...2/x/13571630#/

[markl]

Slightly off topic but does anyone have any idea about these ?




They were given to me many years ago by my old boss who always had them on his desk.

Looks to be some sort of betting/gambling game and French - but I'm guessing. He didn't give me any information with them.

Mark

[Thorien]

After joining a couple of the FB groups that Thorien recommended, what's really surprised me is how fast and for how much money some of the spinning tops sell for. Several I've seen sell in minutes whilst others attract a bidding frenzy with prices going for over £200. And I thought it might be a cheaper hobby than collecting watches!

I saw one go for $600 last night and was offered on at over $1000! Naturally I declined.

I went with the most popular SS/Cu/SS combination. What about in the future we stage a TZUK spinning competition for the longest spin with some watch related prizes? Nothing serious just for fun.

Sounds like a great idea I'd be up for that!

[BillyCasper]

Slightly off topic but does anyone have any idea about these ?

They were given to me many years ago by my old boss who always had them on his desk.

Looks to be some sort of betting/gambling game and French - but I'm guessing. He didn't give me any information with them.

Mark

Spinners for a game called Put and Take.

[AM94]

For the StarWars and top geek, this could be of interest:-

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/2731..._home_active_1

[stooo]

Spinners for a game called Put and Take.

Wow, that takes me back to 1980's Christmases.

[Rich Stadler]

Hey all, Rich from BilletSPIN here. Found this the other day. If you got any questions let me know! Appreciate the support :)

Rich

[Thorien]

Hi Rich, good to see you here on TZ-UK. Really enjoyed the experience so far with the whole project and the fact you've posted out over half of the navigators before you got paid was epic. Will certainly be buying more Billetspin tops in the future.

Cheers, Thorien.

ps: Will post pics on this thread when I get mine!

[MrLion]

am I the only one who doesn't really get it?

+1!

[Jdh1]

Here you go:













...For the man who has everything, and **** all to do!

[Thorien]

Haha nice one ^
I'm sure you can getter a better spin time though ;-)

[Snoopdong]

Looks great, lots of detail in that, real precision engineering!

[Skool]

Nice to see the first picture of a navigator on the forum. I'm waiting patiently for mine.

If you didn't get spinning tops, try buying a good one, Once you've perfected a good spin it's very captivating, calming and satisfying. Now I need to buy a good spinning station.

[paw3001]

The Vorso MK1 Performance has just arrived and achieved this time on its second spin!

[bitfield]

What, you're not timing it with a chronograph? Missed opportunity!

[Thorien]

I've actually bought and sold quite a few in the last month or so. My billetspins have arrived today as well . Will try and get some photos together over the next couple of days. Very happy with my small collection and find spinning a great stress reliever. Bonus the kids love playing with them all too.

[Skool]

I've actually bought and sold quite a few in the last month or so. My billetspins have arrived today as well . Will try and get some photos together over the next couple of days. Very happy with my small collection and find spinning a great stress reliever. Bonus the kids love playing with them all too.

Which are your current favourites? I'm waiting on my Billetspin which will hopefully arrive soon.

[nr73]

How are you guys getting billetspins? Their site says all of them are sold out.

[paw3001]

What, you're not timing it with a chronograph? Missed opportunity!

True but they were in the watch box and not wound! GMT IIc today!

[Thorien]

Which are your current favourites? I'm waiting on my Billetspin which will hopefully arrive soon.

Well, I have to say I'm loving my Navigators. I got both the Damascus and the cu/br/cu and wow they are stunning. They spin really well and smooth also.
I also have one from Gavin Sexton (Dynamic Inertia) which I Love - again a great spinner and easy to spin for my kids too.

How are you guys getting billetspins? Their site says all of them are sold out.

Post #15 (I gave a link to the sale on Indiegogo) and post #34 lots of Facebook groups where you can buy and sell many different tops.

[Rich Stadler]

Awesome all! Got a new one coming out this week called the Rotor. It will be sold on the website www.billetspin.com

[robt]

These look interesting. Not sure about the EDC part though.

Jim Skelton

doot doot?

[Thorien]

Headsup! I believe the new Billetspin Rotor will be available from tomorrow on the Billetspin website and also on Etsy.
Here's a vid showing the different combos:

[Thorien]

My collection is growing quite a bit atm, now have 4 navigators a Rotor and an Alpha from BilletSpin, plus a few others from other makers. Such a great stress relieving hobby.
Having fun with them all, will try and get some pics up next week.
Here's the Facebook group for BilletSpin if anyone is interested in joining in, it's a really friendly group

https://www.facebook.com/groups/391445661039396/

[Skool]

My collection is growing quite a bit atm, now have 4 navigators a Rotor and an Alpha from BilletSpin, plus a few others from other makers. Such a great stress relieving hobby.
Having fun with them all, will try and get some pics up next week.
Here's the Facebook group for BilletSpin if anyone is interested in joining in, it's a really friendly group

https://www.facebook.com/groups/391445661039396/

Come on, let's me honest here. With the release of the Rotor and the exotic models not being listed on the site but Etsy instead. It created the most bitter and heated fallout since the Panerai 360 ltd run on Paneristi. I saw grown men acting like spoilt children, whining because they missed out on purchasing a spinning toy. It was shameful! So much so the owner had to make more to stop the tears.

I suspect the majority of them sold go to speculative resellers, looking to cash in at a later date.

[Thorien]

Come on, let's me honest here. With the release of the Rotor and the exotic models not being listed on the site but Etsy instead. It created the most bitter and heated fallout since the Panerai 360 ltd run on Paneristi. I saw grown men acting like spoilt children, whining because they missed out on purchasing a spinning toy. It was shameful! So much so the owner had to make more to stop the tears.

I suspect the majority of them sold go to speculative resellers, looking to cash in at a later date.

Well there were some upset that they didn't get what they wanted but generally I am finding it a great and friendly group. The success of BilletSpin has attracted a lot of 'newcomers' and some probably are speculators. Tbh those that were whining about not getting what they wanted just need to get real. There is a limited supply and so obviously unless you are quick you may miss out.
Agreed though, those acting like spoilt children should be ashamed of their behaviour.
Still, I am enjoying my new hobby and I'm finding there are a lot of decent people in the group and also in the top collecting hobby as a whole.

[amnesia]

Not intending to collect tops, but it is a bit of a "thing" on youtube etc these days and I did decide to pick up a Vorso from a british maker on KickStarter...

....really attractive thing and really good spin times.... hand made and coming in at £25 delivered

I have had over 11 minutes out of it! (Even made a video of it because I am a bit odd like that! https://youtu.be/dz0S0DNVnpE)

Ha ha... I watched that vid last night just after I'd ordered a Vorso Mk1.

[Thorien]

For anyone who's after a new top, the second batch of the Trident from BilletSpin will be released this Thursday at 6pm GMT:

[Thorien]

Heads up, The K2 is on indiegogo and live as of this afternoon, a lot already sold out!

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/bi...t/x/13571630#/

[Dazzler]

One-year on - how are you crazy people getting on with your spinners?

[robt]

One-year on - how are you crazy people getting on with your spinners?

Has it been a year already? I never got around to getting one of these, but still think they are kinda cool, in a newton's cradle desk toy sort of a way. Did they get killed off completely by the fidget spinner craze?

[VDG]

I demand 1,5 min of life back after skim reading through 3 pages of is nonsense.

[Thorien]

I've got quite a collection now, not massive but all lovely (to me anyway! :-))

Here's a sample of some of mine:

https://www.instagram.com/spinningserenity/?hl=en

I've also got some spinners and marbles (showcase art glass, not for playing with, made out of borosilicate not soft glass like normal marbles. They are also quite large ranging from 1.5" in dia up to 3").