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Tops are a natural on the lathe, easy to make and they use up scraps of lumber that might otherwise be tossed. The problem with tops is they walk around and tend to get away from you if you aren't careful. I turn tops between centers, get the shape I want, part it off, recenter the tailstock and make another. I will get two or three tops from a scrap block then toss whatever is left. Tops, when I was a kid, was entertainment all by themselves, kids today however with all the computer games and so forth would like a their tops to do a little more... Competition makes the world go round and playing with tops can be more interesting with a little competition going on. I dished out a square of gum, rounded off the corners and I now have an arena for the tops to battle in. The object is to knock the other guys top down into the groove on the outside, thereby knocking him out of the ring. Simple, but makes the whole top thing more interesting. 
The Battle tops arena. 
End view show rounded corners on battle top arena. The center section is raised a tad from the outside which creates a battleground if you will and getting the top to spin on this battleground can be a challenge in itself if the top isn't well balanced. Small, cherry or maple works better than heavy spalted oak. I tried both, I can be dangerous with the cherry tops! The arena actually sits on 4 rubber feet but you could easly turn feet for it on the lathe.
Recommend this article... Last update : 04-03-2007 16:40
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Woodworking 
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