Carousel Spinner

My take on a fidget spinner. :wink:

Carousel

Confession time…in addition to critters, I like carousels. Particularly the antique ones with hand carved wooden horses.

I even have a full-sized carousel horse in a corner of the breakfast area - (Yeah, we had to scale down the table to get it in there, but it’s cheerful, it fits with my “eclectic” decorating style, and visiting children love it.)

IMG_3930

This was one of the things I’d planned to make with the laser once I got my own, so I’ve been playing with it on and off for the last couple of weeks, and it’s still a little rough, but it’s coming along, so I thought I’d show it since I’m likely to get side tracked again here pretty quick.

I created the horses from photographs of actual antique carousel horses, including what I think are a couple of Dentzel horses (c. 1900) , and a hippocamp just for fun. :smile:

Had some problems with the actual construction, the first design incorporated small neodiddlium magnets to “float” the rotating table for better spin… only it didn’t quite happen that way. The rotation tended to jump from point to point between magnets.

So scratched that and started over.

This one rotates “okay”…I’m actually shooting for the kind of spin that the GF Desktop Tool Carousel enjoys, but this one is too wide for a single pin support. (Too much wobble introduced by the weight …I’ll work on it.)

In addition, got a bad sheet of maple, which i didn’t notice until I’d already engraved and cut the posts. I think I’ll replace that with some cherry PG, they look a little stark in maple. And I’m not happy with the size - they turned out a little bit too wide.

Other than that, I’m fairly pleased with it, and it’s fun to fidget with. :grinning:

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This is absolutely wonderful @Jules!

Not being critical (this design is waaaay beyond the scope of my skills) but I think it needs color … just because color and richness of detail are some of the best aspects of real carousels :wink:

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Chuckle! I was going for “quiet muted”, but the horsies are definitely colorable using whatever method you choose. (The prototype in draftboard would take paint very well.) :wink:

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LOL, what is this “muted” of which you speak? I tend to be a bit heavy handed with color :wink:

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This is extremely cool. Lovely detailing.

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Cute!

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Then you would probably LOVE to visit “The House on the Rock”. That guy collected an amazing numbers of carousel animals.

Carousel starts at around 1:50.

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Yeah, that’s one heck of a collection! :smile:

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Oh, my! That’s gorgeous.

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Great idea Jules :sunglasses:!

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Wow! What a fun project!

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@Jules How about a simple gold ball on the top ?
Keep your muted design, but a finishing touch ?

:upside_down_face:

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I might wind up reworking the design completely and using a finial at the top to spin it. (Although I’m afraid cutting a ball in the Glowie might be beyond my skillz.) :smile:

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Jules, I put nothing beyond you !
:upside_down_face:

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Oh Jules…this is absolutely and delightfully superb. How large is this? I can get some idea in context with your finger next to it to spin it. I think this is just beautiful. It brought back a most favorite childhood memory for me. When I was a little girl and went to visit my aunt and uncle, I used to stare in wonder at a glass case that was hung on the wall. Inside the case, along with other wondrous things, was a carousel with gold filigree around the top. A ‘grownup’ would take the carousel out of the case and I was allowed to wind it up to hear the music as it turned round and round. Many years later, my aunt and uncle gave me this little wooden one for my own…and it resides today in a glass case on my wall. Probably about 60-65 years old, now. It’s about 3" tall and 2.5" high.

I just love that you made a carousel…and such a beautiful one. Your skill and artistry always just blow me away, and this was none the less. Thank you for showing us and for bringing a fond memory back to me.

And…in re; John Brooker’s suggestion…maybe just a golden bead on the top? The well-worn gold finial on the top of mine is indeed for spinning it.

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Oh, see if i had seen that one, I probably would have gone with the alternate spin idea to start with.

What a great looking plaything! It’s got character and heart. (They just don’t make 'em like that any more.)

Now I’ve got to rethink this one. Crud! ROFL! :smile:

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Love it! I really like the depth it has on every level of the piece, from the very top down to the platform. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen anyone with a carousel horse in the corner of their kitchen. Interesting!

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:smile: Yeah, that was non-negotiable when I got married - I came with the horse. (Picked it up at a consignment shop using an entire week’s pay at the time, and repainted it to be a little less garish than the red, black, silver and orange that it was initially.)

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What the what!!! That is so cool and love the background story!!!

Nothing wrong with anyone’s taste in what they like. I use to collect fish bone stuff (Not real fish bone, but the fish skeleton look)

This has your name all over it
Jules%20Cake%20Pop

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Those are cute, cute, cute! :smiley::+1:

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