Fidget Spinners

Re: Fidget Spinners

John K Jordan

Do you know a good source for bearings?

JKJ

Re: Fidget Spinners bearings

Darryl

skateboard bearings from Amazon or Boca Bearings in Florida

Re: Fidget Spinners bearings

mikeee12345

There are a ton of fidget bearing listings on EBay, all depends on what

color and type of material you want for the final product. You can also

remove the seals from a standard sealed bearing and remove the grease

and oil with a solvent to get a "dry" bearing. The final size of your item

will somewhat determine the size of bearings you want to use.

The new pet rocks!

Re: The new pet rocks!

mikeee12345

One of those fads just like the internet. :-)

My niece is a teacher, she loathes those things!

Re: The new pet rocks!

John K Jordan

That's exactly what I said!

Then last week a girl, 13, told me she (and her family) still plays with the little finger top I gave her as a kindergartner.

JKJ

Re: My niece is a teacher, she loathes those thing

mikeee12345

Back in my school days chewing gum was a major offense. :-)

Today some teachers deal with guns, knives, and drugs on a regular basis in the class room.

Some of these teachers would be content with fidget spinners and cell phones instead of

dealing with the other extreme distractions. Self-discipline is becoming a lost skill set for many

of today's youth. Society is now paying the price.

Re: Fidget Spinners *PICS*

Ed Davidson

Yeah, I'm guilty...been making the little buggers for a few months now. Mostly give them away to the local kids (dads and moms want them too). The most popular design I make are those with a bicycle theme, using bike chain and sometimes derailleur pulleys. The paracord/skull ones are prtty cool as well. For how-to's, search YouTube: "DIY fidget spinner".

Re: Fidget Spinners *PICS*

mikeee12345

Ed,

I knew there had to be someone in the group making a few of these.

I was thinking about some burl wood or a combination of woods in a circular

form with a center bearing. Seems like the best design concept is a form with

a weighted outer circumference similar to a spinning top. You still need a convenient

means of spinning the device with your finger tip, so arms or cogs extending outward

from the body provide an easy mechanical advantage for accelerating the device. The

bike derailleur or a simple toothed gear is a great idea! I need to put the metal lathe and

wood lathe to work and try to marry the two materials into a functional item.

Re: Fidget Spinners *PICS*

Ed Davidson

Here's some pointers on making spinners, based in my experience:

- Almost all bearings will come out of the box with grease or oil in the races, which is a speed and spin-time killer. Bearings run best if they are clean and completely dry...no lube. However, most cheap bearings are steel (not stainless), and will rust.

- Start with a skateboard size "608" bearing that is stainless steel (both balls and races). They'll run between about $1.00 and $8.00 each through eBay or Amazon, depending on if you get them from a Chinese or domestic seller. Direct from China is much cheaper, but will take 4 to 8 weeks to deliver.

- Another alternative is a full-ceramic (all white) bearing, but they will cost between $8.00 and $15.00 each, no matter where you get them.

- The best bearing solution I've found is a "608" design with ceramic (white, sometimes black) balls and stainless races and body. They are available on Amazon.com in packs of 8 for around $27. Search for: Amphetamine Ceramic Skateboard Bearings

- If you use full ceramic (white) bearings, note that the body is made from Delrin or Nylon, and will flex. If you squeeze (press-fit) the bearing body into a tight hole, expect spin time to go way down.

- Most bearings will come with a plastic or metal shield on each side that protects the balls/races from contamination. You'll have to remove (maybe destroy) those shields to clean the bearings.

- Clean bearings with any de-greaser...citrus based works best. Rubbing alcohol or acetate works equally well if you don't mind handling flammables. Dry the bearings with high pressure compressed air.

- Yes, you definitely need some weight around the outer rim...to help with spin times/speed and general momentum.

- Note that almost all spinners have some kind of cap that your thumb and finger rest on that is proud of the bearing races...so your hand doesn't touch (slow down) the spinner. The caps also help keep dirt out of the races. All caps are two-parts, press fix or threaded through the bearing hole. They can be purchased online from people who do CNC machining, plastic injection molding and 3D printing. Search for fidget spinner "buttons" or "caps"

Re: Fidget Spinners *PICS*

mikeee12345

Ed,

What I was pondering was a Fidget Spinner with (1) central bearing with (2) oversized

caps turned on the lathe with the center gear teeth exposed on the outer rim between the caps.

The (2) outer caps would be turned from wood or composite materials to provide a decorative

element to the device. There are so many different concepts possible for this device.

Re: Fidget Spinners *PICS* *LINK*

Ed Davidson

Good luck...post pictures of whatever you come up.

In the mean time, have a look at this one...the latest version of a high-end, super expensive and limited edition spinner. Should be sold out within an hour of it's launch tonight:


SpinnerMint blog

Re: Fidget Spinners *PICS*

mikeee12345

All I need is a $400,000 CNC lathe and I can start producing in quantity. :-)

Re: Fidget Spinners *PICS*

John K Jordan

I read that a lot of people are making these on 3D printers using free downloaded files.

JKJ

Re: Fidget Spinners *PICS*

John K Jordan

Thanks for the details, Ed. Just this weekend I was asked if I could make a couple from wood.

JKJ