Maker Monday: Spinning Tops

This activity is a great way to introduce your child to woodworking and to spend some time together! It’s intended to be done with the help of an adult. You will need a workbench with a vise and a small saw to get started on this Maker Monday project.

Thanks to Alison Francis and the Creativity and Literacy Program at the Fox Chapel Area School District for this one! 

Supplies needed:

Small saw

Wooden wheel with ¼ inch hole

¼-inch diameter wood dowel

Sandpaper

Low-temp hot glue gun

Vise

Acrylic paint

Tweezers

Pencil Sharpener

Ruler

Always wear safety goggles when working with wood.

Using tweezers, pick up a wooden wheel and put into a container that has watered down acrylic paint. Cover the entire wheel with paint and then put on the table to dry while you are completing the rest of the project. Alternately, you can use permanent markers to decorate the wheel.

Measure 4 inches on the wood dowel and mark with a marker. This will indicate where you are going to make the cut.

Secure the wood dowel into the vise. The cutting mark should be as close to the vise as possible to make cutting easier. Never try to hold a piece of wood in your hands when you are cutting. Make certain the vise is tight so that the dowel doesn’t jump around.

With both hands on the saw handle, make small back and forth movements with the saw blade on the dowel. Apply a small amount of downward pressure. Once cut, sand down rough edge of the wood dowel using the sandpaper.

Insert one end of the wood dowel into a pencil sharpener to create a dull point on the end. If the point is too sharp, the top will not have enough surface to spin on. If you do make the point too sharp, use the sandpaper to dull it down.

Put wheel onto the wood dowel about 1 inch up from the point and use hot glue to secure it to the wood dowel.

Your top is complete. Spin away!

For more Maker Monday projects and other fun stuff, head to the Kidsburgh Activities Page.

If you have fun craft projects your kids love, please share them with Kidsburgh! Send your maker activities to info@kidsburgh.org.