I wasn’t sure where to put this, so I thought I’d throw it in unrelated Unrelated Discussion.
Anyway, I was at the local supermarket today to pick up some stuff. While walking through the aisles, I found a generic-looking wooden spin top in retro packaging for 99 cents and a rack of Coke in glass bottles:
I just thought it was cool that I found these two in the same place. Though I couldn’t help drinking it on the way home, the Coke bottle was surprisingly authentic. The cap wasn’t screw off, and needed a bottle opener.
So I’ve decided to get into spin tops(great, another skill toy to spend my money on). I have a few questions about the hobby.
First off, what type of string should I use?
Second, what would a good beginner top be?
and third, what length of string would be recommended?
So I picked up a cheap wooden top at the grocery store today and I was wondering if yoyo string would be ok to use with it? Or is it to thin? Help on a good starter spin top would be appreciated as well.
jtman562, Welcome to Spin Tops! You’re gonna love it!
String - Cotton string (not yoyo string). Thickness of string will vary depending on the top being thrown.
For example, the string supplied with a Spintastics Trompo Grande spin top is considerably thicker than the string supplied with a Spintastics Blizzard top.
Good beginner tops - For a modest price the Duncan Ripcord and the Duncan Bearing King.
Both a fixed tip top and a bearing tipped top would be good to start with.
Having both will give you a greater variety of tricks to learn.
String length - Use what is provided by the manufacturer at first. For the Bearing King I happen to use 66" length. I suggest you buy a ball of Multi-purpose twine, Twisted cotton #24 at Ace hardware. Cut it on the long side give it a try, then slide the Button down a bit, put a knot in and retry until you get a length that works for you.
String length is not a simple thing in tops, I’ve made an attempt to cover the topic here:
For that wooden top just use the string it came with, it should be fine.
You should be able to learn the basic throw to the ground with that top, but it is not a trick top like a Bearing King or a Trompo Grande, mainly because of the shape of the tip.
Well, I believe I’m doing fairly well for only a day of spin toping.
I can throw the top into a sled(one of those saucer ones), pick up the sled, pop the top out of it and let it spin on my hand. Then toss it back into the saucer(still spinning), put it on the round, then pop it up with the string and catch it in my hand.
I was thinking of getting a Duncan Bearing King. Would this be a good choice? I assume the top I have now would be the equivalent of getting a yoyo from the dollar store.
BK’s are good tops, but you gotta tape them up at the cap seam with electrical tape BEFORE YOU THROW, they kinda like to crack there. Also be sure the string you get is long enough (for a while they were packaged with string that was too short), it should be at least 64". Also in the latest run sometimes the inner bearing is not pushed all the way down, simple to fix but casues real problems if you don’t know what’s going on. There are some weight distribution mods you can to to a BK to make them much better IMO. Trompo Grandes are good too for $7 more.
