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Another Marble Race Toy...

Art Mulder

Art Mulder

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Location
London, Ontario
This is in the Winter 2008 Canadian Home Workshop magazine. I'm pretty pleased with the design I came up with. In particular, I like the ability to race, since there are two tracks.

left-view.jpg close-view.jpg right-view.jpg

can be just a tad noisy... :rolleyes:
 
Very cool, Art!! I may have to tackle one of those in the near future. :thumb:

Question...are the grooves in the bottom of the longer runs merely decorative, or do they serve some functional purpose?

Thanks!!!

- Keith
 
Keith Starosta said:
Question...are the grooves in the bottom of the longer runs merely decorative, or do they serve some functional purpose?
Click to expand...

They make noise. rattle-rattle-rattle as the marble rolls down.
It affects the angle at which you set those pieces... too shallow and the marble will just stop. too steep, and the marble will just zoom past the cuts without making noise.

So, not just decorative, but not specifically functional.
Just adds to the overall impact.
 
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Hi Art :wave:,
That is really nice. Wish we cold hear the sound track to it. What is the time difference average one might expect over a series of ten races? Is it + or- 1 second, closer, or a wider spread?
Does one side prove to be the "Dealers Choice:rolleyes:"? If we race can I wax my side?:rofl:
Nice job and good post.
Shaz
 
Robert Schaubhut said:
Hi Art :wave:,
That is really nice. Wish we cold hear the sound track to it. What is the time difference average one might expect over a series of ten races? Is it + or- 1 second, closer, or a wider spread?
Does one side prove to be the "Dealers Choice:rolleyes:"? If we race can I wax my side?
Click to expand...

Waxing optional.

It took the kids about ... hmmm ... 15 minutes to figure out that the Walnut track ran faster than the Ash. Not by a ton, but a little. I think it must have a few angles that are fractionally sharper.

You want to hear it? Just for you, Shaz...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03-EFrQktiU

Hmm, definitely not a sound stage, nor a professional camera. The bell is louder in real life, and the rattle of wood is quieter. I think it's bouncing off the corner at us.

...art
 
Art Mulder said:
Waxing optional.

It took the kids about ... hmmm ... 15 minutes to figure out that the Walnut track ran faster than the Ash. Not by a ton, but a little. I think it must have a few angles that are fractionally sharper.

You want to hear it? Just for you, Shaz...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03-EFrQktiU

Hmm, definitely not a sound stage, nor a professional camera. The bell is louder in real life, and the rattle of wood is quieter. I think it's bouncing off the corner at us.

...art
Click to expand...
Hi Art :wave:,
Thanks, I just went here and really appreciated the visual and sound. I can imagine the bell being louder. The sound of the balls rattling and the thump as the change directions was a good thing.
Guess the kids will have to determine the exact place to start on the Ash to make it a fair run, any way, thanks again, good project.
Shaz:)
 
If I had any kids on the gift list, I'd be stealing that idea bigtime. ;) Cool stuff, Art. Thanks for the pics and the video.

With that noise, it'd be a good gift to give the kids down the street whose parents throw noisy parties at all hours of the night. Just a little payback. :p
 
Good work Art. Seeing this reminded me of something I ran across some time back. You might find some ideas for your next marble race here. Check out the rest of the site. More interesting woodworking stuff there. ;)
 
Sadly, when I saw your post yesterday, it broke my heart.
When I put my shop together I had high hopes of making things like that for my grandchildren. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on your point of view, my son and his wife are successful and prosperous. They buy just about anything that is for sale for the children, mostly electronic stuff. And, my son doesn't have an ounce of sentiment in his body. Items are simply 'stuff' to him and when something is no longer used it gets tossed. The toys I have made them so far are no longer around.
I trust the recipients of your game will enjoy and treasure it for a long time.
 
I made a gumball machine a few years ago just for kicks. It was in the shape of a grandfather clock as in it had the base, the trunk and the top to it. The darn thing held 3½ gallons of gumballs. Basically it was a giant marble roll and the gumballs made something like 10 transitions before it came out the bottom.

Unfortunately this was in my early days of woodworking, and as I get better I start to really get embarrassed of my early work. So one day I got sick of looking at that pine concoction and made a bonfire out of it. Some day though I would like to make another. They are a lot of fun to make (and use).
 
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