We have a toy top made by my wife’s grandfather, James McCombe. I wanted to try to remake it as it is all woodturned. It consists of a top, a handle, and a string to pull. I started by putting together a two and a half inch square piece of wood built up from two pieces of walnut and two pieces of cherry. This formed a simple checker board pattern in section. I drilled a hole for my screw chuck to hold this piece on the lathe. This became the body of the top. I turned an axel for the top that fits in the hole I drilled for the screw chuck. Next, I turned the handle out of walnut. I drilled a hole in the handle to house the string for the top and a hole for the top’s spindle. I sanded everything to a polished finish with 500 grit sandpaper. The top works great, but really no better than the original.
