There are many styles of tops, probably more than you ever dreamed of, and it will surprise you to hear that the owners of some of the most curious forms are bearded men who take as much delight as any girl or boy in spinning them. A few years ago on Murray Island, which is way down among the South Sea Islands, top spinning took such a strong hold upon the attention of the natives that they neglected their work, and families often were without food, boys and girls having to go to school hungry. Matters became so serious, in fact, as a result of this fad for top spinning, that, finally, the head chieftain was compelled to restrict it to certain days. There are many experts among these South Sea Islanders. The men sing songs while their tops spin, cheer them on, and take the greatest precautions to shelter them from wind. An eye witness of a contest reported that the winning top spun 27 minutes, which you must admit is a pretty long time.

Whip-tops and peg-tops of several varieties can be purchased at the corner candy store, but the kinds I am going to show you how to make cannot be bought anywhere.

Clock Wheel Tops. A splendid spinner can be made of the little balance-wheel of a broken clock (Fig. 119). This little wheel is so accurately made that it will spin very steadily from a minute and one-half to two minutes. As the ends of this wheel's axle are pointed, the top will stand in one spot as long as it spins.

The toothed wheel shown in Fig. 120, or any of the other forms of wheels from a clockwork will make good spinners, yet, unless you file their pivot ends to points, they will not spin in one spot but will glide and hop over the table in spirals. The friction thus produced decreases the length of time that they will spin, but makes them none the less interesting as tops. Great fun may be had spinning these wheel tops around the balance-wheel top, while the latter is spinning. Figure 129 shows how to hold a clock wheel between the thumb and first finger, for spinning. Start it with a snapping movement of the fingers.

A Rug-Tack Top. A rug tack or large upholstering tack is another good spinner. While the clockwork wheels are spun by twirling them by means of the upper end of the pivots, the tack top is spun by holding the spinning point between the thumb and first finger, as shown in Fig. 122, then giving it a quick twirl and dropping it upon a table. The tack top is an eccentric spinner. First it hops about in a very lively fashion; then, when you think it is about ready to topple over, it regains its balance and for some seconds spins quite as steadily as the clockwork balance-wheel top. The tack top can be spun upon its head as well as upon its point.

A Spool Top. The top in Fig. 123 is made from a half of a spool and a short piece of lead-pencil. Saw a spool into halves, and then taper one half from its beveled end to the center. Sharpen the piece of pencil to a point, and push it through the spool until its point projects just a trifle. Spin the spool top in the same way as the clock wheel tops.

A Spinning Top Race-track. By drawing a track upon a piece of cardboard, as shown in Fig. 129, with an opening on the inside, great fun may be had by starting any one of the small tops just described, with the exception of the balance-wheel top, in the center of the space inside of the track, and tilting the cardboard so as to cause the top to spin through the opening on to the track, and around the track. There is a trick in keeping the top from running off the track that can be acquired only with practice.

A Shoe-polish Can Top (Fig. 125). This is a sure-enough good looking top, and it spins as well as it looks. It is made of a pencil, a cone-shaped piece cut from a spool, similar to the top shown in Fig. 123, and an empty shoe-polish can.

The dotted line in Fig. 126 indicates how the end of the pencil sticks through a hole in the shoe-polish can, then through the cone-shaped piece of spool. The hole through the can must be located in the exact center, so the top will balance properly. To find the center, place the box bottom down upon a piece of paper, and with a pencil draw a line around it. Cut the paper along the center, and you will have a piece the shape and size of the can bottom. Fold the piece in half, then in half again the other way (Fig. 127), open it up, and the intersection of the two folds, indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 128, will be the exact center. With the center located, place the piece of paper first upon the bottom, then upon the top of the can, and punch a hole through the center of it and the can, with the point of a large nail. Increase the size of the hole enough to admit the pencil.

Spin this top in the manner shown in Fig. 125. Hold the upper part of the pencil between your hands, with the palms together, and slide your hands back and forth, first slowly, then rapidly. Release it so as to cause it to drop squarely upon its point upon a level wooden surface. The steadiness of this top's spinning will depend entirely upon the accuracy with which you cut the center hole for the pencil.

A Spiral Top. The top in Fig. 130 presents a curious appearance while spinning, the spiral design upon it seeming to change its form as the top revolves.

The only difference between the construction of this top and the shoe-polish can top is in the substitution of the spiral disk for the polish can. A pencil and cone-shaped piece of spool are required as in the case of the other top.

The spiral design for the disk, shown in Fig. 131, is large enough so you can make a tracing of it on a piece of transparent paper, and then trace it off upon a piece of cardboard. Fill in alternate rings with black ink or water-color, in the way shown, then cut out the disk, pierce a hole through its exact center to fit over the pencil end, and glue the under side to the top of the cone-shaped piece of spool. Spin this top in the same way as the shoe-polish can top is spun (Fig. 125).

A Merry-go-round Top (Fig. 132) is a new idea easily carried out. You will require a cardboard disk 12 inches in diameter, three spools, a pencil, and some light-weight cardboard.

Fig. 133 shows the details for this top. If you haven't a compass, use a large-sized dinner plate with which to draw the circumference of the disk (A). Then cut a conical-shaped piece of spool (B), stick the lead-pencil through it for a spinning point (C), punch a hole through the disk to fit over the pencil, and tack the disk to B. Cut off a third of the length of a ribbon spool for E, and fasten another spool (D) to the top of the pencil. Spool D should be glued fast to the pencil, and the spool-end E should turn loosely upon it. Coat the lower part of the pencil with glue so it will stick fast in B.

How the Top Spins. When you have made this much of the top, spin it to see how it works. Wrap the spinning cord—a strong lightweight wrapping-twine—about spool D, in the same manner that you wind the cord on any top; then, holding spool end E with the left hand (Fig. 132), pull steadily upon the cord with the right hand until all is unwound, and gently drop the top upon its spinning point. To get the best results, the cardboard used for the disk platform must be very straight. If it warps, flatten it by pressing it under a pile of books.

Horses and Riders for the merry-go-round may be prepared like those of the clockwork merry-go-round in Chapter X (Figs. 143, 146, and 147). Figure 134 shows how two burnt matches or toothpicks are lashed to the legs of the horses for supports, and Fig. 133 shows how holes are pierced through the disk platform to stick them in.

A Flag mounted upon spool D will make the merry-go-round top complete.