This woodturning project was inspired by a visit by Eli Avisera to the Cascade Woodturners. Eli Avisera is an Israeli woodturners. He made a small wood spin top that also served as a lid to a small box. He made it look so easy, I just had to try it myself.

Fortunately, I had some hard maple in my wood stack that was perfect for the project. I started with a block 2″ x 2″ x 4″. Unfortunately, my four jaw chuck capacity is just under 2 inches. So I had to be very careful to size the tenon to fit.

I followed the same sequence of steps that Eli Avisera did. I’ll have to do another few hundred to catch up with him. The top and box are textured that is then colored. V grooves mark out the texture sections. V grooves in the box were also burned with a wire. I burned the lip of the box with a piece of scrap wood.

In the end, the top spins so it is a success. I should make a few more right away to cement in the process.