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Product Description
Named after the Columbia River—located near the NW Tops workshop in Northwestern Oregon—the Columbia spinning top spins long and smooth, just as the river runs. With a 1.25-inch diameter, the top is fairly large, but this is also what makes it spin so well Read More
It may be too late after the end of the drop and maybe nobody will see this, but anyway, I want to mention the awesome quality of the customer service.
There was some balance problem with the (tungsten) top I received and I had long technical talks by email with Matt & Jen about the possible cause. Finally, we opted for trying to re-balance the top. I was very curious to see if that was feasible (and indeed I had serious doubts about it). But the result is much beyond what I expected: a very smooth top, with no flutter until the last minute. My best spin time after two days is quite good: 19:25 mins at 29°C (84°F) (in Bangkok, where the humidity conditions are far from optimal).
I like very much the simple but elegant shape of this top and its feeling in my hands (I can repeat the same for the copper version I bought previously). And I do like its unique pattern of holes (the original deep one on its side and the three shallow re-balancing ones on its bottom). It has a WC bearing ball, so that it's all shades of silver.
Finally: soon, when I'm back in Paris from holidays, this top will have done a full circle around the Earth (plus an LA-Paris initial trip).
I purchased the tungsten version of this top, and after it had been shipped out I noticed on NW Tops website that they also offer it with a tungsten carbide contact point. I contacted Matt and Jen to see if I could exchange it and not only did they say no problem, but they also sent it out to me right away with a paid return label to return the ceramic contact top without making me wait to return it first. Absolutely the best customer service I’ve ever seen, as well as an incrediblely well made spinner! It has no flutter until the very end of a spin, and then it is minimal. My best spin time so far is 20:45! Thanks again Matt and Jen, you guys are the best!
Richard D
Hmm. That wouldn't be good. I mean they do often come to a stop on mirrors and 20cm focal length lenses w/ Froglube oil. 50cm, no. I can't SEE flat spots on the tips but don't know how small they would be. Here: https://i.imgur.com/nuiWtw0.jpg
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EDIT: Sorry about not clearing the dust off first before breaking out the macro lens. :)
NarganIt's very difficult to see a flat spot on a reflective surface such as ceramic or WC. I saw one once on a white, matt Alumina Oxide ball, using a small 60x microscope (my fault: I spun it with a string in order to get higher rpm and longer spins - after that, spin time dropped from 18+ to 11-).
You can indirectly suspect a flat spot if your spin times diminish wrt to your initial ones, but this is unlikely to happen with ceramic in only a few days, unless you did something really wrong with your top.
From your video, it seems your top is well-balanced, as there's very little wobbling at the end of the spin; considering the design and the good balance, it should easily reach 20+ mins; if it doesn't, then you can suspect (and only suspect, not deduce) a flat spot.
Like Glennac, I tend to consider standing stops as not so positive signs in general (except for planetary spinners and their large balls), but there's always the exceptional possibility of a particularly good balance.
I'm very interested in picking up the Tungsten version. I noticed that after shipping and tax charges it comes out to $163.24 to NJ, but sells for $160 on the NWTops website. Is this intentional?
I bought the copper version a few weeks ago from the website and I'm so pleased with it that I subscribed (for the tungsten one) as soon as I saw this drop.
In the 1st top (copper), I greatly appreciate the quality of materials and of work. This top is beautiful. Its design is excellent, with more of the heavy material in the lower part of the disk. Balance is perfect, the sleep state is easily reached, spins are very smooth and the final wobbling phase is quite short. My best spin time in 20 tries is 14:46 mins at 21°C. It makes me curious to test the tungsten version.
Yep, skin oil does work well. Recently, I've been trying WD40, Froglube (after Nargan mentioned an extraordinary result with it) and Astroglide. I get similar results with the 4 and, contrary to my hopes, spin times depend as much on temperature with any of the 4.
20+ mins with the Tungsten Columbia is what I'm expecting after getting used to it, considering design, size and weight (and my moderate skills).
I'm wondering which kind of tungsten you'll be using (in the sense e.g. that the Lambda top uses tungsten HD17).
NWTopsThanks, I know, but I got ripped a new one by DHL a few times, these guys are rotten, I won't take a chance.
I have contacted someone at Massdrop, hopefully they will know! If it's Asendia or USPS I want to get in for the Tungsten one! (If it's DHL I'll pass, reluctantly).
I'm happy someone is making 1"+ tops, tired of seeing all the cool looking tops at .75" and below. Sometimes folks don't want to carry a top in their pocket, just spin it on their desk.