Glow Ghost Fidget Hand Spinner

This glow ghost fidget hand spinner is another original design in the series I plan to work on all summer. My goal is to post a new fidget blog and YouTube video every week. This version all started months ago when I  was walking through my local Home Depot and found a half price can of glow spray paint because it didn’t have a lid. After a quick inspection it appeared to have never been fired, and weighed as much as was indicated at the bottom. I use spray paint all the time for my builds so finding a lid from an empty can was easy.

A couple things I noticed about glow paint. Its thick and has a bit longer drying time. I tested the first coat after an hour and it scraped off the scrap of plexiglass easily. After hitting the scrap with one more coat and letting it dry for several hour it seemed to hold better. One factor might have been the plexiglass was not sanded. For this build I wanted to leave it transparent to the other side and thought scuffing the surface up might impact the effect I was looking for. The next day I sprayed over the glow layer with a glossy clear coat which gave the plexi the protection it needed. All told I sprayed three layers of the clear coat. I tend to go overboard on this to be on the safe side. The other challenge to this build was getting the eyes right. I wanted a sunken look to play up on a 3-D effect. I found the plastic wasn’t easy to scratch and using an etching tool on the Dremel was hard to manage so I used a small drill bit that came with the set and moved it along the black eye of the template and it worked perfectly, giving me the groove and depth I wanted. From there all that was left to do was add the marbles or beads and the the bearing race to each fidget and a couple minutes later it was done.

Check back every week for new fidget builds and posts.

Glow Ghost Fidget Hand Spinner Pattern (PDF)

Ruby Red Plexiglass Fidget Spinner

This ruby red plexiglass fidget spinner is an original design, never seen before on YouTube or beyond my workshop until now and the second in my new weekly fidget series. Easy to build, this toy will cost less than $4 in materials per spinner. I’ve gotten some feedback about posting “$3 or less” from folks saying it doesn’t include the cost of tools. Point taken. Putting together a workshop or even a toolbox takes money, unless you are lucky enough to inherit some or can pick things up cheaply from places like Craig’s List or at a garage sale. Tools are out there, and a bit of creativity will result in getting you pretty much everything you need if you continue to have a keen eye for deals and opportunities. Tools have never been cheaper. Places like Lowes, Home Depot, Walmart, Michael’s, Harbor Freight, Amazon, and Ebay provide unlimited access to stuff at fairly reasonable prices. If you plan ahead just a bit you can get most of the things you need on sale. Sometimes the discounts are crazy good.

Planning several builds ahead certainly helps.

My fidget builds started as a way to make simple toys for my kids. Since January I’ve challenged myself to make original designs using easy to work with available materials. I’m finding there are a lot of people taking other’s creative ideas and countless hours of build-test-build and passing it off as their own. You always take a chance with this when posting your original creations on social media. I’m fine with anyone using my designs for personal use or even building on my concepts and taking the ideas in a whole different direction, this is great and certainly encouraged. This expansion of knowledge is a pure demonstration of the power of the Internet.

In order to ensure credit and profit to those who deserve it, I promise to reference in my posts and videos other makers whose ideas influenced mine. I encourage you to do the same. This way we all contribute to the greatness of the maker community and ensure those working hard in their basements and garages are supported to continue their passions whatever it may be.

New fidget videos posted every Saturday on YouTube.

Ruby Red Plexiglass Fidget Spinner video

Ruby Red Plexiglass Fidget Spinner Pattern (PDF)

DIY $5 or Less Super X Multi Fidget Hand Spinner Build

This tutorial will allow you to make your own multi fidget hand spinner. The Super X fits well in your hand and you can customize a one-of-kind spinner with some tape or paint in your favorite colors. I’ve broken down the steps in the YouTube video so they’re easy to follow. See the parts and equipment list in the PDF below for further details.

Super X Multi Fidget Hand Spinner Build (PDF)

360° Video: DIY $2 wooden marble fidget toy, hand spinner

Fidget toy builds on YouTube have become rather popular. These hand spinners are quick and easy builds and a great way to de-stress or focus on a task when a lot is going on around you. Also good for those with ADHD and Asperger’s. My build posts are all in 360 video, which is a media I am currently exploring.

Here is one of the videos.

And for those who have asked here is a PDF of the pattern I used.

Template for DIY $2 Marble Fidget, Hand Spinner (PDF)

Social Media For all Ages

I work for an organization with a lot of very smart people, the leaders in their fields, and we seem to pride ourselves right or wrong on how many are PhDs. Our technical talent has an average age of over 50, which according to Silicon Valley standards is not in the same universe. You talk to these folks about social media and they typically roll their eyes and say something like “that’s what my kids, or grandkids do.” Once again these are smart people who travel all over the world making incredible strides in technology. The other side of our workforce are the admin staff folks – those who keep the day to day operations going. Their average age is mid to late 20’s and they are constantly on social media, tapping into their smart phones all day while at work, sometimes they try to hide how much sharing they’re doing particularly when the older set is nearby. For years what they did was referred to as multi-tasking until the term fell in disfavor a couple of years ago. On breaks and at lunch they are inseparable from their lifelines to friends and family. Now before you challenge the statements made above, I realize there are outliers for all groups of folks but for the sake of this discussion let’s assume for the most part, these polarized groups exist together and contribute to the overall success of the company even though some share too much on social media and the other not enough.

Over the past four years I have been striving to find the balance of being somewhere in the middle of these two factions while trying to understand the views and perspectives of both. Starting in July my goal is to post something on Pinterest, Instagram, and YouTube using our family trip across the USA as the motivator. For the most part I’ve succeeded. I’m working on Twitter. And for many of the younger set they might think I’m doing it wrong or relying on tired portions of the web, but I figure go with what I know for now and expand later when and if more time becomes available.

Thanks to my wife Andrea my website is revamped and I’m still trying to carve out an hour or so after everyone is in bed to work on my third novel. All  of this sharing can be time consuming and getting likes and followers takes time. But overall the experience has been positive and rewarding. Like when I took on public speaking, working with the various elements of social media has honed my communication skills, particularly visually, and gotten me thinking in how best to convey messages and ideas to all people across the spectrum. Am I great at it yet? I’d like to think of this project being more of a work in progress. We’ll see over time how things all work out.