'Never make another decision again! Make your own WHEEL OF DESTINY!

Okay, heres the deal, I teach 7th grade and in class I am often having to put students together for group work, choose people to hand out materials, choose people to collect materials, choose people to participate in demonstrations, etc. Sooooooo to help eliminate all the whining that goes along with some people getting chosen and others not, I decided to build a WHEEL OF DESTINY!! This virtually eliminates the ongoing whining, for if the arrow lands on someones desk number, then it must be their destiny.

In this my first instructable I will teach you how to build your own WHEEL OF DESTINY!! (on the cheap)
 
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Step 1: Gather your materials.

wheel 01.jpg

The WHEEL OF DESTINY contains these basic parts:
Base
Arm
Arm Braces
Selector
Swivel
Wheel

Materials
scrap 2x4s
scrap MDF
1 - swiveling caster wheel
several - 2inch-3inch wood screws
2 - 2.5 in bolts with matching nuts
several 3 inch nails
string
paint

Tools
awl
hammer
electric jig saw
compound miter saw
electric drill
metal drill bit
Might need : metal punch (nail set)
electric grinder

ebrunar says: Jun 7, 2009. 2:47 AM
Thanks for the caster tip! I don't think I would have come up with it myself. I built an 80cm wheel out of 5mm MDF for the fair at my son's school. Worked beautifully. It was spun over 200 times in 4 hours. Since the caster had so much play in it that the bottom of the wheel would occasionally hit the post, I added a little roller on the post, about 2 inches from the bottom of the wheel.
dobbylvr says: May 27, 2009. 5:35 AM
that is so much better than the popsicle stick crap our teachers always try to force on us. They make us write our names on sticks and put them in a jar. They've done that every year since like 2nd grade (I'm going into 9th) and all thats ended up happening is people that don't want to do anything stealing their sticks from the jar when the teacher's not there...
bobhill125 says: Jan 3, 2009. 10:33 AM
THUG2 wheel of lugies lol
northie says: Sep 8, 2008. 4:14 PM
I'm going to start it this weekend... muhahahaha! The possibilities are ENDLESS! Anyway, I've decided though that I want a flapper instead of an arrow. To me, the sound alone adds to the anticipation. I got my idea for how to make the flapper here: http://rotationhelp.com/rotations/games/wheel/instructions.html
Thanks for posting this instructable!
pepsivanilla93 says: May 13, 2008. 2:03 PM
die,live,die,live...
lemonie says: Jun 28, 2007. 5:09 PM
Would also work as a "Wheel of Justice" (very good) L
mcanderson76 (author) in reply to lemonieJun 28, 2007. 11:43 PM
Sounds fair and speedy to me. :)
Mitten says: Jun 27, 2007. 7:24 PM
Wheel of Morality; Turn turn turn, show us the lesson we should learn. .... Lesson number four! If you can't say anything nice, you're probably at the ice capades.
mcanderson76 (author) in reply to MittenJun 28, 2007. 11:42 PM
Perhaps it's all part of my diabolical plan to take over the world! narf
i.am.mozman in reply to MittenJun 28, 2007. 10:32 AM
My first thought when I read the title was Princess Angelina Contessa Louisa Francesco Banana Fana Bobesca The Third.
trebuchet03 says: Jun 28, 2007. 12:23 AM
For the record.... Most commercial wheels you can buy are capable of being rigged.... Typically, you can tell by looking at the front of the board for any extra pockets around the edge that protrude out -- these are supposed to make it look nicer, but there's chicanery afoot!
mcanderson76 (author) in reply to trebuchet03Jun 28, 2007. 11:39 PM
Interesting. Thanks.
jeffreyf says: Jun 27, 2007. 6:21 PM
This is great! When I ran a consulting group, I would always joke about creating the "Wheel of Pricing", so we could say to our clients, "You have two choices. The reports will be 20,000 dollars, or, you can spin the Wheel of Pricing!" Sadly, said wheel was never created. I think others though it might be unprofessional.
mcanderson76 (author) in reply to jeffreyfJun 28, 2007. 11:37 PM
I was also thinking "Wheel of Chores" for the kids. "Do you want to clean up your room or spin the ...WHEEL OF CHORES!" :)
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