DIY Wooden Fidget Spinner That Glows in the Dark

In this Instructable I'll show you how I made a DIY wooden fidget spinner toy. Fidget toys like this have become really popular recently and I have to admit they are weirdly addictive to play with.

I wanted to make a hand spinner for myself so I decided to use some scrap walnut, recycled skateboard bearings and Kirinite to make this one and guess what? It freakin' glows in the dark!

I've detailed to whole process for making this fidget spinner in this video and I've included Ebay links to tools and materials that I used to make it happen.

You can support my channel by clicking through those links and making a purchase as I am a member of the Ebay partner network.

Without further a do – let's make us a glow in the dark, DIY, wooden fidget spinner toy thingy!

Step 1: Tools & Materials

I've detailed to whole process for making a wooden fidget spinner in this video and I've included Ebay links to tools and materials that I used to make it happen. You can support my channel by clicking through those links and making a purchase as I am a member of the Ebay partner network. It will not effect the price you pay in any way, it just helps me to keep making videos!

Can't be bothered to make one? Check out these fidget toys on Ebay:

Ebay USA: http://ebay.to/2jUmch1

Ebay UK: http://ebay.to/2jRa3Jr

Skateboard Bearings

Ebay USA: http://ebay.to/2jpubzg

Ebay UK: http://ebay.to/2jpC9Ix

Green Glow Kirinite

Ebay USA: http://ebay.to/2dICkQn

Ebay UK: http://ebay.to/2eRFEGb

21mm Drill Bit

Ebay USA: http://ebay.to/2jK006H

Ebay UK: http://ebay.to/2jpoZve

Bench bandsaw

Ebay USA: http://ebay.to/2is9jqH

Ebay UK: http://ebay.to/2ihfe5G

Wood lathe

Ebay USA: http://ebay.to/2i3zkA8

Ebay UK: http://ebay.to/2ikzGOa

Bench drill press

Ebay USA: http://ebay.to/2j54bKe

Ebay UK: http://ebay.to/2jnVQAT

Step 2: Preparing the Walnut and Kirinite

I started by cutting my walnut and Kirinite slowly on the bandsaw then I sanded the faces of my slices flat on the bench sander to ensure a good fit on the glue up.

I made each slice of walnut 5mm thick, while the Kirinite was 3mm.

Step 3: Glue Up

I made a sandwich of walnut and Kirinite by gluing the pieces together with a thick super glue.

After clamping the pieces together I cleaned off any excess glue with some paper towel to prevent my clamps getting stuck to the wood!

Step 4: Designing and Transferring the Design to the Wood

I drew a template on graph paper and traced this on to my glued up blank using carbon copy paper to transfer the design.

Step 5: Drilling Holes

To drill the holes I used a 20mm paddle bit which was just a bit smaller than the diameter of the bearings.

I had a lot of blow out on the back of the blank but wasn't too worried as I could clean it up at a later stage.

Step 6: Roughing Out the Spinner Design

Back on the bandsaw I roughly cut out the shape of my design and trimmed the edges to width.

Step 7: Sizing the Holes for the Bearings

The holes were a bit small for the bearings at this stage so I used my trusty rotary tool to enlarge them to 22mm in diameter.

Instead of using glue to keep the bearings in place I wanted a friction fit. This meant I had to keep testing the size of the holes with my calipers and this took quite a while to get just right.

When I was close to 22mm in diameter I switched to using sand paper to finish off the holes.

I did a test fit to see if the spinner would work, but unfortunately my friction fit was a bit too accurate and I couldn't remove the bearings!

Step 8: Final Shaping & Sanding

I proceeded with final shaping with the bearings left in and the bench sander made easy work of it.

Before finishing I hand sanded the spinner working through progressively finer grits until I'd reached 12,000 grit. This left the piece smooth to the touch and evened out any tooling marks.

Step 9: Cleaning & Finishing

To clean the piece I scrubbed it with surgical spirit until it was dust free and applied Jojoba oil to the wooden parts to finish it.

A bit of WD40 got the center bearing spinning freely and that was job done!

Step 10:

So that's it, thank you very much for watching! I'm really happy with the way this one turned out, I know I made a few mistakes but that's part of it's appeal!

I mean this was not made by a CNC machine or a 3d printer, it was made by a real fallable human being (and that's me!).

All in all it's a fun and tactile toy that will serve it's purpose well (warts and all!).

Thanks again for watching you might enjoy some other videos from my channel such as this one where I made this glow in the dark “Death Trooper Ring”.

Watch My Death Trooper Ring Video Here

Check out those Ebay links like I said and subscribe if you want more.

See you in the next one!

Comments

[VinceD13]

what did you use to clean your bearings to help them spin more freely and smooth. I have made a few but am having trouble getting them to spin for an extended amount of time

[SporeC]

Would you happen to sell one? I'd buy it.

[pskarparis]

Looks awesome. Is there a cheaper alternative to kirinite? It costs a fortune to get some including shipping to Australia

[ZebranoWoodCraft]

Hmmmm I'm not sure of any other fluorescent acrylics but you could use a glow in the dark pigment and epoxy resin to either cast or inlay the glow material?

[Yonatan24]

Just saw the video. I love the way that you talk to the camera!

I need to make this. Now! :)

[ZebranoWoodCraft]

Thank you!

[Blue Hawaii]

Nice and simple. If you use a Forstner drill bit and a sacrificial piece of wood under the glued up stack, you will eliminate the blow out of the holes. I will try and make one. Also, I really like how you made the video. Keep up the good work!

[ZebranoWoodCraft]

Haha thank you, yes a piece of thicker wood under the piece would stop blowout. I did actually do that but I think the piece underneath snapped and it still happened ... oh well! Haha I think I will invest in somee better drill bits soon too!

[Modern Rustic Workshop]

The nice wood makes this look incredibly elegant!