This is a little ten-minute (or less) Instructable that shows you how to make a spinning top from an eraser and a pencil. You can make it when you're bored in school or have nothing else to do. It's also a pretty neat thing to impress your friends with. The most time I've ever gotten it to spin is about 25 seconds, counting slowly.

Step 1: Materials

The only two things that you must have for this instructable are:
1) a bar eraser (the big square kind) and
2) a short pencil. If you don't have a short pencil, you have to sharpen it until it is short, about 3 3/4 inches (3.75 in), that's about 9 cm for all you metric people out there.
The two optional things are a sharpener (for making the pencil shorter) and, if you want, a drill, to make the hole in the eraser. I know this seems like using an elephant gun on a mouse, but it's much faster.

Step 2: Make the Hole

Basically, make a hole in the eraser. I said you could do this in school, but you cant really use a drill. at least not at my school. If you have a drill and drill bits, drill a hole in the eraser that is snug with the pencil, so that it doesn't slip around. If you don't have a drill or can't use one in school, use the pencil. Just keep twisting it around until it gets through. Make sure you have a sharp tip, and push hard. Always make sure you make the hole in the center of the eraser. If not, it probably won't work.

Step 3: Tweak It.

You need to fine-tune the eraser and its angle with the pencil. Move the eraser up and down, and tilt it side to side. You're trying to achieve the best balance all around. When you spin it, spin it like a regular top, with a flicking motion. If you have it on a very slightly angled surface, it will slowly go down and leave a cool track from the pencil lead. If you can't get it to work, just keep trying to move the eraser around. And, something impressive to do when you get really good is.... spin it on your finger! it's pretty cool. Have fun and don't forget to leave a comment and rating!