Project #37 Marble Machine 1 Revamp

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In a throw back to an earlier project (#7, wow did I really make these less than a year ago). I took on the challenge of revamping my first marble machine. I've been to half a dozen maker faires this year and it became apparent that the original design had a few quirks.
  • You can draw an arrow on the handle to indicate which way it should be turned but nobody looks at it. The result was balls spewing across the table.
  • The balls were quite sensitive around the spiral and a little bump or a slight angle would cause the marbles to skip some of the track.
  • The nuts and bolts and screws are quite unattractive and they take time to bag up in the kits (plus add cost)
  • The whole machine felt a little lopsided because the spiral stuck out to one side.
The revamp addresses all of these problems but it took significantly longer to do than I was expecting. I had to redraw every single part of the machine and rearrange the cutting layout for the new pieces. The result is a machine that looks better, works nicer and is much cleaner overall, the only thing left for me to do now is switch the mdf for laser ply but if I'm realistic it's not going to happen and it's only a personal preference anyway. (svg here)

As always I'm sharing the files so you can cut/modify your own, but I'm cheaper than the various online cutting services. This kit is available for purchase through my shop http://msraynsford.myshopify.com/products/marble-machine-1
37 Projects/ 46 weeks


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