Product: Toy: Spinning
Spin-ulpture   (+7)  [vote for, against]
Psychodelic toy to stare at

When I'm bored at work (which is pretty much all the time) and my boss is on the computer (which is now pretty much all the time), I am reduced to fidgeting with paperclips to keep my mind busy and off any actual work. This idea sprang from that fidgeting.

I would like a small round base with a chuck on it to accept a bit of thin, fluorescent colored wire. Said base should be housed in a shadow box of sorts to minimize light from anywhere other than the viewing angle. Attached inside the shadow box is a black light. The chuck allows for removal of said wire for sculpting purposes. The sculpted wire is then re-inserted into the chuck where it rotates at about 100RPM to give it a solid appearance (i.e POV) This allows bored/ high individual to make several different symmetrical, vaselike sculptures from a single piece of wire.

It is really more interesting than this idea sounds like. Try it with a paper clip when you're bored outta your gourd at work.
-- bleh, Mar 21 2007

Time to get a different job.
-- nuclear hobo, Mar 21 2007


What pretell is a "chuck" anyway?
-- blissmiss, Mar 21 2007


A "chuck", pray tell, is a clamp for round things, often with a turning collar to tighten the three fingers down around the round thing being held. Most commonly used on an electric drill to hold different sizes of drill bits. Some require a "chuck key", some loosen and tighten by hand.
-- baconbrain, Mar 21 2007


All I could think of was upchuck. Thanks for the clarification.
-- blissmiss, Mar 21 2007


Staring at spinning chucks causes upchucks. In me, anyway.
-- shapu, Mar 21 2007


A 'chuck' is simply a male chick.
-- nuclear hobo, Mar 22 2007


What's up, Chuck?

speaking of bleh... you're fired.
-- thumbwax, Mar 22 2007


This should be combined with red/green/blue LEDs that provide modulated illumination. For example, switching rapidly between red and green light results in an object which is striped red and green. Using LEDs allows for an infinite variety of patterns, including smooth gradients and rainbows.
-- IJK, Mar 22 2007


//speaking of bleh... you're fired//

if only.

I like the multi colored lights idea <ijk>, but i was thinking of something easier to produce, no chips or anything like that, just a motor with a potentiometer to control speed and a switch for the blacklight.

thanks for the votes guys!
-- bleh, Mar 22 2007


//The wire should be malleable enough to be manipulated by idle pokes.//

if it was that flexible, i dont think it would hold up to the spinning.

//I would have given a bonus point for r(h) eostat.//

are my potentiometers not good enough for you?
-- bleh, Mar 23 2007


Seeing Thumbs UpChuck, priceless.
-- blissmiss, Mar 23 2007



random, halfbakery