Little Paul - #
My last EJC was in 2001, but I've got clear memories of a chap who turned up there and the previous year (and possibly to a few dutch fests as well) who had a lazy-susan turntable thing that he would stand on.
It was mounted on a slight angle, and by shifting his weight he could cause it to rotate slowly.
The reason I mention it is that after almost 15 years of not-quite-getting-round-to-it I built one a week or two ago. I learnt a load of lessons building it (and trying to use it) and I've just taken delivery of the parts required to build the second version.
This time round I'd like to take some photos and write it up - and I sort of feel I should give credit where credit is due. So does anyone know who I'm thinking of? Or even better have some videos/photos of the chap? Or perhaps a historical act who included the same device?
I remember him too. Must have been Karlsruhe 2000 that I saw him at, as I wasn't at EJC 2001. I only remember him out in the open, just playing, rather than performing an act though. Sorry, no better info, apart from confirming your memory.
Little Paul - - Parent #
Yeah, I don't remember him doing an act, only playing with it in the gym.
I remember a guy standing on a turntable out in the sunshine wearing a bandana. He was spinning for a very long time without spotting. I was with Mr K. at the time so it would have been either Bremen in 2002 or Carvin 2004. He didn't do anything other than spin round but it was strangely hypnotic.
It is a French guy whose name I don't remember, I first saw him with it at a convention in '95 or '97. He is also the first person I met who had (what I now know is called) a Salerno Ring which I think he could do while on the turntable, he also had a Kangorou unicycle with 12" cranks.
I did chat with him again at EJC in Bruneck, but just can't recall his name, maybe Matt can remember.
I also made one of these self propelling turntable with adjustable tilt to try and work out the optimum tiltage, but the bearings I used weren't very good - it might be in the shed still.
Daniel Simu - - Parent #
The French guy with the Kangaroo unicycle is still regularily attending (French) festivals. I have seen him at least 5 times or so
Many of those times I tried the platform, it is fun and not so hard!
No clue what his name is though, but I am sure if you ask any French festival regular they would know who you are talking about!
I've seen that spinning equipment in outdoor play areas. Sometimes in the form of a platform to stand on, as you described, and sometimes in the form of a seat.
Scott Seltzer - - Parent #
I saw someone with something like that at EJC this year. All I can tell you is that he was probably in his 60s and thin and he arrived at EJC a bit after I did (he may have been about 30 people behind me in line at registration at around 12:45 on the first day).
Cedric Lackpot - - Parent #
Inclined one-person roundabouts are now commonplace at your local neighbourhood play parks. They look like a stainless steel funnel, mounted on a short pole and canted over by a few degrees, you sit inside and surprisingly subtle shifts of weight will get you moving rather easily.
Here's a terrible photo of what I'm thinking about :-
https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tJvvtVVQ2GA/UnbLdtJVtMI/AAAAAAAAL_8/tD0BjKk4hQ8/s1600/newroundabout.jpg
And there are also these mad dangerous buggers :-
https://www.sheffieldhistory.co.uk/forums/uploads/monthly_02_2011/post-822-006549000%201298641494.jpg
Stephen Meschke - - Parent #
I am considering building one myself. My plan is to construct a plywood box with a slightly tilted top that has three roller blade wheels in it (in the same orientation as a bicycle wheel). A 1.5 inch plywood disc will rotate on top. Two additional wheels (rotating horizontally like a top) will keep the disc from slipping off of the three vertical wheels.
Cedric Lackpot - - Parent #
Make it easy on yourself and use the main bearing and spider from an old washing machine - light, strong, and you won't have to faff about with lots of inefficient roller blade wheels.
Little Paul - - Parent #
I'm clearly not going to get as far as writing this up properly any time soon, so here are some notes.
Platform: I'm using a couple bits of 1/2" plywood from the offcuts bin in my local DIY store. The one on the bottom is cut square, and the platform is round (ish - I wasn't all that careful with the jigsaw) Platform is around 10" across.
Tilt: You don't need much of an angle, infact a shallow angle is probably better than a steep one as while it's harder to get it started it's easier to keep it under control. I tried using a piece of 3/4" battening and while that was easy to start, the spin was hard to control and I kept falling off after a few rotations. I'm currently using a strip of the plywood offcut.
Bearings: I've been using "lazy susan bearings" eg https://simplybearings.co.uk/shop/index.php?cPath=4747_5233&gclid=CNmJ0uO57McCFUu6GwodlyEKew as they're fairly cheap and behave in the right way. I've had a couple of issues though.
I started out with a 4" bearing and while that worked well there was enough play in it that the platform would "ground out" on the base bringing me to a stop unless I put my feet together right in the middle of the platform (which made control omghard)
I then bought a 9" bearing and while it solved that problem the bearing appears to be pretty crappy at actually being a bearing. Packing in some grease may help that, but I haven't got that far.
I suspect that I either need to stump up some coin for a better quality 9" bearing, or go somewhere in the middle like a 6" bearing.
Stephen Meschke - - Parent #
I have found 12 inch 1000 lbs lazy susan bearings for around $15. I'll use a thicker plywood too, probably 3/4" or I'll glue two sheets of 1/2". You may be rubbing because of plywood deflection.
I just saw him at #25PyramidalesJonglierundKleinkunstfestiv (random tag truncation?) three days ago - unfortunately not having read this post. He's not only active in France, but also a regular at some southwestern German conventions like Freiburg and Karlsruhe. Due to my lack of French and lack of interest in slowly spinning, I don't know much about him.
But the silver cape he has added to his slowly spinning around looks nice.
Daniel Simu - - Parent #
I was going to post this months ago, but didn't get to it...
Now here finally:
I came across these 2 at a juggling convention in Bad Ems, late September. I am not sure if they were part of the gym or part of the festival.
The angle was quite steep, I found them harder to use than the one from the French guy.
https://i.imgur.com/lHi16i8.jpg
Stephen Meschke - - Parent #
I have finished building a similar device. I call it a balance trainer, you can find more information here: https://goodyearsww.com/balance.html.
Daniel Simu - - Parent #
Well documented!
Don't the straws cause a lot of extra friction?
Stephen Meschke - - Parent #
Thank you.
There is a small amount of friction from the straws rubbing against the steel balls. They are squeaky, so I want to find a quieter material. Overall, there is very little resistance. I am pleased with how it works.
I tried using it without the straws. I worked, but the steel balls ground against each other.