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This is another of Matthias Wandel's super designs - but a bit more light-hearted than his joinery jigs, gear making programs, etc.

I made mine from plywood, pine and maple, with some oak of a suitable size for the bowl (which is the only part that requires the use of a lathe - gears are cut on a bandsaw).

I really enjoyed the build, and I have to say that Matthias's plans, including still pictures, text, and videos with their clear and concise voice-overs, make construction very easy to follow. His Bigprint program also made creating exact life-size drawings of the components simplicity itself.

I used a coat of Danish Oil to finish.

There is a video of my version in operation at but there are better versions on YouTube posted by Matt, including:


I think my grandchildren are gonna love this . . . . .

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Comments

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Looks like great fun!
 

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This is fun. Good work. Looks like another thing to put on my "To Do" list.
 

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Man that looks like a fun project. Very cool.
 

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Great! I love this things!
 

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Great project Don.
I am a collector of Mattias´ plans too. And this machine looks and sounds terrific.
 

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I love it, lots of fun.
 

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hi that looks like a fun project great construction how long did it take you to complete it
i really really like it branch
 

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branch: For once I DID keep a note of hours spent - albeit not TOO accurately!

I estimate about 80 hours actually in the workshop, but quite a bit of that time would have been saved if I had the correct thickness plywood for the big gears - mine was about 1.5 mm undersize which meant that the marbles were very close to the surface. Also, a decent Forstner bit to cut the holes would have given cleaner recesses. I used one from a cheap set which has cutters that appear to be made out of cheese!

Gnagen: I added a note to the main text about the need for a lathe
 

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Looks like it was fun to design, build and play with.
 

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Thank you for posting that video link.

You did a great job on that Marble Machine.
 

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Nice job… How long did it take you? I'm thinking about making this someday. I will for sure purchase the plans.
mm
 

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Sorry I just read the rest of the comments… Nevermind on the time as you already answered… Nice work!
mm
 

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Great work , it looks fun to play with and watch in action.
 

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Nice!! On my list, if I ever get to it ;-)
 

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Delightful! An amazing build and an inspirational project for us 'mortals' in the woodworking crowd.

Forgive me for playing Devil's Advocate? Isn't this a bit like giving the grandchildren a drum set? :D
 

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Nice work Don !
I hope you plan on making more for the grand kids because one won't do .
Hope you have fun playing with it, not just the kids !
Thanks for the post

KIEFER
 

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This one look very nice. do you have a video of how it runs?
 

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Ahem! thiswoodshop, did you miss the links in the penultimate lines of the original post ? LOL
 
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