K'nex Ball Winder and Tinker Toy Swift

Well, I made a ball winder from K'Nex. But first, Monroe got into my pot again (and by pot I mean the pot I planted flowers and grass in, and by grass I mean regular long decorative grass) He likes to eat the grass and gradually got more and more daring, climbing on the table, front paws in the dirt and finally, just going whole hog and climbing in the pot:

So, I got the K'Nex from Mom's house and tackled the ball winder project. But first, I had to organize the K'Nex, I had to take all the pieces apart and separate them by type...yeah I know, but that's me (I had to do it with the Tinker Toys too). Imagine opening the second case and seeing this:

This would be the fun creative piece my brother made when he last played with the K'Nex, oh ten years ago and left it together, two giant planes of pure K'Nex. So I spent Friday night pulling apart the pieces. My thumbs were swollen and red from popping and twisting. I put off making anything, I was too tired from unmaking the above constructions.

On Saturday night I tackled the project of making a ball winder. And I made it. Ok, now it's a little rough and a little primitive, but it works.

I altered it as I went, making the base more stable, stabilizing the shaft so it would turn smoother, etc. The basic principle is two wheels with a thick rubber binder. You turn the crank on the right (yellow and orange piece) that turns the wheel on the right and it turns the wheel on the left, which turns the winder part (the red pieces the yarn wraps around). I had to stop mid-wind and make the yarn platform bigger, I underestimated the diameter of the ball...I also added the top plaform/yarnball cap halfway so I could squish the yarn into a flatter ball. I should have done this from the beginning.

It worked pretty well, much faster than winding by hand and cheaper than buying one. Plus it got my brain working, the modifying and all- problem solving. I still have other "problems" to solve. I made the platform at an angle because that's how I see the plastic ones you buy...I figured it had to do with making the yarn wrap at angles so you get that nifty crossing over look. Except I couldn't get it do that for me. I will have to revisit this part, is it just where you hold the yarn as it winds or what?

(bright colors!)

The Tinker Toy Swift worked fine, it spun a little faster perhaps than the K'Nex piece did, but I know I can make a swift from K'Nex if I wanted. I would have more leeway to adjust the arms if I needed to. It's just fun to play with the different toys from childhood. I had fun that's for sure.

So any comments or suggestion from people? I am going to rip out some of the sweaters I bought and put them in hanks, give them a light wash and then try this winder thing again, this time seeing if I can get it to do that nifty crossover thing. Until then, I'm pretty happy with it!