DIY Fidget Spinner From Junk With No Bearings

Yet another fidget spinner project I'm afraid! With my sisters kids wanting a fidget spinner and seeing all the craze for different shapes, sizes, colours and speeds I thought I'd see if I could make one from mostly junk. I hope you enjoy this project and hopefully you're fed up of fidget spinners yet!

Tools:

- Scissors

- Pen/pencil and ruler

- Drill with 3mm drill bit

- Round file (optional)

- Paintbrush

- Tub to mix mache in

- Clamps (optional)

Materials:

- Craft glue (I like to use UHU)

- PVA glue for paper mache

- Paint (optional)

- Newspaper for paper mache

- Card

- Paper to secure coins

- Wooden skewer

I drew a straight line on the card around 8cm long (3 1/8") and then marked the middle. I placed the coins on each end of the line and drew around them. After I had those drawn I was able to get the general shape of the spinner and just added a few curves to make it look more appealing. I glued the coins onto the card, glued a central piece of card between them and then glued the last piece on top.

I've included some very easy plans that you can print out and stick onto the card to make the spinner and holding pieces.

I clamped them for around 30 mins to an hour.

When the glue dried I cut out two more pieces of cereal box and glued them to both sides. I then cut an old envelope into strips and glued it around the coins in a cross pattern to keep the coins in place. After that had dried I mixed some PVA glue with water inside a tub, stripped some newspaper up and covered the spinner. I did 3 layers of paper mache and waited a day for it to dry.

I cut and glued 2 X 3 squares of cardboard from a box to make the holding pieces. When these were dry I cut them into more hexagonal shapes and painted them, along with the spinner. I used some red enamel paint but you could use whatever is at hand and will paint on card. (which is pretty much any paint!)

I took my drill and a 3mm bit and made a hole for the wooden skewer to go inside, using a file to widen the hole. I wanted a snug fit but not one that would rub against the skewer too much. When I figured out the length of the skewer I cut it to size. I then took the drill bit in my hand and made holes in the centre of each of the holding pieces. The skewer was then glued into one of the holding pieces and I put the spinner over the skewer and glued the other holding piece on.

I held this in my hand for about 5 minutes though I'm sure you could use a well positioned clamp.

Now let's face it, this isn't going to spin as well as a spinner with bearings on it and the longest spin I managed to get was about 20 seconds. It was pretty much free however and I find it hard to complain about a project that costs pretty much nothing.

I hope you enjoyed that instructable, please check out my YouTube channel if you'd like to see more of my thrifty projects! Thanks a lot.