My Marble Machine

[Namabiiru]

In the interval between completion of St Gildas and arrival of Fair American I committed to finally getting this thing working properly

It started back in 2014 as an amalgamation of experiments that coalesced into a single sculpture. Since then, it's been years of on and off tweaking, frustration and more tweaking.

View attachment 20250730_183334.mp4

Most recently, I replaced the AA battery holder with a wall wart, added a proper switch, and swapped out the anemic Tamiya hobby motor for a high-torque, low RPM motor.
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It has three switches of differing types to give it six distinct paths
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I already have some ideas for a new marble machine, which I anticipate will be significantly less complex than this one, considering how much trouble it's given me to get it right.

Hope you like it! BTW, sorry for the micro-sized videos—I don’t have a youtube account to which I can link

 

[Rebus]

That's an incredible machine and wonderful build.

 

[Namabiiru]

That's an incredible machine and wonderful build.

Thank you, Rebus!

 

[cdnfurball]

Absolutely perfect !

 

[535i]

In the interval between completion of St Gildas and arrival of Fair American I committed to finally getting this thing working properly
View attachment 534765
It started back in 2014 as an amalgamation of experiments that coalesced into a single sculpture. Since then. it's been years of on and off tweaking, frustration and more tweaking.

View attachment 534768

Most recently, I replaced the AA battery holder with a wall wart, added a proper switch, and swapped out the anemic Tamiya hobby motor for a high-torque, low RPM motor.
View attachment 534767

It has three switches of differing types to give it six distinct paths
View attachment 534766

View attachment 534769

View attachment 534770

I already have some ideas for a new marble machine, which I anticipate will be significantly less complex than this one, considering how much trouble it's given me to get it right.

Hope you like it! BTW, sorry for the micro-sized videos—I don’t have a youtube account to which I can link

Love it! I've always been fascinated by those things. I've thought about building one, but I doubt I could ever get it to work. I remember seeing an old Anthony Hopkins movie where he had several of those. Are there kits available?

 

[DomCee]

In the interval between completion of St Gildas and arrival of Fair American I committed to finally getting this thing working properly
View attachment 534765
It started back in 2014 as an amalgamation of experiments that coalesced into a single sculpture. Since then. it's been years of on and off tweaking, frustration and more tweaking.

View attachment 534768

Most recently, I replaced the AA battery holder with a wall wart, added a proper switch, and swapped out the anemic Tamiya hobby motor for a high-torque, low RPM motor.
View attachment 534767

It has three switches of differing types to give it six distinct paths
View attachment 534766

View attachment 534769

View attachment 534770

I already have some ideas for a new marble machine, which I anticipate will be significantly less complex than this one, considering how much trouble it's given me to get it right.

Hope you like it! BTW, sorry for the micro-sized videos—I don’t have a youtube account to which I can link

Neat! I built a small (very simple) one just for a bit of fun but I really like yours, perhaps I'll have a go at something more ambitious in the future!

 

[Corsair]

I love it !

 

[Thomas]

Absolutely brilliant!!

 

[Namabiiru]

Love it! I've always been fascinated by those things. I've thought about building one, but I doubt I could ever get it to work. I remember seeing an old Anthony Hopkins movie where he had several of those. Are there kits available?

I’ve seen laser cut kits, and I think there are some plastic kid-level kits. This one involved a LOT of trial and error.

Neat! I built a small (very simple) one just for a bit of fun but I really like yours, perhaps I'll have a go at something more ambitious in the future!

Thank you! And you should!

Absolutely perfect !

Far from it, but thank you!

@Corsair and @Thomas, thank you, Gentlemen!

 

[Rob444]

Wonderful!

 

[Namabiiru]

Wonderful!

Thank you, Rob!

 

[Pathfinder65]

Oh wow, that is absolutely fascinating to watch. A complex little machine.

Jan

 

[Namabiiru]

Thank you, Jan!

 

[Maxipoo]

Amazing! What a design! I love it.

 

[Namabiiru]

Amazing! What a design! I love it.

Merci, Maxipoo! I’m glad you like it!

 

[GIG1810]

Hey Namabiiru,

what are you actually doing there? Aren't you supposed to be building ships? Now you're even throwing out a marble machine! You're marvellously crazy. Great piece and very nice to look at ... I like it!

Cheers, Günther!

 

[Namabiiru]

Hey Namabiiru,

what are you actually doing there? Aren't you supposed to be building ships? Now you're even throwing out a marble machine! You're marvellously crazy. Great piece and very nice to look at ... I like it!

Cheers, Günther!

Thanks, Günther! Yeah, I’m just chasing shiny objects and squirrels!

 

[Jack Sparrow]

In the interval between completion of St Gildas and arrival of Fair American I committed to finally getting this thing working properly
View attachment 534765
It started back in 2014 as an amalgamation of experiments that coalesced into a single sculpture. Since then, it's been years of on and off tweaking, frustration and more tweaking.

View attachment 534768

Most recently, I replaced the AA battery holder with a wall wart, added a proper switch, and swapped out the anemic Tamiya hobby motor for a high-torque, low RPM motor.
View attachment 534767

It has three switches of differing types to give it six distinct paths
View attachment 534766

View attachment 534769

View attachment 534770

I already have some ideas for a new marble machine, which I anticipate will be significantly less complex than this one, considering how much trouble it's given me to get it right.

Hope you like it! BTW, sorry for the micro-sized videos—I don’t have a youtube account to which I can link

wow. that's pretty cool. I have a couple of marble runs that I purchased. they need to be assembled. I got them from ROKR. They are made of wood and plastic.

 

[Jimsky]

This is an amazing machine and masterfully built! WOW!

 

[Namabiiru]

wow. that's pretty cool. I have a couple of marble runs that I purchased. they need to be assembled. I got them from ROKR. They are made of wood and plastic.

This is an amazing machine and masterfully built! WOW!

Thanks, Jack and Jim!

Purchased marble machines are cool, I liked the challenge and satisfaction of building one myself. To say I designed it would be a stretch, since it really was just bodged together through trial and error. Most of the major elements of it started as, "I wonder if I can..."