I've always wanted to build a marble run toy for the kids. In 2019 I finally made one. I made this
mostly out of scrap wood I had laying around in the shop. It's made for standard 5/8" marbles and is a
pretty basic design. It has five different drops between the six levels. It also has a few different
obstacles like steps that make the marbles bounce and a series of triangles that make the marbles move through a
slalom. Later I added a wheel that the marbles run underneath which makes it spin. I also added a bell
that the marbles hit when they land in the final box. Our youngest daughter, Annie, made a sign that reads
"Extreme Marble Ramp" which we used to decorate the top of the marble run.
I wanted to add a starting mechanism which would allow the first marble to trigger a starting gate to release the
next marble, and so on. Unfortunately, I couldn't get the mechanism to work correctly and I just left it off.
I'll have to work on that for next time! I look forward to making another one - better designed, better
finished (either painted or stained) and with more complicated mechanisms. Nonetheless, the kids enjoyed this
one and had a lot of fun playing with it.
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