BILLETSPIN UPDATE: The plan has changed so please read this carefully!
I started designing the 4 piece top and folks I will be totally honest, this one has potential to be one of the coolest, if not the coolest top I have ever made. I added some more pieces to it too so it will be either an 8 or 10 piece now. Some of those pieces are very basic so don’t get too excited about that. Unfortunately though, there are two issues with this top.
1) It will take a very very long time to make.
2) I don’t have enough materials to appease the masses
So, after much thought I have decided to change up the schedule to give us the time needed to do this right. The next top will now be the 2 piece long spinner.
For those that did not watch the live video I posted, my goal for this top will be for me to be able to spin it for 30 minutes. This does not mean you will be able to. In fact, some might still not be anywhere near that. Spin times vary greatly depending on skill level. This will not be a pretty top. Every feature on this top will be designed for maximum performance. I have tracked down a very rare grade of aluminum that has an off the chart strength rating. I will use that in conjunction with Tungsten. I probably will not offer this in different materials since these two will give the best performance and that is what this design is all about.
As you know, Tungsten is prone to wobble. I am using the new tungsten so it will be better but I assure you these will still have some wobble/flutter issues. These will come with the new carbide balls which will greatly reduce flat spot issues.
I am not sure on pricing or the launch date at this time. I will have to spend a great deal of time in the prototype stages. I am sure though that they will be available this month yet.
I am sorry for the switch-a-roo here on the schedule. I hope you understand. If you have any questions let me know!
Rich
2/11/17
Vlog #1
Vlog #2
Vlog #3
Vlog #4
15 and still going good
18:55 first spin so I could easily break 20 with a few tries. Pretty good start I think!
Vlog #5
Vlog #6
Vlog #7
Vlog #8 and final for today
this one is worse. Back to the original style. Had to try it
in fact, worst spinner of the day lol
barely 18 minutes, this thing sucks!
still going
got a lot of fight in it
barely rotating
18:57
I thought it was dead 2 minutes ago lol
If I did not have this party to go to I would keep at it
ok, one more design. My brain came up with a plan…
Still here two tops later 😛 This one has promise. I would bet it’s the best of the day! Wish it luck
I had the place all shut down and had my jacket on heading out the door and it hit me…
Now we just have to hope it does not suck
Complete trash, 18:03 NOW I am leaving lol. Have a good one all. I suck
Came back to work. Getting consistent 22-23 minutes now on decent spins. This is still in rough proto stage so there is more in it but not a whole lot. This top as is will see 5 minute improvement over the Tungten/Aluminum Infinity. I am confident I can squeeze another minute or two out of it. I should be able to break 25 with it personally once the tweaks are done. Wont happen every time for sure but should on a good spin. Thats all she wrote for sure now. I am taking the day off tomorrow and will be back on this project on Tuesday. Have a great night all!
I will do a full vlog about it once it is all tweaked. I found a repeatable system of change and that helped out a lot.
There was no way I could sleep with this many ideas in my head so I had to head back to work. Mind is clear now and the path is clear. Sleepy time
2/12/17
So tomorrow will be a dead day for me as we have to finish a few Crown tops before I get back on the long spinner. I will use that time to sell off some prototypes I made yesterday. They will be $115 plus shipping. I will try (and fail) to come up with easy ways to sell them where everyone is happy. Not sure of the exact time. Some have some nicks and most have some movement towards the end of the spin.
2/13/17
Vlog #9
hollow stem made ZERO difference. ZERO 
🙂
Lindsey Wissing From Rich:
Gavin Sexton That bigger grip is nice
It needs it for this much weight. Same top with a .020″ smaller diameter grip tops out at 300 less RPM’s on the launch. Any bigger and the RPM’s decrease as well. It is the size it needs to be
Vlog #10
2/14/17
Uploaded in HD this time. Balancing idea we are working on
The official information post about this new top will happen soon. Until then suggest names for it here.
Official Information post:
The new top will be called the Nexus. I have wanted to use this name for a long time because most of our Mazak’s are Nexus models and these tops are made on them.
This will be on average, the longest spinning top in BilletSPIN history. It will launch on www.billetspin.com on 2/21 at noon central. Here is some info on the top:
-Only comes in one material combination (Tungsten/7068 aluminum)
-1/8″ carbide bearing ball (From our testing, these will be a significant improvement over ceramic).
-1.12″ in diameter
-44grams
-Due to the Tungsten you can expect more wobble than a standard BilletSPIN top. We are using the new tungsten but you will still see a flutter/wobble especially in the second half of the spin. Tops are sold as-is and I will not accept returns due to wobble/flutter
-$130 plus $5 domestic and $12 international shipping.
-We have enough Tungsten for 450 tops. A large portion of those will be junk due to excessive wobble. I will have to play it safe in the amount I make available because I will not have these all done in time for the release. This will hopefully mean there will be a second release once production is done (in a few weeks) and we know how many good ones we have.
-Due to the potential material issues, this design will NOT be retired after this sale. I am guessing this will be a huge hit and I would like to offer more of this one later in the year. However, I might not and this might be your only chance to get one. I just reserve the right to have another release later.
-There will NOT be a limit on how many you can order. I ask you to not buy this top to flip. Any comments to this post in regards to flipping will be deleted no questions asked.
2/15/17
Check this out…
Prototype spin contest! If you got one of the 42,517 Nexus prototypes, post up your best times here. On your honor. Winner gets to say they spun one of the 42,517 Nexus prototypes the longest!
2/17/17
As of now, 10 minute average to balance each Nexus. Going to be a long week
Remember there will be around 450 of them…
I am getting a system down for sure but it is just a tedious process.
2/19/17
Planning on ordering a Nexus? Be sure to watch this!!!
2/20/17
Today went well. I balanced 110. Getting the hang of it. Each bar is consistent from start to end so once we get the offset right for the first piece we can run the bar at the same setting. Should have them all balanced end of the day Wednesday if all goes well. This has no bearing on you all whatsoever but just thought I would share 😛
1st bar was dead perfect. Bore them, assemble, done. It was all down hill from there but still got a lot done
Each bar makes about 25 tops. Of those, they are pretty much identical. None of these will show a crazy variation to another one. They are all pretty close. If I didn’t balance them, they would be insanely different. This super light weight core just magnifies everything.
out of 400 there might be 10 DT smooth. Keep your expectations low but know the spin times will be very good regardless.
2/21/17
Getting close now, you ready!
Last minute Nexus info:
1) After getting the counts, we will be releasing 350 today at noon. We have more to run so I am very conservative on my numbers just in case something goes wrong here. We always keep extras for CS reasons. If we don’t scrap anymore, we might have a few to sell at a later date but it will be in a very small quantity. Nothing else I can do at this point because they are not all done and I need to play it safe.
2) When you purchase from the website, it is NOT yours until you COMPLETE checkout!!! Just because it is in your cart does not make it yours.
3) There will more than likely be people that miss out. People will be upset. I made ALL the material I had. I released ALL the tops I could. It sucks people miss out sometimes but lets try to keep the drama to a minimum.
4) I will NOT be making anymore Nexus tops. This is the only run of them but like I said in #1 there is a small chance I will have a few extras after the dust settles. DO NOT message me trying to get one if you missed out please. It just puts me in a bad spot as I like to please everyone.
5) Shipping will begin tomorrow and we should have them all shipped in one week.
6) I have said it a lot and the website is plastered with this: EXPECT FLUTTER/WOBBLE!!! This is Tungsten and I did my best to balance them but expect the worst.
7) The website will more than likely be password protected at some point this morning. It just means we are prepping for the launch. It will be back online well before noon central.
If you all have any questions, let me know! Looking forward to the fun and cant wait for you all to start getting these!
Just know, I made as many as I could all. If this balancing was not such a pain I would have ordered more stock for a second release. I am working on a solution for future long spinners though. THANK YOU for your support! Cant wait to see some times!
I was not expecting it to go that fast. Watching it was incredible
that was on par with the K2. Crazy. Back to balancing!
2/22/17
Good morning!