Making Marble-Action Games, Gadgets, Mazes & Contraptions: Designs for 10 Outlandish, Ingenious and Intricate Woodworking Projects [Paperback]

Alan Bridgewater (Author), Gill Bridgewater (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1999

Easy-to-follow text

Helpful photographs

In the spirit of zany contraptions, pinball, and bubble-gum machines, Alan and Gill Bridgewater present ten wildly complex marble-action woodworking projects that are as entertaining to make as they are to play with. Contraptions such as the Marble Deceleration Honeycomb Maze, Perpetual Random Number Shuffler, and Marble Rotator Finger-Touch Tumbler Labyrinth can each be constructed easily in a weekend, but in finished form will baffle those who dare to dally with them. Step-by-step instructions with accompanying photos and detailed plans make construction easy. Metric conversions included.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

The Bridgewaters have written and illustrated more than 40 books on woodworking and crafts, including Building Doors and Gates, How to Use and Care for Woodworking Tools, and Boxes and Chests.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Stackpole Books (June 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811728552
• ISBN-13: 978-0811728553
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.5 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 1.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,075,250 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Few dimensions are given., November 15, 1999

By 

Larry Pray (New Brighton, MN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Making Marble-Action Games, Gadgets, Mazes & Contraptions: Designs for 10 Outlandish, Ingenious and Intricate Woodworking Projects (Paperback)

I am used to making projects for which dimensions for the various pieces are provided. Not only does the author fail to provide dimensions but he also fails to even talk about some of the pieces that are part of a given project.

44 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Making Marble-Action Games, Gadgets, Mazes & Contraptions, February 16, 2000

By 

Mike Little (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Making Marble-Action Games, Gadgets, Mazes & Contraptions: Designs for 10 Outlandish, Ingenious and Intricate Woodworking Projects (Paperback)

This book was a terrible disappointment. I wanted to give it no stars but that didn't seem to be an option. For most of these gadgets he begins the chapter by explaining that they don't actually work very well, they tend to jam and clog up requiring a certain amount of tilting and tapping to clear the device. Many of the mazes and such are non-functional - they are there to make the contraption look complicated. It's clear to me from looking at it that the dice substitute will never generate a 1, 2, or 6, and the thing is definitely not uniform like dice would be. The spirit of Rube Goldberg is represented by contraptions that do a lot but accomplish very little. The mechanisms in this book just don't do anything. I didn't find a single satisfying project in here and felt like it was a waste of twenty bucks. And what are metric conversion tables doing in here? An embarrassment if you ask me. If you like this kind of stuff get Making Wooden Mechanical Models by Alan and Gill Bridgewater. It is far superior.

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars OK for ideas, but not for projects, August 4, 2000

By 

David Williams (Long Beach, California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Making Marble-Action Games, Gadgets, Mazes & Contraptions: Designs for 10 Outlandish, Ingenious and Intricate Woodworking Projects (Paperback)

I was disappointed as well. I expected projects I could build, but nothing struck me as worth the time. The basic ideas are OK, marble rollers, and so on. But I would only use this stuff as a departure point for my own designs.