We all remember marble roller toys. Some of us just vaguely at the back of our minds. Others associate those marble machines with fond childhood memories.
The hypnotizing motion, the enticing clicking sound of marbles hitting the wooden surface, the satisfying feeling when the marbles end their road at the bottom of the toy. Well, this Modern Marble Machine gives the marbles a completely new roll.
This giant marble roller toy has been created by Randy Bechtel who went from simply tinkering around with an idea to building these masterpieces.
One such modern marble machine takes about 80 hours of man time to build. One of the most surprising and shocking parts about these machines is that they were simply constructed in your ordinary garage using few affordable power tools.
According to the creator, reimagining and designing “Gravity Flow” (that’s the name of the marble roller machine) took countless failed attempts and design changes. But in the end, it all paid off because these machines look absolutely spectacular.
Almost the whole construction is built out of solid oak. To make the modern iteration of a marble machine as everlasting as the concept of rolling ball sculptures, the gears in it ride on steel rods and bushings.
For the machine function at its best its requires around 150 5/8” standard marble balls. The marbles go through series of turns, flips, and rolls in the machine being both mesmerizing and exciting.
Unfortunately, the machines are not being sold at the time. But they will be in the future, at least to some extent. They will definitely work well as a tourist or business attraction because who wouldn’t want to see this masterpiece in action.
Plus, be on the outlook for Randy’s “How To” book on building on of these modern marble machines in the future. Or just, for now, watch and observe the machine in action. But be warned, it is really hard to look away.