Swinging Wonder

>> UPDATE 2/18/2017: Rating Lowered >> Something I initially overlooked or else which somehow crept into the picture once this item was unpacked and sitting out for a few days, is that one of the ball hangs slightly lower than the others and is prone to causing some sloppiness in the ball reactions. This type of misalignment is not as easily corrected as the side-to-side offset, because this means the line is too long and some slack needs to be taken up. Because the line is somehow embedded into the upper rods of the wood frame, there is no way to shorten it from either end. Instead, I'll likely have to insert a toothpick into the looped part of the line to make the loop larger, and manipulate the size until enough line has been taken up to raise the ball the needed amount, while also ensuring proper side-to-side centering. Once that is done, a drop of epoxy upon the tube the line is fed through will hopefully hold the line in place and the toothpick can be removed. If this needs to be done, I might as well put epoxy on all balls after double-checking their alignment. None of this is absolutely essential unless you want to be sure the Newton's Cradle is configured as best it can be for optimum operation. At this price point, such precision alignment is a gamble that your product will arrive without need of any corrections, but the fact that it may be needed still knocks a star off my rating of the product, as I change my opinion from Excellent to Good. <<Four days after my purchase of this item, the price has been reduced from $14.99 to $9.99...darn it. It's crazy that shipping costs more than the product itself. Ah well, regardless of those quibbles, the product itself is nice in appearance and especially at this price point. A big advantage in contrast to another Newton's Cradle I had bought is the size. My first Newton's Cradle was a design commonly found among many vendors on Amazon but with a marble base which gave it a very good and solid, sturdy feel. Unfortunately two balls, one at each end, had a slight gap between it and the next ball, introducing some sloppiness in the overall action/reaction effect that worsened as the balls were raised and released from progressively higher levels. That cradle was also narrower, making it more difficult to reach in and grab several balls from one end; a side approach was needed.This wood-framed Newton's Cradle pretty much overcame all the negatives of the smaller marble-base version, and was about 75% cheaper! So, for the price, this is an excellent alternative. The marble version looks nicer, depending upon one's perspective, and the smaller size lends itself better as a desk item, but the price isn't justifiable. This wood cradle still has reasonable heft and offers an advantage of the user being able to make small adjustments in the alignment of the balls if any are offset from what should be a common center axis between all the balls. The adjustability is achieved through the fact that each ball has been strung onto the nylon line by threading the line through a small tube attached to each ball, then looping the line once back over and through the tube again. So, by carefully pushing the line from one end of the tube and pulling the loop tighter again from the other end, the ball position can be shifted. This adjustability may have negative consequences too however, if the ball positions are not well-maintained over a period of use. But, the point remains that at least they can be adjusted and corrected, unlike other versions of Newton's Cradle where the balls are fixed into position with glue or some other means.When I first removed the Swinging Wonder from the shipping box, I was very pleased to see that upon removing it from the packing material all balls did hang at the same height and in contact with one another. However, one was slightly askew to the side, and I was able to correct that with a minor adjustment of the line....again, a very nice advantage for this cradle, saving me from having to return it. My only negative observation about the build quality is that while the frame appeared properly squared up at all angles, it did not sit evenly on a flat glass surface. My solution was to apply adhesive felt pads to the bottom of each leg but with one felt pad built up a bit thicker with an added layer of double-sided mounting tape.Using a single ball released from roughly a 55-degree angle relative to the other balls, I counted about 90 ball clicks before I could hear them no longer, which I regarded as the end of the action/reaction demonstration. Repeating from a larger angle shy of 90 degrees because I stopped where the ball's line touched the upper cross-brace of the frame, I counted 108 clicks...a little longer but not much. From a high release angle as that, the marble-base Newton's Cradle was so sloppy that the balls would nearly get entangled. I did not see that occur with the Swinging Wonder although it did still seem sloppier than lower-angle releases. I did find it interesting and a little surprising to see that the Swinging Wonder remained in the same position on a wooden desktop surface even though it could be easily slid by hand; that suggests to me that much of the energy from the ball collisions is being "contained" within the actions of the balls, with little or none lost into any frame movement.Overall, I highly recommend this Newton's Cradle to anyone who may prefer a larger design, with the added benefit of the ball alignment being adjustable. If there is any risk of misalignment occurring again with repeated use of the cradle, a drop of epoxy or super glue might be enough to hold the nylon line in place more securely.

I purchased this for the simple reason that an identical one could always be found on the bookshelf at home growing up, or on my father's desk. When my dad recently passed away it was one of those items I wanted to have in my home that reminds me of him. I was happy to have found it through Amazon after I searched Google to find it's name.

Purchased this one over the cheaper, plastic units as a Christmas gift for my 6-yr old grandson. It was delivered directly to him, so I didn't get to check it out. When I asked my son about it, he said the balls weren't well aligned which caused it to sway more than it should. I hope I can tweak it a bit, once I get home and have a chance to inspect it.

Upgraded version of the classic ball clacker desk toy. Purchased this for my 10 year old son as a gift so the over-size and wood frame made it a little more special than the purely metal one. We have it in he living room and without fail, whomever walks by it is compelled to set the balls in motion.

Newton's cradle has always been an attention getter. Everybody loves to play with it when they come to visit. It's constructed pretty ruggedly, but attention to detail in ball alignment is somewhat lacking. It's okay in looks (original) and functions okay as well. Have fun with it! Your friends and kids will too.

Wow, this thing is beautiful, and if you lift the ball up on one end up to the height of the post and let it go, you get 250+ clacks (where a clack is made by a ball on either end hitting the central mass of 3 balls). It is really well made. The balls appear to be strung together with some sort of fishing line.I think this looks much more elegant than the versions with a metal post.

I ordered one of the units based on the look and promotion that the unit was manufactured in the US. When I received the unit, unpacked it and inspected it. I found that it looked nice but it was fair from a well functioning Newton's Cradle. None of the balls were properly allied and it is a poor representation of a working Newton's Cradle. If you buy on of the units you will find that it shows good from a distance but do not expect it to work well. If the manufacture reads this. You should seriously look at your quality control. I would never have allowed this unit to ship out.

The balls are not in perfect alignment so the effect is not as good as it could be. However, it is still really fun and the whole family enjoys it.