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Tim studied mechanical engineering, albeit quite a few years ago, and he retains a keen interest in all things mechanical.

First up, 'The Great Bead Machine' - a mechanical toy that threads beads onto a string. How neat is that?

A plastic ball point pen, completely rigid, bends through 180 degrees when inserted into a black box. How does that work?

A version of the Geneva Mechanism made from wood. A pencil attached to it traces out an ellipse. Ingenious!

A plastic saxophone? This gadget is more intriguing than that. When you blow into the mouthpiece, the air does not go down the main body of the saxophone, instead it comes out of a nozzle near the top, and blows downwards, towards the little spinner, on top of the bell of the saxophone. So when you place one of the little spinners at the bottom, and then blow through the mouthpiece, the spinner is experiencing a downdraft of air. This does make it spin, but the downward forces of the air are greater than the upward force of the spinning propeller. However the instant you stop blowing, the spinner rises up into the air. It is a slightly subtle toy this one, but quite intriguing.

A version of the Maxwell Spinning Top. As it spins, the spindle tracks the spiral at the top. It seems as if magnets might be involved, but no, there are no magnets.

PS We have a different version of Maxwell's Top in the Grand Illusions Toy Shop - see https://www.grand-illusions.com/maxwe...