Marble Run Spiral Hoist

Today I am reviewing the UGears Chain Hoist Marble Run. I love building marble runs, I find them fascinating. I purchased this one from Amazon; UGears, a Ukrainian company, offers a very large assortment of wooden model kits to choose from, including a number of intriguing Marble run projects. Starting with the 55 page instructions, they were in a book rather than poster-style format, which I prefer. Overall, this was a pretty premium building experience with excellent direction given by the large and detailed instruction booklet. What is very nice is they give you a finished look after each step so you can have the best look at whether you put the parts together right. The parts numbering on the wooden frames was all over the place so UGears very nicely provides a picture of the wood frame at the start of each step, showing where the parts are located on the frame (Show picture). As I mentioned, UGears appears to be a Ukrainian company(Show flag) and they offer a number of languages in the build instructions, including Ukrainian, English, Spanish, German, Japanese, Chinese, Italian, French, Korean, Portuguese and Polish, making this kit accessible to a wide array of people. Assembly This was a very challenging build with a number of tricky constructions to put together like on page 18 where you had to fit the build into a number of different connection points. The parts went together well but were very tight, so I had to take a break sometimes to rest my fingers and hands. I didn’t have any parts break during assembly but there was a large amount of chipping of the parts as I removed them from the frame and when I filed them down to remove the burs. For this kit, I recommend filing the part in the direction of the edge rather than perpendicular to the part. White glue wasn’t necessary during this build due to the tight fit. Operation: There was definitely a break-in period with a whole lot of issues to start out with, but after a few minutes, things improved greatly. They give you TEN 16mm multicolored glass marbles to use in the run. A handle cranks the chain hoist mechanism very smoothly, though there is occasional catching in the mechanism that I will detail more later. The wooden chain rotates and elevates the marbles smoothly to the top of the tower. As the balls get to the top of the run they have three different paths to choose from once released from the chain hoist. First, the marbles can fall down a chute where they finish in a loop-da-loop before heading back into the return path. Second, they can take a route that takes the marble around to the front of the tower, where the marble is handed downward from one pivoting marble holder to the next until it reaches the base platform. Finally, the marbles can land in a mechanism that collects 3 marbles before releasing them to take three short pathways back to the base platform. The marbe run works pretty well, though I had a number of problems. The first problem involved the lifting prongs . The marble can actually get jammed against the inlet hole and the lifting prong . Secondly, the lifting prongs are sometimes caught as they pass through the marble-presenting platform, though fortunately, this doesn’t occur frequently. Assuming they make it past this, sometimes the chain will catch because it doesn’t insert into the sprocket teeth the way they are supposed to. Here is Tip #1: file the teeth of the sprockets before assembly to give them a little bevel so they are more likely to guide themselves into the chain links. In this picture, I show you the area you should file or sand though here’s Tip #2 DO IT BEFORE YOU PUT THE PARTS TOGETHER! At the top of the marble run, I had occasional issues with the marbles getting caught under the lifting prongs because they didn’t start down into the marble run quickly enough (Picture). The next area of problem was the mechanism that chooses the next pathway for the marbles. The marble is supposed to drop down into a catch that then drops the marble down into its next pathway; sometimes, the ball doesn’t readily drop down to where it is supposed to and causes the marbles to back up (Picture). Along the second pathway, I had a backup occur when the handoff mechanism didn’t pass the marble down the way it was supposed to (See picture). Along the third pathway, I had another backup because a swinging wooden piece didn’t catch the marble correctly, so the marble couldn’t go down into the next stage, causing a backup (see picture). Also, along the third pathway a marble chute was too narrow and the marble got lodged in the third most distant chute; this was corrected by tugging on the wooden sides of the chute, giving them a little bit more space (see picture). Occasionally, a marble does get kicked out of the machine with the primary place being the forks on the chain, perhaps filing the inside edge would help the marble seat a little better. So Final Thoughts…: What I liked: The instructions were in a large booklet-style format, mostly clear, and provided a finished look to each step. The instructions showed you where to find the parts on each frame. The parts fit tightly and I didn’t need to use any white glue to hold anything together. The operation of the machine is exciting, with a loop-da-loop and several other novel mechanisms to get the ball down from the top of the run to the base platform. The marble run can be combined with up to 3 other copies of the Chain Hoist Marble run to make a more enormous conglomeration of marble runs and I may try this if I can get the marble run operating more smoothly. They provide you with some parts to make interconnections rather than buying a separate kit. What I didn’t like: The first thing I didn’t like about this kit was the puny amount of wax they give. They do let you know you can use candle wax as long as it isn’t lit! 😂 Sometimes, the instructions didn’t give you the best advice on how to use the wax to lubricate the parts. The instructions didn’t tell you to wax the sides of the gears that rub directly up against the side of the supporting structure. On page 38, there were three almost identical parts. I made an error here as I thought they were the same when, in reality, one of the parts was just a little different, and I ended up putting it in the wrong place and had to take it back apart. The instructions here should have warned you to look out for this variation in the parts. They give you ten marbles, but three are consumed in the build. I would like to have more marbles, though sometimes too many can cause problems. UGears has an excellent YouTube channel showcasing their many different wood projects. Would I do it all over again? You betcha! I like this marble run, and I am looking forward to someday getting at least one, if not three more, to see what they look like combined. If I do, I’ll put it on camera. If UGears sends me free kits, HE asks shamelessly, I’ll do it right away!

I’m a 73yr old widow who loves to build dollhouses and discovered UGEARS models. I love marble runs and thought I’d give it a try. The pieces are laser cut, all numbered to match the pictures in the manuals, and easy to punch out. There aren’t any word directions, just pictures, but they are very well done and very easy to understand. What fun to build! Initially, the mechanism had a tendency to stuck in some areas, so I waxed some pieces again and just kept turning the crank and eventually everything ran smoothly. One issue was that the marbles were not heavy enough to trip the mechanisms, so I bought 16mm steel ball bearings which solved that problem. The added weight of the bearings makes everything trip now!

I love these laser cut kits. Easy to assemble, FUN to assemble, fun to play with after it's all together. I *really* like that I can connect multiple kits: very cool concept! Only problem was a couple of the pieces were either cracked, or broke when I got the kit. A little rough to operate, too, but I think once the parts wear in some, it will be fun.

This was my third of four UGears models to assemble. First two were fine. This one however, hoist gears and mechanism did not work. My mistake as I didn’t properly align the gears properly. During disassembly, I broke two pieces which don’t want to glue back together. I did manage along with glueing on braces too. All to find out that a small half-moon piece that holds a marble, causes the mechanism to jam. I totally disassembled the entire thing and started over. I very carefully followed each part sub-assembly and part assembly only to get to the same problem. It will not work as designed or the parts were cut incorrectly. I’m including a picture of the offending item while it was partially disassembled. I have attempted to contact them but so far there’s been no response. Edit/Update: I left the previous because I was wrong. Yeah, it happens. I didn’t follow the instructions quite exactly as I thought I had. Yesterday and today, I went back and carefully examined everything I did. I found that I had the two sliders not only backwards but reversed too. So, fixing my mess that “I caused”, I finished the entire marble run and surprise, surprise, it Works! Lesson learned, carefully pay attention to the instructions

The folks at UGear are exceptional designers and engineers. This puzzle has over a hundred moving parts that fit together exquisitely. There wasn't one time I had to make a modification of any kind and this puzzle works wonderfully and is a joy to show off. If you like using your hands to create intricate things, these puzzles are for you. This is my second puzzle by UGear and it won't be my last. Because of the care with which these puzzles are created, they are truly a joy to assemble. The instructions are full color pictures that show you step by step how to assemble your item. Definitely recommend!!

Résultat fidèle à la photo. Amuse les petits comme les grands. Attention,. certains pièces sont difficiles et fragiles à sortir de la planche, il y a un risque de casse. Il faut être minutieux mais le résultat est top.

The box was a bit damaged, however it looked really good otherwise! Fast delivery as well. Thanks

sicuramente bello da vedere, molto delicato nel montaggio ,consiglio se sei stanco smetti, alcuni pezzi molto fragili alla fine soddisfazione al massimo.

Il lavoro di montaggio deve essere meticoloso: gli incastri sono perfetti ma bisogna prestare molta attenzione e agire con molta calma. Il risultato è ottimo! Gli ingranaggi girano bene ed è diventato il passatempo preferito per i miei nipotini. Penso che acquisterò gli altri tre da montare assieme.

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