Does the globe spin freely, or does it have a lot of friction?
1278615
It appears to have minimal friction to no friction. Good globe. Relief feature is good as well.
1872466
The top part does not spin, but I have not found that to be an issue. I would definitely buy this again.
15157
The tubes are cylindrical and friction between the metal tubes keep it from rotating. Mine only rotated during a hard sudden jolt while the gopro was attached to the end.
477062
No - you can adjust tilt. However, it is on about a 10 degree tilt permanently per the picture. The globe spins by hand, is high quality and is very nice for display in home/office etc. with raised geographic features and an antique look. It lights up from inside so has nice glow in evening (not bright) - a great gift!
1538203
will only continue to spin due to momentum. i do not believe it is a freewheel.
148159
Hi Ryann. I got an email from Amazon.com asking to answer this question as I just bought one of these a few weeks ago. Kind of cool. I just measured it carefully and it's 5/16th of an inch thick plus/minus 1/64th of an inch. You can see the two concentric rings which are pressed together with bearings trapped inside. Mine had some built in friction which I think is by design so it doesn't spin freely like a playground merry go round. I screwed it to a large wooded plate and it sits on our kitchen table, but initially it would hardly rotate. The reason I found later was that the wooden plate was not flat and the torque put on it increased the friction. Once I put spacers to decrease the warping, it turned more freely again, but still with friction.
836757
It moves around but it doesn't move really quickly so I'm not sure the word "spin" is accurate, but it is not stationery. The wheels move around also.
217753
Yes, it can. The switch is close to the rim of the globe, and slides left/right.
803004
I only have the 6" version. However, reading the literature that accompanied the 6" globe, it would seem that they only have one way to produce the globes. All of the detail is on an inner globe. That globe is suspended in a low friction/viscosity oil and encased in an acrylic outer sphere. This allows the inner globe to rotate with minimal energy. The outer shinny acrylic sphere is stationary. The clear acrylic outer sphere and the oil give the shinny appearance. I hope this explanation helps you.
1237866
You can rotate it all you want, it doesn't click, just uses friction to keep from spinning.
556203
Yes it has a rotating element and it is very strong. One of the best I've ever had. At First I thought it wouldn't rotate because it was very hard but it works fine
971899
Rotates freely... Non issue when using as a stand on a surface or lap really. I only notice if it rotates slightly when folded over and reading holding it in my hand.
1367231
Yes it turns easily. The stand is made of plastic but it's sturdy enough to hold it and its coated in a bronze color. We've had our globe for a few years now and its even withstood moving a couple of times and little children hands with supervision.
805220
Yes, it does move very easily. Unfortunately, it doesn't exhibit a static friction coefficient.
2043128
Mine spins freely, in fact I need to oil it a bit as it's dry. I suggest you place a few drops of a light oil where the ring meets the body of the compass, let it sit overnight and then try to rotate it. I note that there are screws on the bottom holding the unit together, and you might need to open it up to access the guts. In any event, you need to lube the ring since both the ring and the body are aluminum and I can feel the galling one gets when you have to bits of Al moving against one another.
542357
Yes. It should spin rather freely. You'll need to be able to move it in reverse by hand should it jam with brush - follow safety procedures always.
2270293
Yes, I have two and they both rotate very freely, even continues to spend if you twirl it!