I put legs (aka slats of wood) on the bottom to make it so it doesn't tip over. Since they were originally mounted in a wall, they were not intended to be free standing. You could just attach it to a board?

Don't ever oil it, because the little flowers and balls will stick. You can very carefully lubricate the pivots. But if you spray the back, it's going to gunk up and jam.

Mine has a plastic front "glass" which is just cut from a sheet of plastic that would be used on a poster frame. Mine didn't come with a front glass.

If it has lights, they are probably working and will run on a lantern battery. 6v DC worked for mine.

The ball bearings are metric.

Have fun!