11 ways to modify your Yo-Yo.

[EvanB]

I see a ton of posts about “What can I do to " or "_ Mods?” so I decided to make a post of 10 mods to help people out.

11 Mods

WARNING: SOME OF THESE MODS REQUIRE POWER TOOLS AND CHEMICALS, BE SURE TO HAVE AN ADULT SUPERVISE YOU OR KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING.

Bearing Cleaning: Bearing cleaning can be done to any ball bearing. It is used to remove everything from your bearing, Lube, Dirt, Sand and whatever is in there. Some people or more experienced modder do not consider this a mod though. For detail on how to do it refer to: How to Clean Your YoYo Bearing - Yo-Yo Mods and Maintenance - YoYoExpert

Satin Finish: Satining a yo-yo is basically sanding a yo-yo. The effect is giving the yo-yo a different look, and a better grinding surface. Some people do it by hand which takes longer and may be un-even. Most people simply hook it on to a drill usually by gripping the axle, spinning the yo-yo, and sanding away. If you do this to a Metal yo-yo it will take off the color or ano or whatever the finish was, giving it a Raw look. You will want to start with lower grits and gradually go higher for the best effect.

Silicone: Silicone-ing a yo-yo is just take out the response of a YoYo (An O-ring or something) and putting silicone in the groove and letting it dry. This makes a great response that may cause your yo-yo to be un-responsive, but will have tight binds every time. How to apply and where to get silicone: http://www.yoyonation.com/product.php?productid=16234&cat=257&page=1 or you get get silicone stickers to have the silicone feel without the work: http://yoyoexpert.com/product/yoyojam/silicone/index.php these fit all YYJ yo-yos except for the BigYo. The fit many more. You can do this to almost any yo-yo that have a groove for response, but not with pads.

Recess: A recess goes on the middle of the yo-yo (where the bearing is) that goes around the bearing seat. After the recess it can hole O-rings, Silicone, Pads or any response of your choice. You will need a Drill, Lathe or anything that can spin the yo-yo. You will need access to the middle of the yo-yo. Spin the yo-yo on the spinning device and use a Screwdriver, Screw, Nail, or any pointy object and place it on the yo-yo where you want the recess to be. It will create a groove soon enough. The walls have to be a certain thickness otherwise they will break. I will edit this when I know an answer. How to tell how far you are in a recess:

       To tell how deep you are on a recess, periodicly stop cutting and screw the
        yoyo together. Grabbing by the rims, try to see if you can bend the yoyos
        hub (if you push in and out at the rims, and the yoyo remains strong, you 
        haven't gone too deep). If you do however go to deep, your yoyo may break
        if it comes in contact with the floor (oops, personal experience). 

In video form: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2koXkqDH24

A Lathe is best for this job because you can access the inside of the yo-yo no matter what, unlike a drill. If you use a drill you will need some way to grab in outside of the yo-yo, like reversing the axle (On Duncans [In the video]). A Pad Recess is recessing the pads area a little to make the pads farther in the yo-yo causing less responsive-ness.

Schmoove: Schmooving is recessing a ring around the response. It is used to reduce friction on the sides. You can do one or multiple rings. Some more info: Schmoove Rings | YoYo Wiki | Fandom .
To do it do the same as described in the recessing. Schmooves are usually shallower than recesses.

Dye: Dyeing is just dying the color of the yo-yo.

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nanowe1tG9g .

To dye a Celcon yo-yo (Such as Kickside, SpeedMaker, ect.) you don’t use acetone. The yo-yo you are dyeing must be LIGHTER than the color you are dyeing it, that is why the favorite is usually Clear or White.

Weighting: Weighting is simply adding weight to the yo-yo. Usually under the caps or by the rims for more rim weight and longer spins. Go to a local hardware store to get rubber o-ring that will fit somewhere on your yo-yo. You can use Clay, Glue, Metal Weights, or anything that will be consistent (That won’t make the yo-yo off-balance and vibe or wobble) and will be safe.

Painting: Painting is well, painting a yo-yo. Usually done on the inside to prevent chipping. Clear yo-yos are the best for this. Guide: http://www.yoyonation.com/talk/index.php/topic,39555.0.html

SPR: SPRing is makeing an area for an SPR kit. You will need to be an experienced modder or send it to one to do this. What’s an SPR Kit? http://www.yoyonation.com/skin1/images/thumbnails/t_16779.jpg

It goes into the groove that you dug out and has a response built into it.

Reshaping: Reshaping is well, Reshaping the yo-yo. You will need a Drill or Lathe to spin the yo-yo and sand it down or use a tool.

Beefcaking Beefcaking is just taking two bearings and putting them in one gap. The yo-yo famous for this is the Two Fat Ladies by Werrd. This is usually done with 2 small bearings. This will make a bigger gap and less friction on the sides.

Once Again, don’t try this without knowing the consequences. Your yo-yo may break doing almost any of these, you should try on a lower quality yo-yo for your first.

Help me out if you find and grammar or spelling errors.

Thanks,

-Evan-

[SR1 (SPENCE)]

Wow! Amazing modding guide, very helpful and informative! I would surely use this guide to mod my yo-yo’s!

[Contagon]

Great Guide! BTW one of your links in #3 or “Silicone” doesn’t work.

[Pheenix (JonasK)]

You are the awesome Evan.

[Samad]

@Pheenix

You are the awesome Evan.

Indeed.

[Paolo]

Great guide!

[K.li.yo]

For the dying section you mentioned that Kicksides…etc. could not be dyed with acetone. With what chemical do you use? Please help, Thanks.

[EvanB]

@K.li.yo

For the dying section you mentioned that Kicksides…etc. could not be dyed with acetone. With what chemical do you use? Please help, Thanks.

Just Rit dye and boiling water.

Should work just fine.

[anonyo]

@Evan

@K.li.yo

For the dying section you mentioned that Kicksides…etc. could not be dyed with acetone. With what chemical do you use? Please help, Thanks.

Just Rit dye and boiling water.

WILL work just fine.

Had to fix that last statement.

Also you could have put reshape. Seems like everyone is putting flat rims on their yoyo’s these days.

[EvanB]

@icthus

@Evan

@K.li.yo

For the dying section you mentioned that Kicksides…etc. could not be dyed with acetone. With what chemical do you use? Please help, Thanks.

Just Rit dye and boiling water.

WILL work just fine.

Had to fix that last statement.

Also you could have put reshape. Seems like everyone is putting flat rims on their yoyo’s these days.

Cool.

I’ll Change it to 11 ways

People can give me more ideas, I will add them on.

[mattsk8nike (Yo!It'sMatt)]

Very NICE!

[anonyo]

Another one. Beefcaking.

[EvanB]

@icthus

Another one. Beefcaking.

Cool.

I am going to take out surface mods, because most require a modder.

[anonyo]

Its lookin pretty good Brother!

[Skip]

Glad that recess vid is getting out there still

[Yummy]

You could add tuning in there. It isn’t necessarily a mod per se but if cleaning a bearing is on there tuning should also be there.

[Manny_bee]

sry for bringing back a old post but this has GOT to be pined.

[Amdroid]

Thanks this is a very helpful post. But, how do you do a beefcake mod? Do you just put in two small bearings, or do you have to get a longer axle?

[quinton (Q)]

@Amdroid

Thanks this is a very helpful post. But, how do you do a beefcake mod? Do you just put in two small bearings, or do you have to get a longer axle?

It helps to have a longer axle in some cases. But most of time you wont need it (From my expperience)

[yoyojamben]

@Amdroid

Thanks this is a very helpful post. But, how do you do a beefcake mod? Do you just put in two small bearings, or do you have to get a longer axle?

You can also just pick up 2 half-spec bearings. No need for a new axle, unless you use regular sized bearings. (ex. C sized, and A Sized).