2 bearing questions

  1. i have a few bearings that i have broken in, and now they seem to vibe a little. it is odd, because i used my friends and his was smooth after the breakin. how can i make them smooth again or prevent them from vibing after? is it the bearing?

  2. why do people hate on WD40 for lube? it is a thin lube and it worked fine for my yoyos for a while.

Nothing wrong with WD-40.
Little trickier to use since it’s easy to spray to much when using the Aerosol can.

WD-40 in the “no-mess pen” might help

WD-40 is 50% Mineral Spirits, which helps it get into tight openings/penetrate, clean, displace water
It comes out of the dispenser liquidy, as the Mineral Spirits evaporate, the substance gets a little thicker.

So people who spent the time getting just the right amount of responsiveness, the next day, the yoyo is responsive and when they flick the bearing, it doesn’t spin freely so they come to the conclusion that WD-40 can dissolve steel and eat away metal  ???

It would be like lubing your bearing before your bearing is completely dry after cleaning it.

Some people use 3-in-One and thin it out with lighter fluid, which ends up as something similar to WD-40.

so all your saying is that it is easy to overlube it, and when you think it is just right, it may actually have been overlubed?

It’s not because it eats metal. It’s because the viscosity of the lubrication it provides cannot hold up at the speeds that yoyo bearings spin at, and therefore increases friction. But really, if it works for you, who cares if your bearing wears out in Aug 2012 instead of Oct 2012
I don’t use it personally, because I prefer my bearings dry now, and previously because I think that WD-40 smells like roach spray and makes a gooey mess.

  • Viscosity effectively increases as solvents evaporate.
  • Misconceptions about WD-40 “eat metal,” “made out of fish oil,” “attracts dirt” (all liquid lubes do)
  • Mineral Spirits in WD-40, so people are wary of using it since most plastic yo-yos are Polycarbonate, but if you are lubing the bearing properly and not the entire yo-yo, it shouldn’t be a concern.

…Yes, fluid friction.
The running torque (“responsiveness”) increases.

k got it. i understand wd40 things now. but why do my bearings start vibing after i break them in, and then i lube it and it is soooooper smooth. i thought it only got louder without lube (and damages the balls slightly faster) but why does it vibe more?