I’ll keep it mostly on topic. Sorry.
Not much to report. We’ll keep it to myself and my son.
Sunday, Father’s day, I got a Flying Panda at a local Big 5, which are blowing these out at $6.98. There it was, urine colored. I swear, the yellow looks like panda urine. And I’m supposed to fling wee-wee as an off-string? Duncan, come on! Better decision making please! Anyhow, fun, different. Unfortunately, I cleaned out their stock of 1. I saw AngryGumball posted a mod using ProZ spacers, so I knew I had to get another to do this mod since I have extra ProZ Mod spacers since I keep 2 of mine modified and 2 in wing shape.
My Chief returned home on Monday, along with a Code2 for theroybit. Out of respect for potential competing or rather NON-COMPETING retailers, I won’t mention where the Chief went and where the Code2 came from, although they came FROM the same place. The Chief went out for a trial/evaluation, where-as the Code2 was a fresh purchase. theroybit had my brand new Sky Walker on loan, and since I had his Code2 arrive, it made sense to meet up with him and he could return my Sky Walker for his new Code2. Ah, sharing. Heck, soon my new Arctic Circle is heading to where the Chief was for a round of Evaluations. Remember: sharing is caring!
Since I was in the area, I headed to the other nearby Big5, and cleaned out their stock of 2 Flying Pandas, also urine colored, but with a different cap design(same different cap design). Anyhow, my son wanted one since we went to Disneyland in April, and I was unable to get back to the Big5 there to get one. Why did we see one at a Big5 near Disneyland? My 8 year old daughter needed new shoes. Why? Because seriously, her other ones were worn out and did in fact need replacing. Anyhow, Flying Panda issue resolved. Sorta. I’ll get to that later.
So, we’re at the end of the school year. Tuesday, it’s “park day” for kindergarten, so I suggest he take his yoyos with him. Good idea. He gets a knot in his ProZ and takes it apart and loses the guts: Both spacers and well broken in bearing! Brilliant. So, I decide to replace it since I have a coupon. I figure since I’m at the ToysRUs, I let him get a Metal Drifter, which he’s keeping as a 1A throw for now. So, now I’m cleaning bearings all day. First, I’m cleaning bearings to try to get things prepared for some sort of other cleaning process. While I was out, i got that electrical cleaner this one guy had been raving about.
Anyhow, we get home and I clean the bearings in the ProZ and the Metal Drifter using a round of mineral spirits and then acetone, thick lubed, thin lubed, then spun and run through the cycle again and then TerrapinX treated after the last cleaning round. 20+ seconds of spin on a flick! Freakin’ awesome! Throws: pretty much unresponsive, which isn’t bad considering the response pads still need breaking in. The boy is quite pleased.
So, my son notices the Flying Pandas aren’t making any noise. The bearings aren’t moving. They are glopped up with grease. So, now those gotta get cleaned. 4 rounds of the above treatment. Sweet! I’m only getting 10 seconds a flick, but I think with more breaking in, they’ll be fine. Of course, spin time on the string has improved dramatically.
My son(reminder: 5.5 years old) is now throwing and CATCHING and BINDING 4A. Serious! He was rocking his Fiesta XX while he waited for his Flying Panda bearing to get cleaned. Also doing likewise with the Flying Panda.
So, I do try that electrical cleaner stuff. My impression: Don’t waste your money. It assumes a clean bearing, not a bearing NEEDING a real deep cleaning. Sorry, I spend the $8.30+tax and honestly, I’d rather just do my existing method of alternating mineral spirits, acetone and paper slips as needed. I guess if you just want a quick and fast lube/cleaning, it’s fine, but for serious work, it really isn’t worth the effort. I took the final of the 3 Flying Panda greased up bearings and it did NOTHING to clean the grease out. Maybe I should have gotten the de-greasing formula next to it.
I also ordered a carry case. YYE should carry large capacity carrying cases with SMOOTH sides. That way I can carry a ton of throws AND have places for stickers!
No trick progress. I was only throwing stuff to test stuff… Mostly I threw my GoBig.
Wednesday: Water Play day. He’s again bringing his yoyos. He’s been told to NOT take anything apart. He also doesn’t have a bathing suit so he doesn’t want to get wet. He outgrew his other one.
Oh, sorry, no pics. I’m slammed. Between cleaning bearings, moving gear and doing lighting design, I don’t have time to photo my throws and mods. Rest assured, I’m trying to get this kind of stuff done but as I hope you can understand, I do have to prioritize stuff.
What have we learned? Clean them bearings! They don’t always ship clean. Some don’t even ship good. I have a YYJ bearing that came in my Pinnacle, NEW. That one SUCKS!! Beyond saving, just ain’t happening. Also, always have spare bearings around, you never know when you’re going to need it.