Bearing Blanks

Be careful not to over tighten these wooden blanks lol.

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I agree there is a market for these, and as far as the durability; they might just need to be sold with multiples in packs with a disclaimer and an expectation going in that they will wear out and potentially crack or break. That being said I’ve been testing the Maple C 1/2 spec.

Since I had already been playing the Luftverk Aluminum Bearing Blank in my Luftverk XP 55 Alpina Slimline this week, I started there for a good comparison on feel. Right off the the first throw compared to the Luftverk Blank the Maple C had a bit more kick and spin. STM was more consistent and I wasn’t having to throw as hard to get around into stall mounts. I also noticed the 1gram weight savings bringing the Alpina down between 62-63 grams. I was also enjoying the benefits of cotton string and its subtlety compared to the Aluminum blank where you just get more drag. With the Maple C the benefits of the Alpina’s control was really up front and it felt like a percision scalpel without the kick back from to many RPMs when running a 1/2 Spec C responsive lubed bearing.

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Again to keep some consistency I’m finishing up the C Bearing Blank comparisons with the Luftverk XP 55 Alpina. I put in the 1/2 Spec C Acrylic and paired it with some white 100% bulk poly. First throws it felt slower than the 1/2 Spec C Maple, I continued to pump and regen to get a feel. After a few minutes of play I started getting snap backs, especially on hard throws. At first I though the string was getting stuck between the Acrylic Blank and the edge of the bearing seat. Disassemble and realized the string was sticking to the Acrylic Blank, it appears that the heat from the friction of play was making the poly string adhere to the blank. For my safety I stopped playing with this blank and may re-test later with cotton string at a later date.

Since I was in a testing mode I put the white 100% bulk poly string on the Duncan 2016 Duncan wheels Blank / Trans-axle Sleeve into the Luftverk XP 55 Alpina. This blank has a groove and plays rather smooth , but compared to the 1/2 Spec C Maple Blank it lacks the kick you get from the initial throw or regens. I’ve used this blank a lot in a Doc Pop Bolt 2 and it makes the Bolt 2 a nice and quite 0A player. The 2016-2020 Duncan Wheels is just a re-branded Butterfly XT without the Flat Full Spec C bearing and @dylan_kowalski YouTube YoYo star recently did a review on these as he found one at AutoZone while picking up auto parts.

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Been playing Bearing Blanks for a straight week now. Up next was the D size Maple Blank, was excited about this one to be able to play a fixed axle @G2_Jake G2 Respawn on a Fixed Axle Friday with a Respawn drop later this evening. However, no dice, this D size Maple Bearing Blank is cut a little to narrow compared to a D sized flat bearing and in the G2 Respawn the bearing post hit each other leaving a gap. Will have to dig through my crates to find another D bearing candidate.

Still determine to play some fixed axle aluminum I moved on to the A sized Maple Bearing Blanks. Since @yoyo_cubicle has already tested the Weekender, I chose the Core CO 650b as my A bearing candidate. First throw with 650b I was getting amazing spin times, but it was a little off as I was getting a lot of noise. Turns out this A bearing blank in the 650b was not fixed but acting as a Trans-axle and spinning on the bearing post. After taking it apart, the base of the post is wider than the blank, I also think since the blank is thinner than an A bearing, between the post and the axle length I couldn’t get the blank tight enough.

Since Titanium worked for the C Bearing Blanks, I might as well give it a shot for the A Bearing Blank, the Luftverk Daytona SB Highwall. Since I handled the first A bearing blank so much, I had one crack, but luckily @YoYoExpertGarrett sent me two. Playing this one for a couple of hours and it works nicely, to be expected it plays slower than the A bearing. For this particular yoyo however; being designed around an A bearing for responsive 0A play by @jeffreypang911 and @edhaponik, I feel there is little to no benefit of the blank in the Daytona SB in my opinion and it plays stellar without the need for any modifications if you keep the bearing lubricated.

Like to thank @YoYoExpertGarrett for letting me play and experiment with all these Bearing Blanks. I’m going to continue to experiment with some other set ups, but so far my favorite has to be the 1/2 Spec C Maple.

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Yeah, just having one thickness of wood at the moment limits the number of yo-yos these will work on. I tried a 650b too and was disappointed they’re just sliiiightly too thin to work properly.

I’ll try to find some slightly thicker wood if/when I make some more.

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Using a Basecamp Sherpa for my tests.

I’d been playing it responsive,but I made sure to put the luftverk in before I try the new ones, as it’s a pre existing reference point. Onto the C size now.
:sunglasses:

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It just got its pads replaced too. I went to clean the bearing seat and the stock pads just slipped right out! So glad I had this happen instead of a surprise throw with some kind of pad blowout snag combo.:joy:

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I noticed @gcoomans has a Teak Soul Fuel Skilltoys up on the BST, anyone ever play their blanks?

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I just did an axle swap so I could turn my Ricochet fixed axle using the C size blank @YoYoExpertGarrett sent me. I like it, perhaps I need to move to a higher wall yoyo, or, just work on balancing my stalls a little better :slight_smile: However, the width makes landing a backhand balance seem a bit like cheating.

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As seen on Fixed Axle Friday Throws - #1378 by Exmime. Playing an RSO/ Tom Kuhn collaboration 2.4mm C Bearing Blank. This is thinner than the Luftverk Bearing Blank. I have a few fixed axles that play really well with a 2.35mm gaps. Being a C size machined blank it lacks the kick of wood, but I’m getting around the corner with bulk poly. An enjoyable 0A experience.

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How does this play? On my next yoyo order I’m thinking about picking one up and doing some 0a.

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Would a bearing blank work in a yyf California? It has high walls so idk. Sorta new so this might be a dumb question lol.

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Not sure about the bearing post height on the California, but a lot of other YYF throws can take 1/2 Spec C bearings if you use a shorter axle.

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I got one purely as a “sure, why not?” add-on to an order.
Pleasantly surprised by this throw. Plays great no matter how it’s set up(un/responsive or fixed with a blank).
Plus dimples.:+1:

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@YoYoExpertGarrett let a few of us demo some wooden blanks he made with a lazer cutter to see if it would be a viable option for YYE. Ive expressed that there is a demand. The Luftverk blanks are currently available at YYE

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@jeduardo has a new and anticipated D sized bearing blank coming soon.

image

@yomartyo also did a vid

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Thanks @Exmime . These are 3 mm wide, concave and fit d-bearing size seats. The bearing seat of the yoyo needs to be 1.5 mm tall max.

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Would you, perchance, know the height of the Respawn Lite Bearing seats?

Also maybe you or @YoYoExpertGarrett could confirm the width of the D blank?

Thinking some hardware store shims may be necessary for the ZG D blank to work in the Respawn Lite.

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Not sure yet, the @YoYoExpertGarrett Wooden D Blank was 3.33mm and the regular Respawn post was just a little too long.

Got it. Maybe @G2_Jake could confirm seat depth? I’m gonna try it out once I get my hands on that MiJo blank because it seems like exactly what I want out of the Respawn.

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