I just received my new Bearing King from YoYoExpert.
Now I (sadly) do have some problems…
My Bearing King didn’t come with a fixed tip.
I also don’t know if there needs to be an extra bearing inside the top. I have read that there need to be 2: One in the inside and one on the outside on the tip.
I am also wondering doesn’t the spare tip (bearing tip) need a bearing to?
Because I’m new to spin tops I don’t really know if the string is long enough, I also ordered extra string from YoyoExpert but I can’t seem to throw the top to let it land on its tip, it always lands on his side or head…Maybe I just need more practice but it doesn’t seem to work that well.
Your top probably does have two bearings, when you look down at the tip from the inside of the top, there should be a little black ‘o’ ring that keeps it from sliding out of the bearing. that is the upper bearing. the lower bearing is hard to see because it is stuck into the plastic body just where the tip goes in. if it didn’t have two bearings, i don’t believe it would stay in.
currently the bearing kings are not shipping with the extra bearing tip, the other tip is for fixed tip play, and it should have a round space (the size of a bearing), where it would fit into the body, and then an oval portion with an ‘o’ ring that holds it in . if you remove the bearing tip, you would press it in for fixed tip play.
hope that helps. as for your throw, it does take practice, but the string is probably too short, and that does make it hard to do. it should be about 62 inches.
yeah, the stock string that comes with the bk (atleast when I got mine a little over a year ago) is too short. I just made my own string though similar to how I make yoyo string, but thicker and made of a cotton twine.
Also, make sure to tape the part that unscrews. I just used a piece of electrical tape to go around it once or twice. Where the crown meets the body is the weakest part on it, so it’s prone to breaking, especially when you’re starting out and likely to drop your top a lot.
there should be about 15mm of the plastic tip extending past that first bearing, and a groove very near the end of the tip.
the round recess in the bottom of the top (looking down, on the inside) is where the second bearing should go. you have to gently press it in.
when you put in the tip from the bottom, it should clear the second bearing and the groove should pass just beyond the edge of the bearing to the inside of the top. the groove is for an 0 ring that keeps the tip from pulling back out the bottom.
it sounds like your top is incomplete, and you won’t be able to get it to behave right until you get the other bearing in there and hold in the tip with the 0 ring.
you may be able to find a replacement string at a hardware store, look for a three ply cotton twine.
When you twist off the cap there should be a bearing in the bottom part, if you do not see one you should contact YYE. The bearing is the same size as most (but not all) Duncan yo-yo’s if you have one you could rob the bearing from it.
It is possible to throw it with the short string but if you learn that way it might be even more difficult to learn to throw it the “right” way. Anyway you should try it. Throw it with the tip pointing horizontally away from you, and be sure you are just pushing the top and releasing at the end of your throw versus trying to whip the string off the top.
This is the way I used to make top string and it works great if you have the room:
I now make 4-ply string using a different apparatus, for a tighter, rounder cord.
Yup I think you need longer string. Please e-mail Duncan about how frustrating that is. This has been a problem for a while and hopefully more complaints will induce a change.
Ha, your are too kind to Duncan. The string problem has been around forever, probably since they started selling the BK in 2000 (I need to open an old blister and verify this). Countless would-be spintop players were frustrated by Duncan’s short strings.
As with any other top, the ideal lenght of string depends on its thickness: thicker = shorter, thinner = longer. What is important is how high the wrap reaches on the side of the body. The BK has a rougher finish surface closer to the tip. The wrap should almost cover this part, just 1 or 2 turns shy of reaching the smooth part.
