If I were to hypothetically make a counterweight out of one of these, which color would you choose?
(More metallic and slightly brighter in person)
As my son would say. Blue
Why not all of them?
I probably will end up using all of them, but I’ve never made a counterweight before - I might screw it up the first go around. I figured I’d experiment with the least popular one first.
How much do they weigh?
11.8g on average, but that will change by the time I turn them into counterweights. Have to experiment before I know by how much.
These look cool. What are you making them from? Looks like they’re cast from liquid rubber.
I like #1 but I don’t know if the white is forming a good contact with the surface of the mold
I’m pretty sure they’re just typical “bouncy balls”.
I’ve heard they make good counterweights and I’m wondering why I haven’t tried this yet…
I gotta fix that
Ah. Very wise.
What are you making them from? Looks like they’re cast from liquid rubber.
I like #1 but I don’t know if the white is forming a good contact with the surface of the mold
They’re literally just bouncy balls I bought online, haha. The surfaces of #1, 6, and 8 are a slightly different texture, but they still feel as solid as the rest.
I’m wondering why I haven’t tried this yet…
I gotta fix that.
Hold on 'til May, and you may not have to 
(That is if they turn out as well as expected, and I don’t botch this 
).
Then at least I won’t feel bad saying this.
Rubber won’t last as long as you hope, especially with a string cutting into it or a hole drilled. When it collides with your yoyo it will grip and shoot away wildly.
Definitely try it yourself though. That’s where I started making counterweights. After these try something else, your creativity adds to our collective toolkit for yoyo mods.
You can get spherical silicone molds and liquid rubber to make your own patterns, you can add filler to rubber too (eg sawdust in liquid rubber is similar to linoleum). Or use the same mold with resin or liquid PVC, both of which mix with all kinds of pigments: UV, glow in the dark, powdered metals.
I have a plan to accommodate the durability issue. Duncan makes one similar to what I have planned (though I actually thought of it before I searched to see if it’d been done, if that counts for anything). While I’ve never tried it, I assume it must not be awful for it to be on YYE.
Keen to see how you go.
I think Duncan balls are made in the same way as proper sports balls. All holes and grooves are molded, not cut, and the joins are better.
If you go this route then work outside, the fumes from hot rubber can soak into your walls and furniture giving them a permanent cat pee smell.
Polyurethane should be even better than rubber if you can find it in small quantities (I can’t). I had these rollerblade wheels called Glass Arrows that lasted about 20 years!
Thanks for the tips! I’m eager to work with different materials and methods to find what plays best.
I have one of the Duncan ones that came with a throw monkey. It’s my favorite counterweight that I’ve found yet. It goes perfectly with a Duncan butterfly. I like the quietness of it.
Closing the poll. Thanks to everyone who voted! I will now subject the birch ball to experimentation. Your sacrifice will not be in vain, #6!
