I plan on getting a yoyo of mine PC’d and engraved by the man himself. I’ve been contacting him and he has been very friendly and helpful.
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First off I just want to say WOW and THANK YOU. I have gotten so many people sending me messages and really just being very friendly. It is one of the things I love about the kind of people who are drawn to yoyos. I would love to become a halfway step for people designing yoyos. Once you get your design on paper I could make a between 1 and 5 for you to test. Then people can spend the bigger bucks on production runs. Also, I know many of you only want a couple for you and your friends, so that would be perfect too. I design parts for a living and also know several machine shops so I can help with the production orders too.
I am planning on running some test cuts this weekend with some of the designs people have sent to me. I don’t expect to have any fully finished hubs the first try. But I want to see what I can do and what things I need to work on. My main focus will be the inside part of the yoyo and the bearing seats. I will post pictures for you all to see.
I didn’t realize powder coating yoyos was popular. But for those of you interested send me messages. I will do the first 10 yoyos that people send to me free of charge using my powders. If you want another color, you will have to mail me the powder. You will have to pay for shipping though. once you get your yoyo back, If you don’t mind please post and tell me what you think of my work and how much you would be willing to pay for that. Any money I make doing this will go toward my anodizing set up so I can offer anodizing to you guys for an equally cheap price. That set up will cost $500.
As for laser etching, I can etch on any coated surface. So either paint or anodizing. I will also etch the first 10 yoyos I get free of charge. Just post and say what you think of my work. Also, tell me what would be a fair price for that too. I am not trying to get rich doing this. I have a day job that pays the bills. But if I can earn a little side money doing this and put that toward my own equipment then I can continue to offer these services to the community. One day I want to buy my own slantbed cnc lathe, or build one. whichever comes first. 
Anyway, pictures to come soon.
Josh
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I’m not interested in getting any work done myself, but I just wanted to acknowledge how awesome this is. I’m sure you’ll be a great asset to the community once you get some of these projects up and running. Kudos! ;D
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^ Likewise, I don’t plan on having anything of my own design made, but I have to acknowledge what a fantastic opportunity you’ve provided to everyone. You’re awesome. ;D
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Yeah I was asking to see if he would be willing to sandblast a YoYo.
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Clearly someone didn’t read the whole thread.
Anyway, you are freaking awesome for this!
Speaking of which, isn’t the CAD code for the original One Drop Project is out in public in case other people want to make their own Projects? I think Josh can practice with that just to see how yoyos can be made. And the Project is, I believe, a great start on how a good yoyo should be made. Well, given that he has access to a CNC lathe
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/2165247/OneDrop%20Project%20NC%20Code%20(CNC%20Mill).rtf
Have fun!
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Neat idea, Christian.
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Oh, I see it in the original post! Sorry!
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Sand-blasting is generally too abrasive to be used for yoyos. That’s why you don’t normally hear about it. You’re more likely to hear about things like soda blasting, which are less harmful to yoyos.
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But if the sand is fine enough, won’t it be appropriate?
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Sandblasting is fine if you turn the pressure down low. I’ve done it many times with great results.
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Yes, that’s true. However, most places, if you give them something and say “sand blast this” will, by default, use a very coarse (well, coarse for yoyos) grain. It’s very similar to using sand-paper on yoyos (for obvious reasons). A random person, with no knowledge of the symmetry that is required for a yoyo to play smoothly, will use a very coarse grain in order to get the job done quickly. Of course, using sand paper can still be done, and many people do use it; one just has to be careful.
DISCLAIMER: this is in no way a hack on the OP, as I’m sure he’s more than aware of the procedure needed when sand blasting something like a yoyo. This is just the explanation for the double facepalm
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I thought the double-facepalm was for “We sandblast!” followed by “Do you sandblast?”
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Ah
That makes much more sense
lulz
Well I knew that he sandblasted the Traffic light, but wasn’t sure if he still had materials to sandblast. I read the original post where I saw that he does sandblast. Sorry guys!
You better be sorry, you offended far too many people…haha Jk 
Lol. Thanks guys. This thread got interesting very quickly. As mentioned already sandblasting can be either very aggressive or very light. I also have a vibratory tumbler that is less aggressive, but you don’t have control what areas get worked on. Basically it rubs the parts with ceramic triangles and they smooth out the part and remove tool marks. It works great on somethings and poorly on others. It tends to round off corners more. So the might work on a yoyo, but I would be worried about the bearing seat. So my thought was to basically make a cover that you would screw onto the hub using the axle hole and then that would not let the bearing seat be messed up. Just an idea.
Also, some people have asked about masking off parts of the yoyo. I have masking tape that is specially made for powder coating. I can mask off some things if you like. Just keep it reasonable. I don’t want to try and mask off a star or something. Might be able to do it if I use the laser to cut the tape and then peal it out like a stencil. But lets just wait on that stuff. Also, was thinking that you probably want the bearing seat and response areas to not be powder coated. The coating adds some thickness and the bearing might not fit back in without some work. Can someone that has had them powder coated comment about that. I can use the same bearing seat cover idea I mentioned before on it.
Anyway, I have got several yoyos coming in the mail and I also got several designs emailed to me. So we are gonna have a good weekend. I will post photos soon.
Also, as a teaser I will post a project I have had on the back burner for a while. I have thought about building one of these for myself for a few years. But have not really had the need until recently. This is one someone else built and I have talked a lot with him about the design.
Josh
Pretty awesome, Josh!
Regarding the tumbling: One Drop tumbles as part of their pyramatte process, so tumbling is not unheard of for yoyos. Not sure what the implications are for the bearing seat, etc. For their Side-effect yoyos I doubt they need to put any special apparatus in place to protect that area. Not sure if non-SE yoyos are put through the pyramatte process or not.
I was just going to say that! The pyramatte is known to be one of the smoothest finishes.