So I got the idea on thursday to make my own yoyo. Went to lowes the next day, got a 2" dowel, some stop nuts, and some bolts
Got home, and started cutting. I sort of used my 888 as a template for how big each wood puck should be.
After a lot of tedious carving away at the edge to make it rounded, and drilling, and cutting out the bearing seat, it was done.
Each side weighs in at 18 grams, and the whole thing put together is 43 grams.
It plays… well, pretty horribly. lol
Has terrible vibe, and I can only get it to sleep 10% of the time, if even that much. But it does return to my hand.
Overall, I don’t think it turned out too bad for a first attempt. Would have been worlds easier if I had a lathe.
Interesting and cool, especially if you have the tools to make it happen.
I think if you had some better tools, I’d bet your results would improve a lot. I’d say a turning lathe would be your first step, because that would ensure you’ve got the right tools to ensure an event cut. Match that up with something to serve as your template to ensure consistency.
Also, if you’re going to get to it, I’d say do some serious research on the wood that’s been used in the past. I’m not one of those people who can identify a wood type on sight. They used to make yoyos out of wood, so there’s no reason why they still couldn’t today. Isn’t that YYF fundraiser yoyo all wood?
My advise for when you really want to do this, avoid the hardware store offerings. While it’s certainly suitable for the builds they are intended for, it’s not going to have the same consistency as products you can get elsewhere through specialty wood dealers. Can’t say much on costs, but you don’t need to buy in massive amounts either.
It seems that you’re on the right track. My other suggestions would be to move to a solid steel bearing and make a simple looping yoyo. Start small, plan big. If you can do those, say, in an imperial shape or classic butterfly and end up with usable results, then skip the whole transaxle thing and go for a bearing yoyo next. But pay CLOSE attention to the details on the throw you choose to model after, especially around where the bearing seats. I noticed on my DM2, there are two small raised plastic nubs(one on each half) that grab the bearing’s inner rim, which is what the yoyo spins on. The outer rim that the string goes on ideally shouldn’t move(because the string is on there), but you already knew those sort of things.
Short of that, I’d like to see a finish product on your second attempt as well. Considering the results you got on your first attempt, I can’t imagine your next attempt being a step backwards.
yeah, I actually really want to get a wood lathe, but they’re a bit out of my price range right now.
I wasn’t dead centered with both halves, and yeah there are some imperfections that’ll make the halves weight a bit different, from actual weight to weight distribution. I’m pretty certain if I could get the hole dead center, and make the two halves a bit more identical it would have a lot less vibe.
Then the next problem I had was cutting the bearing seat. I didn’t really have the right tools to cut it, so I just used a spade bit that was as close to the same size as my bearing as possible. if I could have gotten the bearing seat a bit better I imagine that would have definitely helped too.
another thing I need to work on is the axle. right now I’m just using a stop nut and a bolt. which uh… isn’t the best. haha
I have my work cut out for me on making improvements for my 2nd attempt, but I’ll be sure to post them up when I try it again.
