I bought a Dark Magic and a Konkave bearing because I know for scientific fact that having the same Yo as the guy in the videos would instantly make me that skilled.
So here’s what I got:
yoyo: Black Magic
bearing: Konkave, cleaned with mineral spirits, lubed with yoyojam thin lube
gap: tightened until I feel moderate pressure
Here’s my problem:
My yoyo seems waayyy too unresponsive. I can bind, but it takes me 3-4 “wraps” to get the yo to wind up. Then on my next throw, I will often get a weak sleeper because the Yo slides down rather than rolls down (like the string isn’t getting enough grip against the side of the Yo). I see Mr. Boulay in his binding video only has to lightly bind his Yo and it returns perfect. In the past, like 2003, I had Yo’s that would bind like his does in the video, so I know I’m not doing the bind wrong.
Any suggestions?
Anybody know how Mr. Boulay has his setup?
Should I put some thick lube in the bearing? (don’t really want to lose sleeping time)
Maybe I’m not tightening the gap enough? (once I feel resistance to tightening I don’t like to force it closed because I know yoyojam’s can lose their adjustable gap)
You already have Andre’s setup. One Dark Magic, one KonKave bearing, and some thin lube. He says that he plays his with a “fairly tight” gap, which it also sounds like you’re doing as well.
I keep my DMs the exact same way, for what it’s worth, and have no trouble at all with perfect returns on a real light bind. I bind light as a habit anyway, so I wouldn’t want something that didn’t respond to it.
Based on what you’re saying it really does sound like you don’t have it tight enough. Take it in another twist or two if you can do so safely, and see where you’re at. Also, I doubt this is the case but check the yo-yo carefully for manufacturing defects or shipping damage.
I have my DM set up like Andre. KK bearing, cleaned, and with a I have it adjusted about 2 turns out. It binds perfectly. Try tightening your gap man. just because he has his like the way he likes it doesn’t mean you should. André has more exp than most of us so his method has had lots of practice. Later.
I’ve had a busy day, so I haven’t had time to update.
I twisted the gap a bit tighter and most of my troubles with it have gone away. Binding with a double wrap definitely winds the Yo, but a regular bind sometimes doesn’t work. Using a bigger loop does seem to be helping make the regular bind more reliable.
How do you know what the limit is to tightening the gap? I remember when the Yoyojam Spinfaktor was the new hotness and it was extremely easy to wear out the adjustable gap. I hated it when I had to put locktite in one of my Yos, it never really worked right.
When it stops being fairly easy to turn then stop. Also, since you dont have like 4 bearings in there (exaggeration) and if your bind is good, you shouldn’t need to even double wrap it. Work on your binds and you should be fine (rhyme?). I also have a Dark Magic and I just put a KK in there and had it as much loosened as it could be and I could bind it just fine. Good luck!
You know that the gap is tightened if the gap is not tightening anymore and is straining to stop turning. Do not turn it any more once you feel (average) resistance by the yoyo. Another thing to binds is that you have to relax and be confident. For some reason, I bind better that way. You don’t have to be fast but you can’t be slow either. Also, for a tighter bind, try to pull the loop and the other side of the bind away from each other firmly but quickly (if you don’t it will usually slip down to your left finger if right handed or just not bind). Also, the wearing of the adjustable gap is due to the repeated unscrewing and screwing of a yoyo. Try to limit this as much as possible, use a needle to fish for loops stuck in the yoyo and change yoyos the way andre teaches you (untwist the string to make a loopand slip it into the yoyo gap)
1 dark blue dark magic yoyo
stock bearing broken in and cleaned
tightened all the way
broken in Perfect fit string
one cap in, one out.
Mine plays very well. I had to tighten the gap a little more because of the string but it comes back on loose binds but is unresponive enough for whips and lacerations.
I’d suggest tweaking it untill you find what you prefer, not what andre does.
