I have a yo-yo shutter. When I unscrew and tighten the yo-yo it makes a high pitch squeaking noise. I have attached a video below showing the noise.
Nothing at all to worry about. Actually a plus, as you can use it as a bird call!
This happens with me sometimes when i get a new (or new to me) throw. That just means there is a raw metal on metal contact.
What I do ( and im sure others will disagree) is take the axle all the way out, clean the axle itself with qtip and 90% alcohol then Ill take a qtip with the cotton removed, dip it in the 90% and âscrewâ the cottonless stick into and back out of both halves. This always yields a black grim being removed from the threading. After its all dry I take a tiiiiny amount of thin lube (monkeyfinger lube with the brush in the cap) and treat the axle itself in a light coating of oil. Let it sit for a few minutes so that it has a chance to absorb a bit, wipe off excess off axle with paper towel, reinstall and Ive never had the problem arise again.
Most axles are raw steel (if they are black, there are some silver ones I preffer that feel better in the hands, looks nicer, and does not want to rust like the black steel doesâŚ), they are prone to rusting and degrading over time. The penetrating MonkeyLube treats and protects further breakdown.
Squeaking is more likely caused by an overly tight bearing seat, not the axle. Itâs nothing to worry about, you can sand down the bearing seats slightly with a fine grit sand paper if the noise bothers you.
As far as different types of axles; The silver axles are stainless steel while the black axles are alloy steel with an oxide coating. Both will function the same, but the black oxide coated axles are stronger in my experience.
I stand corrected and better informed.
I am loath to sand anything like a bearing seat, as Iâm afraid to overdo it = personal experience, and other people may be better at that kind of thing. If it doesnât bother you, Id just leave it be. Over time it will probably stop, as it will just naturally wear down. You might try taking a cotton swab, and applying a tiny bit of lube to the bearing posts, if it really bothers you.
My 2016 Superstar does the same thing.
Yeah, I wouldnât use sandpaper, messes up resale value too. A dab of lube on the bearing post normally does the trick.
Iâm glad you raised this topic.
The agreed upon terminology is âBearing Postâ. âBearing Seatâ is the ledge that the inner race of bearing sits on and you definitely donât want to sand that. That might seem too pedantic but itâs an important distinction. Also, do we really accept that itâs normal to have to sand a new product that you just bought? If it needs sanding, shouldnât that be done before itâs sold?
Speaking of bearing posts and the now very common tight bearing posts, I feel itâs important to discuss this situation because it is one of the biggest differences between what we do at One Drop and what happens with many or most Chinese made yoyos. Nothing is free, so there are reasons why Chinese made yoyos cost less and the result of one of these reasons is tight bearing posts.
So why is that many Chinese made yoyos have tight bearing posts? Why do companies sell bearing removal tools? The reason is that the tolerance to make the post the correct size is incredible small. In manufacturing, the tighter the tolerance the higher the cost so to save money Chinese made yoyos are made with a looser tolerance on the bearing post. This tolerance is aimed at ending up with a tight bearing post because the result out of the box is a smooth yoyo. If the bearing post is too loose then itâs possible the yoyo vibes. Various yoyo manufacturers have been trained by the customers that vibey yoyos are completely unacceptable so if you are going to get the size wrong (and they get it wrong most of the time) they feel itâs much better to have a tight post and a smooth yoyo out of the box. The problem with this is that as soon as you take the yoyo apart (and especially if you try to remove the bearing) you begin damaging the bearing post with ultimately leads to the yoyo being vibey anyway. So they arenât built to last in this sense. If you examine the bearing post on one of these yoyos you can usually see a black ring at the base of the post or sometimes even raw aluminum. If you sand the post as suggested above, you are likely to make the yoyo less smooth as well because itâs impossible to do it evenly - essentially by sanding it, you are damaging it.
It is possible to get lucky and get a Chinese made yoyo with a correctly sized bearing post, but in our sampling the percent that are tight is very high. This is supported by the fact that these companies sell bearing removal tools and that it has almost become acceptable as normal and okay to have the tight bearing (as YoYoexpert Garrett says ânothing to worry aboutâ). We are also seeing people tout yoyos in the BST that have never been taken apart as a good thing.
Having made tens of thousands of yoyos in our shop we know exactly how difficult it is to get the post size right. Everyone who has made a modern yoyo has struggled with this. You literally have to hold NASA/Aerospace level tolerances AND then get lucky that the anodizer doesnât mess it up. It is very difficult and very expensive to do it right. We would love to sell yoyos with press fit bearings and we could do it at a much lower cost because the tolerance is so much bigger. But we believe that the bearing needs to be serviceable without ruining your yoyo and we will continue to work hard to make this option available to you.
We have also noticed that import centering bearings on most of these yoyos have a rough surface on the inside diameter (the part that comes into contact with the bearing post), and that the inner race diameter is often undersized (making it even tighter). If you look at it under magnification you can see it. If you look at a One Drop 10Ball under magnification the surface is perfectly smooth. This rough surface also damages the bearing post because itâs essentially like sand paper. Depending on the tolerance matching, itâs possible one of these bearings in a One Drop can also damage the post.
Thank you to yoyoexpert and to all who continue to support us so we can continue to provide this alternative option.
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It be fine mine did but it will be fine in a few weeks it will be fine
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I had mentioned this in another post but sometimes when I throw my yo-yo it doesnât spin smoothly (Noticeable vibration) and that makes my sleep time short. Not sure if that has something to do with the bearing or my technique. Would a One Drop 10Ball bearing reduce this problem and also help with the noise? Besides the vibration issue when throwing, the yo-yo is relatively quiet when spinning. In the future, Iâm going to buy a more expensive yo-yo. I was thinking about the CLYW Orca (Because I like the kid who helped create the Yo-yo). Is that a quality yo-yo?
Changing a bearing doesnât impact smoothness generally.
If it only happens sometimes, itâs your technique. If it was a problem with the yoyo it would always happen.
Thanks for the clarification David - Iâve always just said bearing seat, but the distinction between post/seat makes sense. Iâll be sure to use that from now on!
And no, customers donât need to accept that itâs normal to have to sand a new product, because they really donât have to. Itâs just one solution to a squeaky yo-yo; something that most people donât even consider a problem.
I for one am glad the OP posted about it, as I learned a lot as a result. As I said, my 2016 SS does it. I just instinctively knew what was causing it, probably due to more experience with yoyos. I never even thought twice about it, but am happy for this benefit of our community. I suppose we might see something contradicting Davidâs response as company propaganda, but I found it very interesting nonetheless.
Add a drop of lube to both bearing posts and it wonât squeak as much. After taking it apart and putting it back together enough it will stop.
That was a very âfineâ explanation.
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Ha thanks but itâs the truth
Yes, I wouldnât be surprised either. I just think itâs important for people to understand why many yoyos these days have tight bearings. And that it has become acceptable - which is fine. But that we provide an alternative. There are actually benefits to manufacturing in house - itâs not just a slogan. Thank you for your thoughtful post.