Anyone tried to make their own response pads? I’ve heard of cork and stuff being cut to be used but nothing else… I imagine glue could be used somehow in a mixture…
Yes, a lot of people have. The use things like plasti-dip, silicone and shoe-goo spread on sticky back paper as found in some label makers. Results vary and it takes some trial an error to get it right. Google “baz pads” for instance.
Yep. I did several years ago. Plasti-dip + Naptha. Pour it on non-stick cookie sheets. Sit heavy book on top to flatten it out. Let dry. Voila.
Edit: That’s just for thin pad response yoyos.
I’m just a beginner… but isn’t that what flowable silicone does? You just put some in the response space, and wipe it?
Most yoyos that use pads have a recess that is too thin to hold silicone.
I’m curious jhb, but which yoyos have pads that are too thin? Not trying to make this a jab at you, but rather serious curiosity. 
Most all original anti-yo, duncan fhz (and most other yoyos of that vintage), diffeo, the list goes on and on… Pads at the time were paper thin, as some still are. That is too thin to hold up very long at all.