I have a couple of delrin yoyos inbound (Cabal & Goliat), and I’m wondering what to expect from them versus more mainstream plastic, as well as aluminum. I’m fairly new to modern yoyos, and I was hoping to get some input from folks that have a lot of experience with all three materials.
I would certainly appreciate any info you could provide!
Delrin yo-yos are pretty much the best plastics you can get. They cost more because they are machined like a metal yo-yo and perform just as well. Since the plastic is machined, they will give smoother play and the manufacturers can do a better job of weight distribution when compared to a molded plastic. Companies like Crucial and One Drop have done some amazing things with the material.
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Well honestly; since you already have the Delrin yoyos in the mail; it’s kinda pointless.
When you get the yoyos ‘soon’ your impressions of both will be far more enlightening than anything.
Yo sure did pick out 2 Excellent yoyos👍
Personally I love the feel of Delrin yoyos. They feel unlike any other material; in the hand or in play.
I started cutting up Delrin over a decade ago. Its fun to work with and very durable. And as in the case of the Cabal; you get a lot of yoyo considering the pricepoing🤓
And made right up in Oregon by U.S. Citizens👍
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Hey Doc, since you have worked with it as a seasoned machining vet what did you consider the hurdles when working with the material. I have heard from Paul Yath in the past that it can be a finicky material to machine correctly and it takes a deft hand to get it just right.
I completely agree that it feels unlike anything else. They are a blast to play.
They’re usually better than injection molded plastics 
Though saying that they play “just as well” as metals i wouldn’t be so sure about really. 6061 aluminium (the by far most common alloy used for metal yoyos) is nearly twice as dense as POM (Delrin is just DuPont’s brand name for POM), and a lot stronger, which means it can be machined to thinner sections. Which means that you have more freedom in a metal yoyo for weight distribution than you would with the same yoyo in POM. Unless you, of course, just want massive amounts of center weight. Then POM should do just as good as 6061.
Have you played a Cabal yet? 
Machined delrin yoyo’s are fairly tough,as is POM plastic in general.
When abused,aluminium deforms,scraches and dings
Polycarbonate cracks/shatters and delrin(or celcon for that matter)…
Hmmmm,Ive never got a POM plastic yoyo die on me I suppose.I wonder what the failure mode is.
Heck even my lyn fury Ive demoted to offstring use is stiff fine after years of(admittedly not so intensive use)
Wait do you stronger per given volume or by mass?
POM is pretty badd@ss stuff imo
And in all white or to lesser extent all black it makes a yoyo look like srs bsns.
I want to try a Cabal so bad now
Not all POM plastics are equal either. Delrin isn’t “just” a name brand, it’s a different plastic… and there are a number of versions of it. Most are functionally the same thing despite different molecular structures, but some are stronger/different in various ways.
As for working with it, it’s pretty nice to machine. The downside is that without really spot on tool geometry and feed/speed it will tend to ‘nest’ (aka create a huge mess of stringy plastic wrapped around the stock/spindle/chuck/everything) which can be a big problem if left unchecked.
It also deflects really easily, so final passes have to be very light to get tolerances right.
Kyle
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I have heard of the deflection but not the nesting. Is nesting an issue when machining metal or is it unique to POM?
I love this guy. He’s a righteous dude.
Not sure why you want to turn this ‘Delrin’ thread into a Material Shootout🙀
…Delrin is better than…Fancy aluminum is waaay better than… No Ti/you die… Etc.
I love Delrin: throwing it, cutting it, just the feel of it has a sort of Zen to it.
But All Yoyo materials have fun and performance factors that cannot be overlooked.
One of the great things about yoyos is the diversity of materials and shapes and sizes, etc.
Yoyo performance and fun are two primary factors.
Yoyo construction material is of secondary importance.
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Shredded unicorn or nothing. Ftw.
That means for the win in case no-one knows.
Xoxoxoxoxo,xoxoxoxoxo,xoxoxoxoxo,xoxoxoxoxo,xoxoxoxoxo
Haha I have used counter weights for years as pull switch weights(dice and squirrel)