the tip could move ~30° end to end. when i finger flicked the tip and watch it the point would spiral out and back in again which was the behavior i was trying to discribe before.
Yeah, that’s no good. Huh. Hey I’ll send you a free deluxe spin top string if you post a picture of what’s going on at the inside bearing.
sure. i will take some video as well
Here’s a link to the album where I got the photos saved, I took a shot of the bare axle, with bearing, washer added, and with nut.
the video is currently encoding to youtube, I’ll add it once done
here’s where the video lives
Sorry for it being out of focus… I don’t know the focal length of that camera and I held it to close
Wow! That play is pretty bad!
I don’t have a blizzard with that tip setup (it is at least the third style I have seen), so I cannot tell you if its a problem of your blizzard or a general problem. But it would seem like a design problem. You should write to Dale and link to that video to see what he has to say.
That’s… just awful. If Dale is just stacking a second bearing inside without some sort of housing I am going to have to accuse him of drinking too much egg nog… erry day. It will make a great fixed tip though!
Thanks for posting. I will PM you for your address so I can send you a string.
Ha ha! Looks like you live in London? Didn’t realize that. I will make good on my promise though!
London Ontario. Canada
Lol I should have zoomed out
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My one Blizzard is one of the old single-bearing domed-cap jobs. When it lands wrong, the tip/bearing falls out and tries to run away and hide from you, but other than that, it’s a fine top. Spins as smooth and as long as any top I own. I’ve got Sidewinders of various ages/designs, with plastic tips, and with steel ones. I wholeheartedly recommend all of them.
Now, about Duncan. Some of my favorite yoyos are Duncans. I love them. I love everything they’ve done to promote skill toys. My irritation with them stems from this; based on it’s shape and it’s size, the Ripcord would be my favorite top by a long shot (even though you have to tape them) if Duncan would just offer a metal tip for it. Yeah, the old plastic was superior to what they’re making them from now. Yes, it’s irritating that they are selling them with strings that are too short to use.I understand the tip is what it is, so it doesn’t dent mom’s (or wife’s) hardwood floors. What I’m trying to say is, Duncan makes me so mad, only because I do care about their product. I could over look all the rest if I could just get a reasonably priced metal tip for it. I’ve monkeyed with putting Trompo Grande tips on them, but never ended up with a smooth spinning top. As much as I (almost) love my RCs and Diet RCs, Spintastics tops are just easier to tinker with to get what I want from them.
Welcome back from the dead Java!
I agree, a metal tip would do marvelous, marvelous things for a Rip Cord. The Strummol8 tip works for this but… a $20 tip for a $10 top? IMO, the stupid winding groove and easy to break cap are bigger problems, but yeah, without a steel tip a fixed tip top is kinda useless for an improving player.
I’ve not had much luck with Spintastics bearing tops. Always great for fixed tip tho.
the guys at YYE here got word of my plight (most cause I told them about it) and they offered me a discount on a bearing king and slipped it into my mystery box order. Anything I should be mindful of with the BK? I’m kind of paranoid now after my experience with the Blizzard
Gotta tape it.
Make sure the inner bearing is seated, and you might want to use your Blizzard string, other than that rock and roll ;D
I wrote to Dale pointing to this thread and this is what he said. He has tried several tip setups with this Blizzard mold but all have drawbacks.
I counted 4 different setups! He added that when he looked into putting a well inside it would have taken about 12 years to pay for the new mold considering the sales of the Blizzard. In his opinion:
*edited to maintain forum harmony. i should not make sarcastic posts, and for that i apologize *
Dale offered me a chance to send him the Blizzard and he would of applied it as a credit to a Trompo bearing which I was considering, but with me being in Canada and shipping being what it is it would of been ~$20 round trip. I already had the mystery box coming so the shipping was paid on it so the BK discount was an all around better deal.
The blizzard does play very well as a fixed tip and I am happy that the screwdown design allows the tip to be locked.