So I bought two yellow Raiders and some plastic spacers and I have never done the mod before. I have read just about everything I can find on this mod and have just a couple of questions.
How much cranking does it actually take? And what I mean is does it take more then a 1/4 turn or is it being cranked over 360 degrees? I just don’t want to over do it because it is hard/impossible to fix overcranking and more then likely it will break my Raiders, nor do I want to under crank because I won’t get the best out of them.
2)This is just an idea I have, but I’m thinking that before I crank the Raiders that I’ll wrap the yoyos in an electric blanket I have on low heat (Don’t want to melt them! ;D ) to warm them up just a little bit to relax the plastic into being cranked. Does anyone think this will actually be a benefit, or will I be wasting my time?
3)Do you have to cut/sand the ends of the axle? Some info I have read says you have to and others don’t even mention it.
A couple of notes about this is that I will be cranking them very easy and slow (Like taking 20 minutes for every 1/4 turn, and loosening to let the pressure ease at every small turn (I’m in no hurry to break my Raiders :D.)
FYI - I know about the Raider EX and I own a pair, so far I’m not so impressed. Even on the tightest gap setting with thick lube it still plays really loose.
Just let me know about any answers you might have for my questions and share your experience with this mod. -Thanks!
I think what he’s saying is you’re way over-thinking this whole process. The adjustments are small turns that could be as small as you can make it, or as large as you want to. I find tiny works best.
Thanks! I’m very OCD about mods :D. Tiny adjustment is definitely what I’m going for this time. I have broken a Raider before so that is why I’m wondering about how much is too much cranking and about the axle length. the electric blanket is just a quirky idea I have.
Let’s say you warm up the plastic to the point where whatever is in the middle that holds the axle in place is mounted, all you’re going to do is at the least just change the spot where “all cranked down” is as far as the half is concerned. Worst case scenario, you end up loosening it up and it won’t seat properly AND/OR the half ends up crooked. Balance will be screwed up and you’ll have totally wasted a yoyo.
Don’t worry about the number of degrees you need to crank them. Instead, worry about how they feel on loops. What I did was: crank a little, throw a few loops to see how they felt on the string, and then unscrew them slightly to relieve the tension. If they felt loose on loops I would crank them a tiny bit more and repeat the process. Crank. Test. Crank. Test. Stop cranking once they loop how you want them to.
I cranked mine in a 65F basement without any issues. I doubt it will hurt them, but I can’t say if it will help or not.
I like 'em fine rigged up however I ended up rigging mine up. I’ll check when I get home, but I think I ended up using one pink spacer and one modified plastic spacer.
Yes, but there’s not much point as the main part of the normal Raider mod is shaving the spacers. In theory the assortment of spacers they provide will do the trick. If the assortment they give doesn’t work for you, you could shave them until they do. But I see no point in “cranking” them.
If it doesn’t work out, I recommend the Loop 900. Got a couple for my son and he really likes them. You can fine tune it back and forth to your heart’s content. No worries about having gone too far.
Thanks Everyone! Great advice, Ill let everyone know how it works out when I get them in the mail.
I don’t hate the Raider EXs, I use slick 6 but maybe if I got slick 8 string it might play a little tighter.
When I get more comfortable with my looping (not an expert…yet ;D) maybe I will enjoy the EXs more.
I like the YYJ Unleashed also, I tune them down about 1/4 turn when I play. The only thing about them is that I had to put some super glue on the threads so that they would not fall apart or over tighten.
The Loop900 is a great yoyo too, unfortunately one of mine wont tune the same as the other (Broken?) so it feels awkward when looping with both hands.
Yes, I think you’d see a difference if you changed the string to slick 8. I use it all the time in my loopers. I’ve always liked cotton best but it just doesn’t hold up to the stress of looping.
So both the Raiders broke :’(, I spent about half an hour slowly turning them and relieving the pressure. And when turning them I would loosen it and they felt really loose when I did it. After about a quarter turn I could feel the axle on both slip and re-catch. I played one and it was awesome, looped like a boss. But the other one for some reason did not work at all, I twisted the same amount and it did the same slip and catch as the other one but the gap was too small and it would not get any looser with out it falling apart. After playing with the good one for awhile it did the same thing the gap went small, so they are both broke. I don’t even know what I did wrong.
Next time just use lube instead. Yomega’s Brain Lube is very thick and is probably what you’re looking for.
I don’t see why you needed to use heat. I can’t explain it but it’s not what you need. You do tiny little adjustments, maybe wrap the axles with teflon tape. If you’re forcing things, you’re doing it wrong and/or too much.
Start with the yoyo fully tightened. Then adjust to preferences. I find the Raider fine out of the package.
You might wish to go with a YYJ Unleashed, which does use an adjustable gap, or the YYF Loop 900, which uses a tool to adjust the gap.
I did not use heat, that was just an idea. And every post I ever read about this mod is that you turn to a 1/4 at least and then start checking for loops
