# Riforgiate Design - Prototype Run **URL:** \ **Category:** Up & Coming Manufacturers\ **Created:** [December 20, 2024, 9:18am UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/riforgiate-design-prototype-run/415518 "2024-12-20T09:18:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Lotaxi](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/lotaxi/32/597486_2.png) [@Lotaxi](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Lotaxi)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2025, 10:18pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/riforgiate-design-prototype-run/415518/102 "2025-03-17T22:18:10Z")
And a couple polls: _Poll ([view on site](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/riforgiate-design-prototype-run/415518/102))_ _Poll ([view on site](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/riforgiate-design-prototype-run/415518/102))_ ---
**Author:** ![AtomicChessGuy](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/atomicchessguy/32/606394_2.png) [@AtomicChessGuy](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/AtomicChessGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2025, 10:24pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/riforgiate-design-prototype-run/415518/103 "2025-03-17T22:24:10Z")
What software are you using? ---
**Author:** ![Lotaxi](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/lotaxi/32/597486_2.png) [@Lotaxi](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Lotaxi)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2025, 10:30pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/riforgiate-design-prototype-run/415518/104 "2025-03-17T22:30:59Z")
I’m currently using a program called Esprit ---
**Author:** ![Xeno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/e19b73/32.png) [@Xeno](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Xeno)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2025, 11:10pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/riforgiate-design-prototype-run/415518/105 "2025-03-17T23:10:18Z")
This is Sexy ---
**Author:** ![Captrogers](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/captrogers/32/647012_2.png) [@Captrogers](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Captrogers)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2025, 11:23pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/riforgiate-design-prototype-run/415518/106 "2025-03-17T23:23:08Z")
> [@Lotaxi](#): > > I guess this whole thing was a bit too long… I like this amount of detail. I enjoyed the read ---
**Author:** ![Lotaxi](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/lotaxi/32/597486_2.png) [@Lotaxi](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Lotaxi)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2025, 11:25pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/riforgiate-design-prototype-run/415518/107 "2025-03-17T23:25:21Z")
Oh I meant that the system literally just said “no” when I tried to submit it. The only way it let me was by chopping it up :joy: ---
**Author:** ![Retro-Yo](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/retro-yo/32/595409_2.png) [@Retro-Yo](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Retro-Yo)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2025, 11:40pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/riforgiate-design-prototype-run/415518/108 "2025-03-17T23:40:28Z")
Looking good! 😎 ---
**Author:** ![Shwa](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/shwa/32/108351_2.png) [@Shwa](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Shwa)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2025, 11:15am UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/riforgiate-design-prototype-run/415518/109 "2025-03-18T11:15:47Z")
Wondering how thin the profile wall is? ![IMG_4622](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/uploads/yoyoexpert1/original/4X/6/4/3/643742c9185db56852943e2ec7fab3195ae9e7f5.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![megachicken289](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/megachicken289/32/260130_2.png) [@megachicken289](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/megachicken289)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2025, 2:09pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/riforgiate-design-prototype-run/415518/110 "2025-03-18T14:09:01Z")
@Lotaxi Me and @Captrogers: ![63f](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/uploads/yoyoexpert1/original/4X/7/3/1/73160ce09cea61dada1c8fb9ff5c04804e781910.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![Lotaxi](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/lotaxi/32/597486_2.png) [@Lotaxi](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Lotaxi)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2025, 4:37pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/riforgiate-design-prototype-run/415518/111 "2025-03-18T16:37:30Z")
Thinnest profile is 0.45mm as designed. I’m rather pleased at how well it’s held up. ---
**Author:** ![Lotaxi](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/lotaxi/32/597486_2.png) [@Lotaxi](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Lotaxi)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2025, 5:56am UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/riforgiate-design-prototype-run/415518/112 "2025-03-26T05:56:05Z")
Brief update, I’ve got 50Lb of Ti to process ![1000009471](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/uploads/yoyoexpert1/original/4X/4/4/5/445555d85fa999ce05ca195f8cf6383073c26276.jpeg) Now the cutting can start. Gonna start by processing everything I’m gonna need to preform stock. ![1000009493](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/uploads/yoyoexpert1/original/4X/5/7/1/571a6635b06f3389be74bf681fc256e525273854.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![Lotaxi](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/lotaxi/32/597486_2.png) [@Lotaxi](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Lotaxi)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2025, 9:41am UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/riforgiate-design-prototype-run/415518/113 "2025-03-26T09:41:34Z")
![1000009507](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/uploads/yoyoexpert1/original/4X/d/f/f/dff6aa18bcd10b2b75bace28f3e2faafeaa44a6c.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![Lotaxi](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/lotaxi/32/597486_2.png) [@Lotaxi](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Lotaxi)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2025, 9:50am UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/riforgiate-design-prototype-run/415518/114 "2025-03-29T09:50:01Z")
So. Got to practice a bit of anodization. Gotta figure out a foolproof way to make sure no bubbles get trapped still, and my degreasing could probably use some work, but good lord do I get some nice colors. Definitely a good start for the Queens. I also had a bit of a breakthrough with making things a bit more stable: stress relief. Don’t get me wrong, the Bee is pretty damn stable as-is. Responsives don’t necessarily need to be the smoothest things in the world, but I still like to make things nice and smooth regardless. Titanium is finicky, though, and I figure that there’s always improvement that can be made. When a piece of raw metal is made, it’s hot. Like really hot. Even after it’s solid, it’s usually still hot enough that the crystalline structure of the material is still in flux. As it cools, different sections have a tendency to cool at different rates. Maybe one end is on the ground or in a puddle, maybe there’s a breeze that hits one side better than the other, maybe it’s tossed into a quenching bath and the Leidenfrost effect keeps the liquid from cooling everything evenly. Whatever the case, that crystalline structure has to really freeze at some point. Since various portions are cooling at different rates, different pieces solidify at different times and into different forms. It’s not often that the different frozen pieces fit together nicely, either, which means that there’s a fair bit of force pushing those different sections against each other. In some cases, those stresses can even be extreme enough to crack the material. When the material is prepped for sale, whether that’s by rolling, grinding, cutting, or forging, those stresses kinda balance out. The shape you get is probably gonna be pretty straight, pretty round, pretty flat, pretty much the shape you’re after. Now. Problem is you gotta get rid of some material . Usually you’re gonna make things pretty thin. You get rid of a lot of those crystal formations, you get rid of a lot of those stresses. Problem _there_ is that you don’t know where those formations or stresses lie and you don’t know how they’re balanced. You’re gonna unbalance something somewhere. You can’t avoid it. You’re working with a flat plate? No you’re not. You’ve got a potato chip as soon as you release your clamps. you’re working with a straight shaft? No you’re not. It flexed while you were cutting and now you’ve got either a taper or a very wobbly form. With yoyos, you’re looking for a perfectly circular ring at the rim. Except that as soon as I unclamp the yoyo, that ring is gonna flex, and it’s VERY unlikely to flex evenly. It’s not gonna flex much, maybe .001-.003 inch, but it’s enough. You’re not gonna have something perfectly circular anymore, and that eccentricity is gonna mean it’s gonna kick up some vibration at yoyo speeds. It can be string vibe, pulse vibe, or in super lucky cases it can just be some more noticeable than normal nail vibe. UNACCEPTABLE. Gotta fix it. Conventionally, you’d machine the cup and the profile in one go. Take rough cuts to form the yoyo, then go back and forth with shallower cuts to slowly release those forces and reduce the amount of extra stress you’re creating with the machining. Not an option for me because I’d waste more stock than I could afford. So what to do? ![PXL_20250326_101620133.RAW-01.MP.COVER](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/uploads/yoyoexpert1/original/4X/4/0/4/4047fad914d2c9491411af17a765105dc788afc8.jpeg) Make some metal muffins. At 1000-1200F. This isn’t enough to melt it, change the crystal structures, or even really move them around all that much. But it _is_ enough to allow the pressure where the crystal structures are pressing against one another move the boundaries of the crystals _juuuuuuuuuust_ enough to release most or all of the internal stresses. In titanium, that kind of temperature also produces some pretty colors: ![PXL_20250326_191734538.RAW-01.COVER](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/uploads/yoyoexpert1/original/4X/b/e/5/be5023daaa3271373a135d6d5688df253202d474.jpeg) Best part is that it worked! These pieces came out smoother than any other titanium I’ve cut. Definitely something I’ll work into the process of the Queens. Should improve people’s experience using it for 1A! TL;DR: I’m practicing making metal pretty. Metal likes to warp because it’s anxious about existence and has a lot of internal conflict and struggle. A lot of people massage the stress away, but I figured out that I can just toss it in the sauna. Less stressed material means it’s more effective in more situations. ---
**Author:** ![megachicken289](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/megachicken289/32/260130_2.png) [@megachicken289](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/megachicken289)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2025, 2:00pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/riforgiate-design-prototype-run/415518/115 "2025-03-29T14:00:39Z")
> [@Lotaxi](#): > > UNACCEPTABLE ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/uploads/yoyoexpert1/original/4X/1/f/1/1f1d5aa87e44ce0d38feba7a367aeeee36691791.gif) Fr tho, I feel blessed that you’re cataloging your experience ---
**Author:** ![Lex](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/lex/32/1599_2.png) [@Lex](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Lex)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2025, 2:16pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/riforgiate-design-prototype-run/415518/116 "2025-03-29T14:16:24Z")
Yeah, reading all these detailed posts about the machining process (with accompanying photos too!) is really fun and interesting. ---
**Author:** ![SlowThrow](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/slowthrow/32/307451_2.png) [@SlowThrow](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/SlowThrow)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2025, 2:43pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/riforgiate-design-prototype-run/415518/117 "2025-03-29T14:43:08Z")
![IMG_5124](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/uploads/yoyoexpert1/original/4X/a/e/d/aedb3a7c79b9467926e2a790d14533f61792cae0.jpeg) This idea popped in my head and I couldn’t help but make it lol ---
**Author:** ![Lotaxi](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/lotaxi/32/597486_2.png) [@Lotaxi](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Lotaxi)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2025, 1:13am UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/riforgiate-design-prototype-run/415518/118 "2025-03-30T01:13:51Z")
> [@SlowThrow](#): > > This idea popped in my head ![17432926642157863852454303661816](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/uploads/yoyoexpert1/original/4X/0/a/7/0a7b044ba9329325e388ee452b1d283887acc5d7.jpeg) Metal muffins. Took me a moment lol > [@megachicken289](#): > > cataloging your experience > [@Lex](#): > > detailed posts I mean I’m having fun stretching my capabilities and learning new techniques. Half of the reason I started doing all this was to get better as a machinist! If I can leave behind info for other curious people that’s not quite as arcane as the sources I’m needing to learn from, so much the better. I’ve had a few people on other forums actually notice that I tend to share what I learn pretty much everywhere I go. One guy on a machining forum actually started asking questions about the stuff I’ve posted on Reddit 😅 ---
**Author:** ![rkalajian](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/rkalajian/32/672584_2.png) [@rkalajian](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/rkalajian)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2025, 2:12pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/riforgiate-design-prototype-run/415518/119 "2025-03-30T14:12:28Z")
> [@Lotaxi](#): > > Metal likes to warp because it’s anxious about existence and has a lot of internal conflict and struggle. A lot of people massage the stress away, but I figured out that I can just toss it in the sauna. Less stressed material means it’s more effective in more situations. I died while reading this 🤣 ---
**Author:** ![Obstinate\_Yoyo](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/obstinate_yoyo/32/611164_2.png) [@Obstinate\_Yoyo](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Obstinate_Yoyo)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2025, 7:46pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/riforgiate-design-prototype-run/415518/120 "2025-03-30T19:46:14Z")
Can attest to how smooth these came out, very excited to see Queen Bee! ---
**Author:** ![Compiux](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/compiux/32/145767_2.png) [@Compiux](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Compiux)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2025, 7:10pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/riforgiate-design-prototype-run/415518/121 "2025-03-31T19:10:05Z")
It might be just me, but I would pay extra just to have a booklet with the whole manufacturing proccess you’re sharing here. Just as you are writing it here. I might not understand 60% of what you’re saying but it’s still fascinating, even when you use words that are reserved for the profession! The anodized pieces you have there makes me hope for an anodized Queen Bee hehe. They look just… beautiful. ./cheffs\_kiss [Previous page](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/riforgiate-design-prototype-run/415518.md?page=5) [Next page](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/riforgiate-design-prototype-run/415518.md?page=7)