I’ve found some interesting very solid results.
Found some works perfect in some throws, but then a bit snaggy in the Generals so I adjusted a bit and found an excellent solution for the narrower gap / larger response of old.
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Now it’s working
Here is my candy cane 50/50 100% nylon.
Edit- I’m told by my daughter it’s not candy cane because of the yellow…
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that looks REALLY good.
Thanks Mark
I’m finding they play even better. I like a slick string and I’ve really taken to the speed of the whips with nylon. I’ve found a bit thinner whips just slightly slower than thick and am tuning the blends to keep the speed under control.
A mix of bulky or Woolley with maxi and sometimes all three gets it there.
I just need to find some neon nylon that seemingly doesn’t exist. ( I love a neon string)
As far as I can tell there are two ways to get neon nylon:
- buy it from a french sewing website that charges $30 for shipping to the US:
- Dye it yourself
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whyyyyy. I’ve tried to reach out to my favorite nylon manufacturers to ask if they’d start dying neon colors. Mostly they either don’t get back to me, or I get put on a mailing list to which they will inform me if they do ever decide to do that.
Gee thanks
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I ordered some neon dye to try it. It’s impossible to dye a spool throughout, but you can get enough for a handful of strings at least just by dropping the spool in some dye. I died some but did not have neon local to try.
Seems like it’s been 2 weeks since my order. Maybe it’s coming on a slow boat from china.
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There are some string dyeing instructions from spool thread here:
Sounds like you should make the plain strings first, then dye them.
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Rit dye works on the maxi lock. I guess I’ll get some neon.
The stuff I ordered is a flop.
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too much work for me to go through that dye process. Thats where I draw the line.
Rit dye can be put in a container, drop the spool in for 1/2 hour or so, then pull it out and let it dry. easy enough.
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Hey smittylube, I am wondering how you have been able to mimic Airetics. I’ve been trying to get something close and was wondering if you could share any advice. I’ve tried Gutterman bulky nylon and Maxilock Stretch, not sure what thread you are using. Somehow Airetic strings are so light and soft, yet have a high twist count and are initially quite stretchy. I have never been able to achieve it. Mine is always heaver, rougher, smaller twist count, and not as initially stretchy. I am wondering if it is the technique vs a different brand of thread, but have never come close.
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Have you tried Woolly Nylon? It’s bouncier than Maxilock Stretch.
Rob’s advice to me as well was to reduce the string more quickly, select a higher RPM with your dremel or whatever.
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Thanks MarkD. Should have been obvious that bulky nylon isn’t the same as wooly nylon, but for some reason it didn’t register until your comment. I’ll try that out. Any brand name you use in particular?
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Thread Art is the online store I used to buy some.
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Ive been fooling with different combos, some with 3 different threads. Had some success with 1/2 and 1/2 pretwist candy cane style as well.
I tend to bunch up my string in the gap at times and this can give an unexpected bind. These strings minimize or eliminate that for me. I love the whip speeds of the nylon.
I kept playing around and now I don’t even have a ‘formula’ but many combos that work.
It takes time and patience to get it right.
Marks suggestions are spot on.
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Thanks for the feedback, will keep working on it smitty.
Also you can change the bounce, slacks and tension by pre-twisting the 1/2’s before reduction.
For me I’ve found this string holds tension super well, I don’t feel much bounce when new, but they seem to last a super long time.
My goal was to make the Heartstrings and I do like the Airetecs also, I found a blend in between is really nice also. Dustin gave me some tips and I promised to not post them.
I really enjoyed the 40 or so hours ( & maybe $200+) it took me to figure out how to make the strings properly and what I liked and it was close to if not a copy of Heartstrings. Having the proper thread to start with would have cut my time in 1/2.
Also the cheapo dremel rewired to run backwards helps a ton for time saving. I have no real rig, just the length and something to hook to to start. I tried to automate things, but could not get something to work for me.
I suspect the reason most are a bit vague is due to the time they have spent to find a formula they like and the time it takes to learn the proper technique. Even when Dustin told me exactly I could not duplicate it. Everyone has a different feel for the tension and its something you must figure out at your shop, otherwise it will fail.
Hope that makes sense.
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One more comment the entire process of make a string, test a string gives you a great feel over time of what string characteristics you prefer.
Also don’t limit yourself to one throw for testing as some strings work ok or blah in one yoyo, but totally shine in another.
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