Started another sanding session today. Was sanding on the gap thinking how impossibly small it was and felt one of the halves shift a bit. I wiggled it some more and the halves came apart! Turns out this thing is a three piece @Exmime!?! The paint goes down into the hole and the wood grain of the axle is aligned with the axle as well, it must be the original construction or this isn’t the first “restoration” this yoyo has had.
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i think if it was really a one peice originally the halves would be closer in diameter and probably would be the same color…
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Maybe someone was repurposing the halves from different broken one-piece yoyos.
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Should be easier now, and taking your time made it naturally fall apart. Now it can go back together with glue. 
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Now that it’s apart maybe give each half a weigh to see if they’re too much different. Even if they were the same wood, the size difference would make the weight different, but if it’s 2 different woods there could be a significant difference in weight that would still affect the balance once they’re the same size/shape.
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Only 0.3 grams off on the weight. Doubt it’ll be noticeable on this ole thing.
Got the axle out of both halves. It’s mangled.
There was a piece of old string below the axle down in the hole of the black half. Looks like this isn’t this yo-yos first axle replacement.
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The fortune favors the bold!!! 
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Was deciding on woods to replace the axle with and it occurred to me that I could just drill through the axle hole and flip this thing to butterfly. I’ve dry pressed the axle back in imperial style and set the gap to a reasonable width and it plays really poorly if I’m being honest. It’s too light for me to do much looping and to narrow to do much 0A, but would probably be amazing at modern fixed axle play in butterfly configuration. It seems that this yoyo may be two different halves of two one piece yo-yos that has been drilled out and half swapped into a 3 piece.
What do you all think? Poll below pics 
- Keep it original even though it plays terrible.
- Switch it to butterfly so you’ll actually play it.
- It’s yours now, get crazy. Do whatever.
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voters
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I’ve been wanting to suggest this since the beginning of this whole thing. Haha. I’m trying to find an old wood imperial now so I can do it too 
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a new life for that old catapillar
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Some of these yoyos originally came with the string embedded in the axle hole. That way they are guaranteed to return. I’ve come across 4 or 5 of this type over the years.
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why have to choose? turn it into a kind of 3-in-1 no-jive!
drill through the hole and then the hard part, cut slots for the nuts on both sides
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That!
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This!
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That’s the idea for sure. Adding that nut will add some weight as well. I was thinking when you weighed it that it was gonna be awful light.
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I like the no jive idea but that seems like more skill and effort. Might be worth just doing the butterfly style for now. Great thing it can always be cut and drilled back out.
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It looks like the red half is bigger in this photo as well!!! I wonder if they were all off in this run?
