That’s hilarious!!!
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I would imagine it’s the QC more than anything.
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Lol, are you going to match halves?
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You’re in it deep now!!
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I’m loving these developments.
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Matching halves may honestly be the best option! Do one butterfly and one imperial!
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And then there were two!
Original string still stuck in the axle of the “mint” one! I’m thinking we do one black imperial and one red butterfly.
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Got both yo-yos apart tonight and had a 2 beer hand sanding session on the black halves. They are much closer to identical now, but will require a bit more to get it right. It’s kind of incedible how different all of these halves are. I’m wondering was there no template in the Duncan factory or what was going on to make the halves so drastically different in size and shape.
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After another sanding session, the profile of the black halves are nearly identical by eye and the weight is just a fraction of a gram off. I originally wanted to keep the patina on the more worn half, but since I had to sand so much to get the shapes to match I’m thinking painting the sanded half would be better. Maybe if I paint it then keep in my pocket for a bit it’ll match the near mint half…?…
Before and After
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Just saw this thread. Never understood why people thought these Duncan’s were one piece. I’ve had a ton of them over the years and they’ve all been 3 piece (2 halves and an axle). Wish I would’ve seen this earlier, would’ve been cool to restore it.
Now I’m thinking of finding some to restore 
as if I need more projects haha
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I’ve had the temptation to go down the eBay rabbit hole and find some myself after seeing this thread but I keep reminding myself I have I’m better things to do with my time and money and the wife wouldn’t approve when my project list is fairly long already.
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Hand sanding a yoyo under a nice cool fan on my front porch after a long day is one of the best things I’ve ever done with my time. It pays zero, but it sure is therapeutic.
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I appreciate the effort that has gone into this, but why restore a yoyo? I mean, unless you can use the same original paint and even the same gold stamp, what is the purpose? You can simple get some maple and make the same thing.
Isn’t it a better idea to leave it as it is - all old an worn as a yoyo history piece?
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According to the poll above only 5% of the 42 voters think it’s “better” to keep it original.
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I believe the community consensus was that this specific yoyo was so cheap and so plentiful even at its age it was essentially trash in its original condition and restoring it was a pet project for anyone willing to do so. @TheThrowingGnome took up the mantle as a neat thing to do.
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Tonight I ran the sanded black half from 150 to 220 to 400 grit, but was careful not to sand the outer face and retain og patina there.
Then I traced and cut a little circle to mask the remaining original finish.
I purchased some Behr ultra premium semi gloss spray paint and gave the half a very light coat. I think It matches the near mint half better than I could have hoped for! It’s really quite remarkable.
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I dry fit a new Walnut axle in the EBay yoyo today. This walnut dowel is a perfect snug fit. Leaning towards just keeping em both imperial now….
Been super busy with work lately, but hope to be able to start working on the red half of the “mission” yoyo this weekend.
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Spent a couple hours sanding on the red half this evening. It’s gonna take a good bit more to get the halves to match.
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