Cool project! The balance matters a lot more when you are making the yo-yo sleep/ throwing it really hard. The better/more expensive yo-yos with bearings have a mechanism that will sleep when you throw it down really hard, but will come right back up when thrown softer. As Melinda says below, a yo-yo string will help. They are normally made with several cottony strings twisted around each other. They are doubled up so you don't really get a knot at the bottom, the center dowel just goes in between the twists .You will notice a difference in how it behaves depending on how tightly things are twisted at the bottom. Usually the more you play with it, the tighter the string gets. Then you can just hold it with the string fully extended and it spins to unwind itself.
You took me back to my youth when we played with the Coca Cola yo-yos and saw the professionals who came to teach us the different tricks... Thanks Darbin
First thing, you need to string the yoyo correctly. For most basic yoyos the string provided is already basically a loop of string that's twisted. The looped end, opposite the end that is tied, untwist the loop a little to enlarge that loop. Basically twist the string in the opposite of the twist in the string. When it's large enough to fit the yoyo through, slip the yoyo in the loop and spin the yoyo a little in the direction of the twist in the yoyo. And you're done. No need to tie a know around the axle of the yoyo, that can make it problematic to replace the string. As for designs on the side, a little resin in the pattern, then sanded and polished would be one way to keep the outer surface smooth. Don't know how long that would last 'walking the dog' though. 😄
I love to visit museums when I travel. I recall visiting a woodworking museum more than 50 years ago that had a “yo” lathe when the lathe had produced a basket full of “yo’s” you would pick up two of them from the basket attach them together wi, a dowel and it became a “yo-yo”. Point being it was made on a lathe …
Couple of suggestions. Instead of a wooden peg, use a smooth metal rod, 1/4 to 5/16 in diameter. Make your yo otherwise as you have been doing, but the heavier wood will be good for what I'm about to describe. Now that you have your yo yo with metal rod for the center around which the string will ride, take a length of string and fold it in half. Take the loose ends and tie a not and make your finger loop on that end. That leaves a smooth cradle in the other end of the string with no knots. Put the yo yo in that cradle and give the string a few twists. You will have to experiment to get it just right, but when you twist it just tight enough, now when you throw the yo yo down, if you don't pull back on it, it will stay at the other end and just spin. We call this hesitating or sleeping. A slight bounce of the hand will then bring it back to you as long as you do it before it stops spinning. The harder you can learn to throw it down without it coming back up immediately, the longer it will spin. Now here is where the fun begins and the pros make a living. What you do with it while it is hesitating or spinning becomes the tricks you can do with it. Around the world, loop the loop, rock the cradle, 5 or 6 pointed star and so forth. The challenge is to get the trick done with enough spin left for it to come back to your hand when you drop out of the trick. Then of course there's doing this with one on each hand, but then, that's a whole 'nuther story! I'm 78 and I've been a kid all my life. Still don't know what I want to do when I grow up. Play with your toys and have fun. Never grow up! We need more smiles in this world we live in. We need to learn to be kind to each other as well. I've always loved your channel because you bring such enthusiasm to the party in most everything you present to us. Always a smile. Thank you!
Very nice, Linn. I expected you to turn the pieces and was pleasantly surprised, although I don't have a CNC system - I don't have a lathe either. I DO have a bandsaw and I may give this a try.
I used a plunge router with a plate made out of MDF and drilled a hole for a dowel pin that I sanded down a little to spin freely in the holes I drilled for the axle in the yoyo's. The distance between the pin and the edge of the router bit determined the radius. I used the same principle to make a jig that held the blanks securely for rounding them on the router table. I also chucked a piece of dowel in the drill press which allowed me to quickly go through different grades of sandpaper
Thank you for that Masters thesis on Yo-Yos. I don't know when they were invented, but as someone quickly approaching 70 years in age, I just remember them always being there. In a way, the yo-yo was the technology of that time. Seems like everyone had one, and they came in a rainbow of colors. I can still smell the plastic. The thought of having bearings in them feels like cheating. One note about your strings, though. The original yo-yos had what I could only call a 2-ply string. Instead of tying it to the center, the string was twice as long and wound. It was tied together by the finger slipknot, and you would unwind it on the other end to slip over the body and it woulds wind itself over the axle. I think this is the reason you could aspire to do all the tricks like "around the world," "'rock the cradle", and "walking the dog." Anyway, thanks for that trip down memory lane. Not having a CNC has me thinking of some designs to make on the lathe.
I had been thinking about making some yo-yos. Buy some yo-you string it will work so much better. Metal dowel/pin will help too. To do tricks the yo-yo has to be able to hesitate, the metal is smoother to help with that. Great project, you inspired me to try it.
The original yoyo are made of wood. YoYos have been around a long long time. The cola spinners had a cork barrel with a narrow pin through it holding the yoyo together. The string was a continous loop. Tightened by balancing the yoyo in the loop then twisting the string
Awesome idea. I forgot about my yo-yo. I recently started using a kendama. It would be a great lathe project. Also, since you have the holes for the dowels on the disc you can also put those holes in your spoil board and use dowel to get the discs perfectly centered
I tried making thicker ones, but they became too heavy and busted my knuckles at times. Larger diameters than 2.5 inches are actually much harder to grab when they return, as they are larger than most peoples palms.
The ones we had as kids were painted wood - slippery smooth. Maybe enamel paint, but I have no idea. 'The sleeper' was my only trick move. For more velocity you can do the overhand throw, but it comes back very fast. Ouch!
I used my router and a jig that fit them on the dowel hole. I also used the dowel hole to mout them on my drill press to sand them. I also found that the space between the sides shouldn't be more than two times the width of the string. I also found that the heavier ones hurt a lot more when you make a mistake. 😆 They can also break things. But I got hooked and batched out more than I could ever sell or give away. 😆
A great idea - I've been searching for some gifts I can make for folks and these would be perfect. I suppose the obvious tool to make these would be a lathe - I'm guessing you don't have one to give it a go?
I was surprised by the way you used the barings in the yo-yos. I was expecting a baring in each disk and the dowel in the barings for the string. This would use the barings to rotate the yo-yo. Not sure how it would work but that was what I though you were going to do with the barings. I would think that you would need to put a guide on the sides of the baring (if only using one baring) to keep the string from going in beside the baring as this would possibly pinch the string and slow down the yo-yo or stop it at a point in its travel. It might work with one baring if you could flare the sides of the two disks to be the same size as the baring at the point of contact so string could not get in beside the baring. Very cool idea and looks like a fun project. I have a few grandkids that are going to be surprised in the not to distant future. Thanks for the great ideas. Blessings!
A single bearing in the center is the correct method, where she went wrong is two things.. 1) as you noticed there can't be a gap beside the bearing, it needs to be recessed into the yoyo body slightly. 2) you can't press a bearing against a flat surface and have it spin, you need to press the inner bearing race against something while allowing the outer race to spin freely. Usually accomplished with a "spacer" of some kind, those metal things in the plastic yoyo she showed.
When I was a kid, Duncan yo-yo's were the ultimate to have, and "The Cat's Cradle" was the trick that everyone attempted to perfect. Duncan and other brands are available on Amazon for design ideas. Maybe attempt to speak with a competitor and get a "wish list" of desirable features. Lead or steel weights inserted around the perimeter of a light wood?
I think maybe I'll make yoyos again but with bearings - never tried that. I think I will recess the bearing 1/16" into very tight holes, so the string doesn't bind/get caught. It's been years, and your comment about even a crude bandsaw yoyo would work led me to think I'll make HEXAGONAL yoyos! You probably know now how to tie yoyo strings, but cycoholic posted about yoyo strings having a loop at the end, obviating need for any knots.
Symmetry leading to balance is critical but at that point of the process I instinctively believe that you need to research what type of string or chord is used in the best manufactured yo yo’s. If the string selection is fighting you, it will be impossible to improve your yo yo. You were also on to something by observing any impediments to the recoil such as spool friction etc. Your hiccups in demonstrations were always on the recoil….Look into string or chord “resiliency” and how that effects recoil etc.
Just such an idea I need now for my new desktop cnc. I like the smaller version. Guess you also had the Kalmar Trissan as a child! This must be tested Linn.🇸🇪🙌
Check out pennstateind.com they sell wood turning supplies. Go and search for yo yos they have a handful of supplies, also try embedding the bearing in each side and have a shaft to connect the two sides
Cool project! The balance matters a lot more when you are making the yo-yo sleep/ throwing it really hard. The better/more expensive yo-yos with bearings have a mechanism that will sleep when you throw it down really hard, but will come right back up when thrown softer. As Melinda says below, a yo-yo string will help. They are normally made with several cottony strings twisted around each other. They are doubled up so you don't really get a knot at the bottom, the center dowel just goes in between the twists .You will notice a difference in how it behaves depending on how tightly things are twisted at the bottom. Usually the more you play with it, the tighter the string gets. Then you can just hold it with the string fully extended and it spins to unwind itself.
You took me back to my youth when we played with the Coca Cola yo-yos and saw the professionals who came to teach us the different tricks... Thanks Darbin
This is awesome
Trust me you can never be too old for yoyos. I'm 36 professional yoyo player and there are players way older than me
First thing, you need to string the yoyo correctly. For most basic yoyos the string provided is already basically a loop of string that's twisted.
The looped end, opposite the end that is tied, untwist the loop a little to enlarge that loop. Basically twist the string in the opposite of the twist in the string.
When it's large enough to fit the yoyo through, slip the yoyo in the loop and spin the yoyo a little in the direction of the twist in the yoyo.
And you're done.
No need to tie a know around the axle of the yoyo, that can make it problematic to replace the string.
As for designs on the side, a little resin in the pattern, then sanded and polished would be one way to keep the outer surface smooth. Don't know how long that would last 'walking the dog' though. 😄
When I was a lad all yo yos were wood. Thanks for the build and memories.
I love to visit museums when I travel. I recall visiting a woodworking museum more than 50 years ago that had a “yo” lathe when the lathe had produced a basket full of “yo’s” you would pick up two of them from the basket attach them together wi, a dowel and it became a “yo-yo”. Point being it was made on a lathe …
Couple of suggestions. Instead of a wooden peg, use a smooth metal rod, 1/4 to 5/16 in diameter. Make your yo otherwise as you have been doing, but the heavier wood will be good for what I'm about to describe. Now that you have your yo yo with metal rod for the center around which the string will ride, take a length of string and fold it in half. Take the loose ends and tie a not and make your finger loop on that end. That leaves a smooth cradle in the other end of the string with no knots. Put the yo yo in that cradle and give the string a few twists. You will have to experiment to get it just right, but when you twist it just tight enough, now when you throw the yo yo down, if you don't pull back on it, it will stay at the other end and just spin. We call this hesitating or sleeping. A slight bounce of the hand will then bring it back to you as long as you do it before it stops spinning. The harder you can learn to throw it down without it coming back up immediately, the longer it will spin.
Now here is where the fun begins and the pros make a living. What you do with it while it is hesitating or spinning becomes the tricks you can do with it. Around the world, loop the loop, rock the cradle, 5 or 6 pointed star and so forth. The challenge is to get the trick done with enough spin left for it to come back to your hand when you drop out of the trick. Then of course there's doing this with one on each hand, but then, that's a whole 'nuther story! I'm 78 and I've been a kid all my life. Still don't know what I want to do when I grow up. Play with your toys and have fun. Never grow up! We need more smiles in this world we live in. We need to learn to be kind to each other as well. I've always loved your channel because you bring such enthusiasm to the party in most everything you present to us. Always a smile. Thank you!
What a cool and fun idea. You are right, these would make great and thoughtful gifts.
Very nice, Linn. I expected you to turn the pieces and was pleasantly surprised, although I don't have a CNC system - I don't have a lathe either. I DO have a bandsaw and I may give this a try.
I used a plunge router with a plate made out of MDF and drilled a hole for a dowel pin that I sanded down a little to spin freely in the holes I drilled for the axle in the yoyo's. The distance between the pin and the edge of the router bit determined the radius. I used the same principle to make a jig that held the blanks securely for rounding them on the router table. I also chucked a piece of dowel in the drill press which allowed me to quickly go through different grades of sandpaper
Thank you for that Masters thesis on Yo-Yos. I don't know when they were invented, but as someone quickly approaching 70 years in age, I just remember them always being there. In a way, the yo-yo was the technology of that time. Seems like everyone had one, and they came in a rainbow of colors. I can still smell the plastic. The thought of having bearings in them feels like cheating. One note about your strings, though. The original yo-yos had what I could only call a 2-ply string. Instead of tying it to the center, the string was twice as long and wound. It was tied together by the finger slipknot, and you would unwind it on the other end to slip over the body and it woulds wind itself over the axle. I think this is the reason you could aspire to do all the tricks like "around the world," "'rock the cradle", and "walking the dog." Anyway, thanks for that trip down memory lane. Not having a CNC has me thinking of some designs to make on the lathe.
Yoyos are an ancient weapon. Surprise. I believe they first appeared in the far east about 3000 years BCE.
I had been thinking about making some yo-yos. Buy some yo-you string it will work so much better. Metal dowel/pin will help too. To do tricks the yo-yo has to be able to hesitate, the metal is smoother to help with that. Great project, you inspired me to try it.
The original yoyo are made of wood. YoYos have been around a long long time.
The cola spinners had a cork barrel with a narrow pin through it holding the yoyo together.
The string was a continous loop. Tightened by balancing the yoyo in the loop then twisting the string
Did I miss the part where you use a hole saw to make a perfect circle
..And a perfect center hole..
@@MrLarsHee yes
Nice I do alot of woodturning myself never made a yoyo before on my bucket list
Awesome idea. I forgot about my yo-yo. I recently started using a kendama. It would be a great lathe project. Also, since you have the holes for the dowels on the disc you can also put those holes in your spoil board and use dowel to get the discs perfectly centered
Make sure you begin by holding the yoyo palm up, then flick it down over handed, then turn palm downwards and pull it back. Its faster and stronger.
I would have liked to see a larger diameter yo-yo. I wonder how the longer radius would affect the angular momentum and usability.
I tried making thicker ones, but they became too heavy and busted my knuckles at times. Larger diameters than 2.5 inches are actually much harder to grab when they return, as they are larger than most peoples palms.
I wish someone would give her a traditional cotton yoyo with the loop on bottom. Those work so much better than tying a knot on the axle.
The ones we had as kids were painted wood - slippery smooth. Maybe enamel paint, but I have no idea. 'The sleeper' was my only trick move. For more velocity you can do the overhand throw, but it comes back very fast. Ouch!
I used my router and a jig that fit them on the dowel hole. I also used the dowel hole to mout them on my drill press to sand them. I also found that the space between the sides shouldn't be more than two times the width of the string. I also found that the heavier ones hurt a lot more when you make a mistake. 😆 They can also break things. But I got hooked and batched out more than I could ever sell or give away. 😆
A great idea - I've been searching for some gifts I can make for folks and these would be perfect. I suppose the obvious tool to make these would be a lathe - I'm guessing you don't have one to give it a go?
I was surprised by the way you used the barings in the yo-yos. I was expecting a baring in each disk and the dowel in the barings for the string. This would use the barings to rotate the yo-yo. Not sure how it would work but that was what I though you were going to do with the barings.
I would think that you would need to put a guide on the sides of the baring (if only using one baring) to keep the string from going in beside the baring as this would possibly pinch the string and slow down the yo-yo or stop it at a point in its travel. It might work with one baring if you could flare the sides of the two disks to be the same size as the baring at the point of contact so string could not get in beside the baring.
Very cool idea and looks like a fun project. I have a few grandkids that are going to be surprised in the not to distant future. Thanks for the great ideas. Blessings!
A single bearing in the center is the correct method, where she went wrong is two things.. 1) as you noticed there can't be a gap beside the bearing, it needs to be recessed into the yoyo body slightly. 2) you can't press a bearing against a flat surface and have it spin, you need to press the inner bearing race against something while allowing the outer race to spin freely. Usually accomplished with a "spacer" of some kind, those metal things in the plastic yoyo she showed.
When I was a kid, Duncan yo-yo's were the ultimate to have, and "The Cat's Cradle" was the trick that everyone attempted to perfect. Duncan and other brands are available on Amazon for design ideas. Maybe attempt to speak with a competitor and get a "wish list" of desirable features. Lead or steel weights inserted around the perimeter of a light wood?
I think maybe I'll make yoyos again but with bearings - never tried that. I think I will recess the bearing 1/16" into very tight holes, so the string doesn't bind/get caught. It's been years, and your comment about even a crude bandsaw yoyo would work led me to think I'll make HEXAGONAL yoyos!
You probably know now how to tie yoyo strings, but cycoholic posted about yoyo strings having a loop at the end, obviating need for any knots.
Hey Lynn all great my side!
I must say u Luuuuv Yoyo's hahahahaha 😂🤣
All good! Ditto
Beautiful, Linn! Fantastic work! 😃
I'm definitely going to try to make some!!!
Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊
Thanks for this! Subscribed
great yoyos
Hallo Linn und alles prima und danke für das Video toll und tschüß aus Düsseldorf Germany und danke für deine Info !!
I love your channel and your work. I'm from Brazil. Do you know Brazil?
PLEASE look up Tom Kuhn yo-yos and look up other high end wood yo-yos. There’s a huge community of throwers. We’d love to teach you more!
5:55 the original 'fidget spinner'??
Symmetry leading to balance is critical but at that point of the process I instinctively believe that you need to research what type of string or chord is used in the best manufactured yo yo’s. If the string selection is fighting you, it will be impossible to improve your yo yo. You were also on to something by observing any impediments to the recoil such as spool friction etc. Your hiccups in demonstrations were always on the recoil….Look into string or chord “resiliency” and how that effects recoil etc.
Very nice project………
A drop of ca glue will make a knot stay tied.
I think I’ll try this on a lathe. Should be a fun project.
I love your childlike sense of wonder!
Talk to other yoyo manufacturers about their dimensions
Just such an idea I need now for my new desktop cnc. I like the smaller version. Guess you also had the Kalmar Trissan as a child! This must be tested Linn.🇸🇪🙌
Yo-Yos the original fidget spinner?
Plz don't make a knot in the axel you have to untwist the string!!!😢
one does not attach the string to a yoyo the way you did. dont tie a knot! its wrong. its not the exact way to play either.
Wow…so much talking. P.S..just cut out disks with a hole saw drill bit.
Mommy🙏 please give me free Yo-Yo 🥺🥺🥺🥺 Please 😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘
Check out pennstateind.com they sell wood turning supplies. Go and search for yo yos they have a handful of supplies, also try embedding the bearing in each side and have a shaft to connect the two sides