As a semi pro yo-yoer, I can approve. As far as making the yoyo, you should consider making the inner area around the bearing (where the string touches) as smooth you can, possibly with micro-mesh? The rougher the wood, the more responsive the yo-yo will be. Roughness will over time break down the string and risk sending the yo-yo flying. You may have noticed that your YYF One had little rings of silicone around the bearing. Because the plastic is so smooth, there needs to be a mechanism in place to make it come back, which is what the silicone rings (o-rings) are. You can get some yourself, or just make a small indentation around the bearing, the same size on each side, and fill them with standard 100% silicone. Another thing to note, is that the wider the gap, the less responsive it will be, knowing that might shape the way you make a next one (if you end up making another one).
Really enjoyed this. Good to see workarounds for limited equipment - as this is a problem we all face. One way to work around the centre drilling: Drill through the workpiece first and fit it on a metal rod - then mount your first sacrificial block on the faceplate - bore a little hole in the centre using a parting tool, to receive the metal rod - then glue the workpiece to the sacrificial block, then drill a hole in the other sacrificial block and glue this on the other end - you have to be careful when parting off, as there's the metal rod in the middle.
Hey Bob, former yo-yoer here I think I may have an interesting improvement in your design.(very cool project by the way) After looking at one of my old yoyos I noticed that the sides of the yoyo hold only the center race steady. Wen you are yo-yoing this allows the outer race to sit free, while the inner race and the yoyo itself spin, giving you much longer spin times. Thank you for all the great videos!
Man, I used to love yo-yos. This is so cool. I think you're right about the ridge getting caught and causing the wobble. Most of my favorite yo-yos had a deep, smooth transition.
YES!!! This is on my shortlist for lathe projects. I hadn't thought about using a bearing or a metal axle, though. This has my gears turning! I believe my yo-yo from the fidget-spinner-like yo-yo boom in the late 90's has upgraded bearings and weights. I also had a finger guard and used a leather snuff holster to store it on my belt.
I made a fixed axle a couple month ago... it also has a bit of a wobble, but it works every time. The one thing that surprised me the most was the weight and how much it hurts coming back :)... great first attempt!
hey Bob ! i have run into similar problems with my lathe. not having a drill chuck. by total accident one day i discovered that the taper on my drill press was the exact size of my lathe! piece of metal in the slot on the drill press spindle and a quick press up on the handle out it comes and into the lathe tailstock. you may need to leave the tailstick shaft out a bit because drill press tapers usually have a tang that gets in the way. great video keep them coming!
Hi Bob, Love ILTMS. Probably a bit late to comment on this now but, if you mark the centre while still on the lathe (use the point of a chisel whilst lathe is spinning), you can then use a drill bit held in a handle or vice grips to drill a centre hole. Will work fine as the rotation of the lathe and the mark you made will centre and guide the drill bit. All the best, Rich
okay so I've been following the channel for a while now, and I happen to have a background in yoyo's and even have designed one which was commercially sold for 200 bucks a piece. I'm not claiming to be an expert, but here's some tips: 1. total weight should ideally be between 60-70 grams. I bet yours is much lighter since it's wooden. Usually with plastic yoyos a metal ring is used around the outer rim. 2. weight distribution is key: weight on the outside rim increases spin times. 3. You will never get a dead smooth yoyo made with hand tools. The tiniest difference in weight, weight distribution and shape between the halves will destabilize the spin slightly, but noticeably. A cnc and an experienced operator don't even always get it right, so forget getting it perfect. 4. you are right about the walls of the gap being to steep. Make them taper off more. 5. the bearing seat usually has a more intricate design in order to avoid any chance of unwanted friction. Yours must be rubbing all over the place probably. TBH you won't get much better results unless you go the CNC way and unless youstay away from wood, which is inherently inconsistent in density i.e. weight. IMHO off course. :-) I'm impressed you got it to this point by just eyeballing trough the whole build! greetz
man made mayhem , I love how your post was informative and ultimately a compliment as well since the amount of useability he ended up with speaks to his attention to detail and consideration he put into things.
So first of all, the yoyofactory one (the black plastic yoyo you had) uses a silicon ring response system and a rounded wall (the inner butterfly shape) to reduce string friction and to ensure that the yoyo comes up. Most professional yoyos are made of 6061 aircraft grade aluminum or even sometimes 7075 or titanium. But most wooden yoyos use a fixed axle response system which only involve the friction between the string and the wooden axle (without a bearing). And as a tip, the ideal weight for a yoyo is around 60 to 70 grams.
For me, there is nothing more satisfying to see than your passion to make stuff. This is why I love your channel so much, the content is great, the projects are amazing and it's clear that you work from your heart. Please keep making every Thursday special :)
As a yoyoer i have to say the shape and weight of your yoyo is amazing for a first try! and i think i have the solution to your problem. what your yoyo lacks is a response system. Yoyos now a day have response system that allows them to hit the string and return to your hand. Now modern responds systems involve silicon. The response system is inside the yoyo those two jelly rings on the sides. you can use that as a general idea for the secomd prototype. Two options are available you can purchase silicon pads from a yoyo retailer or make your own. For option 2 you can use flowable silicon at a hardware store I personally use the red one (im sorry i forgot the actual name but its red so yeah) which can be found in the automotive section. Another thing to consider is if you want your yoyo to be responsive or unresponsive. responsive is like your yoyo now it comes back at a tug. unresponsive requires a trick to return called a "bind" which is used in advance play. Anyway hope to see the second one soon and great videos !
Great project Bob. Quick tip next time if you feel like it put the chuck out of the drill press and put it in the lathe tail stock. Should.... work perfectly and easy to take out and put back in the drill press when done. Take care good luck with the move too.
You should thread the center making a place for an axle, and purchase the bearing and axle from a yoyo store, touch up the gap, and make a spot for some rubber k pads. If it doesnt pull up when you tug it you've just made a pro grade yoyo. Pros have to bind to get it to come up, so you dont want it to come up by a tug but by a bind. Shape and everything else looked awesome
Hey bob Good video! I watched the knife block vid and I have a tip for making your stock perfectly square first try. If you joint a face and joint an edge that will make one corner square. Then plane your stock jointed side down on the planer bed Then plane your stock down to thickness (leaving room for sanding) and then on your table saw run your stock along the fence with the jointed face joined edge corner(that should still be square) and cut and your stock to what ever you need to cut it too and it should be perfectly square! Sorry for suuch a long comment love your vids!
There could also be slight changes in the wood that could be throwing the spin off. You could use something like an old tire balance to make sure the center of gravity is where you want it. Neat project!
for version II, putting a channel on the outside for a brass our steel ring will distribute the weight further from the center giving longer spin times. making sure it's done on the lathe will keep the weight distributed evenly.
It's possible that your drill press chuck will come out and is held in it by a Morse taper. It's also possible that the chuck WILL fit your lathe. I swap mine back and forth often. Just pull the chuck all the way down on the press and give the spindle a look. If you see a slot, it should pop out by placing a wedge in there.
Im very thankful that you made a wooden yoyo with a bearing because i watch other videos making wooden yoyo but it doesnt have a bearing good job on the yoyo it looks good hope you keep making this great videos (coming from a yoyoer)
The manufactured yo-yo has material removed from the center of the outside. This focuses the mass of the yo-yo to the outside of the radius, and increases the moment of inertia. Because you left the sides of your yo-yo basically flat, the mass is spread more evenly throughout the yo-yo, making maintaining rotation more difficult. Also, contrary to the homogenous nature of plastic (like that used in the manufactured yo-yo), in general, wood has a lot of inconsistencies in density and mass distribution. This is based on the cellular structure of the material and the way trees grow. The micro-differences in density and mass distribution could be adding to the wobble you're experiencing. I loved the project, and if I had the lathe tools to use with my Shopsmith, I would definitely like to make a yo-yo or two myself. Great video, Bob.
Oh, that's a great point! Next one, I should make the pieces in the opposite configuration so that I can hollow out the outside a little bit. Great info, thank you!
To increase the M.O.I. and mitigate a lot of wobble, you could also possibly add a metal ring to the outside diameter of each half. I know a lot of the hardware stores near me sell them for various purposes. if you used a steel ring, you might get the added benefit if a spark or two when you try "Walk the Dog" with your ILTMS yo-yo...
Hi Bob! Interesting build, I would have never thought about making my own yoyo :) To answer your question, I would think that the string is not attached solidly enough to the bearing and that, right now, it's not making the bearing to turn. Knots won't do it, you need to glue the string to the outer ring of the bearing. May need to make the outer face rougher to increase the friction and the holding power.
Hey, neat video! I have a little info that'll help when you turn your next yoyo. A great wood yoyo is made out of really dense hardwood, with very tight grain patterns. Consistency in weight distribution is just as important as having equal masses. An ideal overall weight for a modern yoyo is about 50-70 grams, including your axle system of choice and the bearing (if you use one). Try and shoot for a diameter around 50-60mm too, that'll help with spin time and the response. The shape is pretty great, but when you have a surface that's parallel to your axle you're gonna experience some bounce out, like you mentioned at the end. The catch zone on your particular yoyo is a bit flat, no big deal ordinarily because it wont impact spin time, it'll just be harder to do string tricks. :) When you make your next yoyo, I also suggest that you plan out a system that'll allow you to disassemble the yoyo so you have access to the bearing and the bearing seat for making adjustments with shims if necessary. If you want to do some research on general wood yoyo shapes, and maybe some legwork (read: look at pretty pictures) on what kind of wood yoyos are popular, check out Tom Kuhn yoyos (old school wood), TMBR yoyos (much more modern styles) and Once Upon A Tree yoyos.
Hey, you ought to experiment with adding a clutch mechanism to version 2.0. I remember back when all the cool yo-yos had clutches, and I think it would be neat to see a butterfly-style yo-yo with a clutch; that's something you don't normally see. Awesome video!
Okay, so. Yoyoer here. All yoyos that are plastic or metal have a type of response system. Starburst or response pad, your One has response pads, which are little pieces of silicone. Starbursts are pieces that stick out a slight bit. Both work by causing friction. (I might be able to get pictures for you, if you'd like.) If you want the yoyo to work 100% of the time, and be super nice and responsive, you may need one. (Maybe not though, if it's wood, you might just need to make the axle gap smaller and you won't need a system for it.)
As someone who yoyos (and mind you I know more about metal yoyos than wooden) I would suggest cotton string, it helps as it grips the wood a bit better and polyester, the string that most likely came with your other yoyo will wear down the wood as to not grip at all.
Knowing alot about yoyos, next time you should add response pads. The response pads help the yoyo move up and down. Also, you actually used a c size center track bearing wich is typically used for unresponsive play. You should get an a size bearing, spacers, and some sylicon response pads. These few tips should make your next yoyo prototype much smoother and more responsive
Awesomeness! I made a one piece yo yo video not to long ago.. I had know idea what I was doing . It is definitely a fun project. Going by your video it seems simple enough for my skills to try a bearing one . Thanks for sharing. Peace!
Hi Bob! You could try 3d print different shapes for the yoyo to see which one works best. This way you can create a prototype and change it to get the best results, (which is what 3d printers were created for in the first place), but its probably not worth the time or the filament to do this. Also I think if you made the space between the two halfs a little bit bigger, where the bearing is, it might work better, while also shaving off that ledge that you were talking about
If you 3D printed one it would probably be more balanced and you could model a more even bevel on the inside to prevent the string from causing it to slow down. Great to see you doing more projects on the lathe. The more you use it the better you get! Try it out once you get the droid farm up and running at your new place!
Hey bob, I now look forward for Thursdays when your videos come out. You are very talented and I like how you point out your mistakes and say what you would do next time. You really are a great TH-camr, keep up the great work
hi bob. great vid. a lot of people dont now this, but your drill press has a removable chuck that will fit on your lathe most likes, i use the chuck out of my drill presson the lathe all of the time. hope this helps?
round off the edges (like you said in the video) but also, yoyo you got most likely has these rings inside called the response pads. they are some kind of rubbery material, and the purpose is to allow the string to have something to "bite" into in order for the yoyo to come back up. I made my own response pads using clear silicone sealant, and it works pretty well for diy if the yoyo still does not come up, you can try a shorter axle that decreases the gap between the two halves of your wooden yoyo. this allows the string to bind much easier can't wait to see your version 2 of the yoyo!
Nice job! I wonder if the shape on the outside makes a difference. The original was hollowed out, that would tend to remove some of the mass on the inside and shift the balance to the outside & make it a more effective flywheel.
Having zero experience with yoyo's but being a machinist, I can take an educated guess that by not drilling them both while they were attached to each other probably threw them out of concentricity of one another. Even balanced, if they aren't concentric to one another or lathed while together, it will in turn throw them off balance, making it harder to get consistent rotations out of them.
It's pretty much as you have already said. Get a smoother curve on the insides of both discs. Try to get them as symmetrical as possible. Wood might be a problem if you take into account how not homogeneously dense it actually is. So shape symmetry might not mean weight symmetry. If you get better at playing with it you'll also notice how good it might be for you to have the possibility of disassembling the yoyo once in a while for maintenance. So don't glue the axle. But that was a very good try, man. If you get good at it, raise the challenge. Put some hubstacks, make some hybrid response systems, add weight rings... That'd be awesome to see.
Yo Bob, You are the person that got me into the wonderful world of woodworking but I can never watch you livestreams on twitch because I am in England! :)
That's awesome to hear! Well, we have some Brits watching at that time, but I understand it's inconvenient for some. They stay on Twitch for a few weeks if you ever want to watch them later. Thanks!
I've been yoyoing for about 3 years so I know quite a bit. When trying to make a professional yoyo or a good yoyo at least. Ill give you a couple of tips, the number one thing you need is to replicate each side of the yoyo so that they are exactly the same. If you are off just by a little bit it will mess up the yoyo. Thats why most yoyo's are made out of plastic or metal. Plastic is the cheap way to go but if you want to make a really good yoyo. Look into unresponsive play and make a metal yoyo. It's more expensive but it will also be easier to fix you mistakes that you make.
If you open up the yyf yoyo you'll see that the bearing seat is slightly higher on the inner diameter because that will have contact and hold onto the inner part of the bearing while the other part of the bearing is left to turn freely. Yours seem to have a flat bearing seat which will cause the free spinning part of the bearing to rub against the yoyo. The wobble that comes from your yoyo is most likely because of uneven distribution of mass. Usually yoyos have a very low tolerance because the slightest difference will cause vibration or simply "vibe" in yoyo terms, being made of wood and by hand will contribute to loads of vibe but that just gives the yoyo character.. imo Very cool idea tho! would really love to see an unresponsive yoyo with proper response pad.
was the class you took taught by Tyler Severence? You should look at using a smaller bearing on that yoyo, look for one of the duncan freestyle replacement kits, it comes with the spacers and everything your need for 5 or 6 bucks, also you need to add a response system to it. after the string rubs the wood and "polishes" it and the bearing breaks in it will stop returning to your hand even if you do a bind trick. common response is just a small groove about a 2 mm away from the bearing and then filled with red high temp gasket maker silicone (red lasts the longest)
Hey! I'm a yoyoer who really liked this video. I think that next time you should use a screw-in axle rather than an axle that you glue in, so that you can take it apart. I also think that you should make an unresponsive yoyo (doesn't come back when you tug at it). Thanks!
This might be an opportunity to use your 3D printer. There are companies out there that make wood 3D printer filament. You can find them on amazon. So you could create one side of the yoyo and then print two of them and have both the halves to create the yoyo. Really cool Video! Hope youll take this into consideration.
One way you could improve on the wooden Yoyo would be to get yoyo spacers for the bearing... it would make for a better surface in contact with the bearing that would reduce its speed/spin time. The issue with that its you'd need a different axle, a small screw similar to the Yoyo you purchased. But it would help keep the yoyo spinning a little longer. Another issue would be bringing it up, but in the test throws it looked ok. Currently rubber pads are used, but for a wooden, glued-together responsive, yoyo, you'd probably want to use what called a starburst response. I'm not sure that would work, but you could check out the yoyofficer (I think it's that company...a company recently came out with a wooden fixed axle/no bearing wooden yoyo). If it doesn't have a response system for whatever reason other than plain wood, check out that starburst...it's the response used in a lot of responsive yoyos
The side indents on the original yo-yo aren't just cosmetic. They serve both as a mechanism to balance and bring the yo-yo centre of gravity closer to the locus of rotation, i.e. the axle. Try to make it macaroon shaped with two 'rims' on the outside to make it more stable, and the inside angles are usually flat or convex, not concave as in your example. Kinda like cutting a gyroscope in half and flipping the sides! The best analogy for this is a car wheel with alloy rims. On closer inspection, the rear side is hollow. Also, think about how little weight is used to balance a car wheel, that is a very small margin of error in the distribution of the weight, which scales linearly to yo-yo size. tl;dr: Match the original's shape more closely, particularly the angles interior. Add a divot to bring in the COG closer to the bearing and either use a denser, heavier wood or be more precise in the balancing of the sides! Epic vid though, brings back many memories of the yo-yo fad years! Keep trying and give yourself a yo-yo to be proud of! Like making your own guitar! :D
Maybe next time for V2 you could cast one out of resin, that way you avoid the balancing issues. Or even cast one made from aluminium. Love the videos, keep it up. Sending love from the UK :)
I Like To Make Stuff You could possibly make a mould to cast an aluminium one. smelt metals down in a furnace and pour it. would be a great learning curve if you're interested. can always build your own furnace that alone would be a great video.
To make it more responsive, carve a groove into one of the sides, and place an o-ring. However, you might want to widen the gap a bit, and work on your binding technique (I have a yoyo for almost 5yrs now, and I've been on and off the hobby). Also, if you want to make a fun little "follow up", you can 3D print a counter weight, and work on your 5A (freehand) yoyo skills. Great video!!!
It is fun to replicate stuff and learn how its made Bob. And I like seeing your floor, next video please show us your ceiling. Delete this comment if it sounded creepy.
your tail stock is Morse taper #2. if you plunge one of your drill presses there is a hole in the spindle for a key. put the back of the chuck key in that hole and drive the press back and there you have one.
there is an extra ring right next to the axel that the inside of the bearing sits on. this keeps the bearing in place such that it doesn't shift around, and more importantly it keeps the outer ring of the bearing from touching anything.
Wobble can be a result of many things. One major thing that causes wobble is if your string in not straight. If you pull the string out and it twists together instead of staying fairly straight, that force of the string twisting on itself while in motion can cause the yo-yo to wobble or tilt. Another reason it may be wobbling is because of the throw. When throwing a yo-yo, especially one that feels different than what you are used to, it takes some time to adjust your throw to match it. Your throw could be off axis by just a bit, which causes wobbling or tilting. One last reason I could think of it just the sheer weight of it. Now I have not had any personal experience with this, but the fact that it weighs just over 1.5oz might be causing it. With it being so light, this might be a factor, but I am not sure of that. These are a few things that might be causing it that are not due to your build of it. Always a pleasure watching your videos. Thank you for the great content Bob! :)
Not sure what the taper is on your lathe and drill press, but I was lucky enough to have a matching MT2 taper on my drill press chuck. If you can remove yours it might work in your lathe for future projects until you get a dedicated chuck.
If you are going to use wood, try to increase the diameter and reduce the width to minimize wobbles. The wider the yoyo vs diameter, the more pronounced the wobble is. Also make a groove near the bearing and fill it up with flowable silicone as the response system.
Hey Bob great video. I have often thought about making a yo-yo. I don't know if you thought about this, but there is a good possibility that the Morris taper on your drill press chuck, Will fit the Morris taper on your lathe for holding dill bits on the lathe. :)
How to improve yours: - Lower the walls (thickness of the wood around the bearing). This will reduce the amount of material the string has to rub against. - Increase the weight around the rims (the part of the yoyo which has the largest diameter). This will allow the yoyo to spin for longer. - You may want to carve into the flat caps of the yoyo and make it concave. This will get rid of the weight that isn't very useful. Weight towards the center of the yoyo doesn't do much to help it spin longer (it does have advantages in advanced yoyoing, but for your project, you probably don't want it). - Modern yoyos have response pads. These are little rubber o-rings that fit into recesses around the bearing and sit flush with the walls (mentioned in the first bullet point). They grip onto the string when you throw it and allow you put more power into your throw. They also help the yoyo return to your hand. I can't say if you need them with your yoyo without trying it myself. If you feel the string doesn't wrap around the bearing tightly, or when if it hits the bottom of a string with a thump, you probably want to at least try fitting a pair. - If you do try response pads, don't recess the bearing into the yoyo as much. - Sadly, you probably won't be able to get rid of vibe (vibration) completely. On a manual lathe, it would be difficult to make the weight distribution completely even on both halves. Even small changes in the shape will produce vibe. You need really tight tolerances. I would recommend focusing on the axle and bearing if you want to try to cut down on the vibe. - Get the axle to sit very snugly inside the bearing (although on modern yoyos, the axle doesn't touch the bearing, as they have dedicated bearing seats). Make sure the outer side spins freely. - Make sure the axle is perfectly aligned with the axis of rotation. I would recommend unscrewing your yoyofactory yoyo to take a look at how the axle, bearing, and response are set up. This will help you understand the basics of how a ball bearing yoyo works. YoyoDesign101 by ZachTheSloth on youtube is a very helpful resource to learn how to design a yoyo, but he focuses on metal yoyos which require a highly accurate CNC lathe to produce without vibe/vibration.
you do have that drill chuck. it's in your drill press. just swap it in to your tail stock the next time you need to drill a hole on the lathe. they both use the same mortise taper
Hey Bob, I don't know if anyone said it, but it seemed that the issue you talk about at 4:40, that the yo-yo os not balanced, is due to the inner rod not being perfectly aligned. You can notice that it looks a little unbalenced at 4:03, while you are spinning the yo-yo when aplying finish. I'm no expert in yo-yos either, in fact, I don't play with mine for years, but it's just what I think it happened :) awesome project thought :D (Btw, I'm sorry if I misspeled something, I am not english :/)
As a semi pro yo-yoer, I can approve. As far as making the yoyo, you should consider making the inner area around the bearing (where the string touches) as smooth you can, possibly with micro-mesh? The rougher the wood, the more responsive the yo-yo will be. Roughness will over time break down the string and risk sending the yo-yo flying. You may have noticed that your YYF One had little rings of silicone around the bearing. Because the plastic is so smooth, there needs to be a mechanism in place to make it come back, which is what the silicone rings (o-rings) are. You can get some yourself, or just make a small indentation around the bearing, the same size on each side, and fill them with standard 100% silicone. Another thing to note, is that the wider the gap, the less responsive it will be, knowing that might shape the way you make a next one (if you end up making another one).
Ah! Great info, thank you!
Michael kaster, good elaboration on the composition of the friction pads/rings. Definitely a doable diy thing.
Really enjoyed this. Good to see workarounds for limited equipment - as this is a problem we all face.
One way to work around the centre drilling: Drill through the workpiece first and fit it on a metal rod - then mount your first sacrificial block on the faceplate - bore a little hole in the centre using a parting tool, to receive the metal rod - then glue the workpiece to the sacrificial block, then drill a hole in the other sacrificial block and glue this on the other end - you have to be careful when parting off, as there's the metal rod in the middle.
Oku
Hey Bob, former yo-yoer here I think I may have an interesting improvement in your design.(very cool project by the way) After looking at one of my old yoyos I noticed that the sides of the yoyo hold only the center race steady. Wen you are yo-yoing this allows the outer race to sit free, while the inner race and the yoyo itself spin, giving you much longer spin times. Thank you for all the great videos!
OMG! you only used one clamp?!?!?!
I know!! :)
Erik productions I thought the same thing lol
That's the kind of stuff you can do when you're #clampchamp
Erik productions HE WASN'T A CLAP CHAMP!!!!!!!!!!
Death Wolf lmfao
Man, I used to love yo-yos. This is so cool. I think you're right about the ridge getting caught and causing the wobble. Most of my favorite yo-yos had a deep, smooth transition.
YES!!! This is on my shortlist for lathe projects. I hadn't thought about using a bearing or a metal axle, though. This has my gears turning!
I believe my yo-yo from the fidget-spinner-like yo-yo boom in the late 90's has upgraded bearings and weights. I also had a finger guard and used a leather snuff holster to store it on my belt.
Super awesome to see you make a thing just cause it interested you and not necessarily because you needed it.
I made a fixed axle a couple month ago... it also has a bit of a wobble, but it works every time. The one thing that surprised me the most was the weight and how much it hurts coming back :)... great first attempt!
hey Bob ! i have run into similar problems with my lathe. not having a drill chuck. by total accident one day i discovered that the taper on my drill press was the exact size of my lathe! piece of metal in the slot on the drill press spindle and a quick press up on the handle out it comes and into the lathe tailstock. you may need to leave the tailstick shaft out a bit because drill press tapers usually have a tang that gets in the way. great video keep them coming!
Hi Bob, Love ILTMS. Probably a bit late to comment on this now but, if you mark the centre while still on the lathe (use the point of a chisel whilst lathe is spinning), you can then use a drill bit held in a handle or vice grips to drill a centre hole. Will work fine as the rotation of the lathe and the mark you made will centre and guide the drill bit. All the best, Rich
okay so I've been following the channel for a while now, and I happen to have a background in yoyo's and even have designed one which was commercially sold for 200 bucks a piece. I'm not claiming to be an expert, but here's some tips: 1. total weight should ideally be between 60-70 grams. I bet yours is much lighter since it's wooden. Usually with plastic yoyos a metal ring is used around the outer rim. 2. weight distribution is key: weight on the outside rim increases spin times. 3. You will never get a dead smooth yoyo made with hand tools. The tiniest difference in weight, weight distribution and shape between the halves will destabilize the spin slightly, but noticeably. A cnc and an experienced operator don't even always get it right, so forget getting it perfect. 4. you are right about the walls of the gap being to steep. Make them taper off more. 5. the bearing seat usually has a more intricate design in order to avoid any chance of unwanted friction. Yours must be rubbing all over the place probably. TBH you won't get much better results unless you go the CNC way and unless youstay away from wood, which is inherently inconsistent in density i.e. weight. IMHO off course. :-) I'm impressed you got it to this point by just eyeballing trough the whole build! greetz
man made mayhem , I love how your post was informative and ultimately a compliment as well since the amount of useability he ended up with speaks to his attention to detail and consideration he put into things.
So first of all, the yoyofactory one (the black plastic yoyo you had) uses a silicon ring response system and a rounded wall (the inner butterfly shape) to reduce string friction and to ensure that the yoyo comes up. Most professional yoyos are made of 6061 aircraft grade aluminum or even sometimes 7075 or titanium. But most wooden yoyos use a fixed axle response system which only involve the friction between the string and the wooden axle (without a bearing). And as a tip, the ideal weight for a yoyo is around 60 to 70 grams.
Mark B. Ikr
For me, there is nothing more satisfying to see than your passion to make stuff. This is why I love your channel so much, the content is great, the projects are amazing and it's clear that you work from your heart.
Please keep making every Thursday special :)
+yaniv blau :). Thank you, that means a lot!
Any chance of a follow up new and improved Yoyo? Would love to see a second attempt
As a yoyoer i have to say the shape and weight of your yoyo is amazing for a first try! and i think i have the solution to your problem. what your yoyo lacks is a response system. Yoyos now a day have response system that allows them to hit the string and return to your hand. Now modern responds systems involve silicon. The response system is inside the yoyo those two jelly rings on the sides. you can use that as a general idea for the secomd prototype. Two options are available you can purchase silicon pads from a yoyo retailer or make your own. For option 2 you can use flowable silicon at a hardware store I personally use the red one (im sorry i forgot the actual name but its red so yeah) which can be found in the automotive section. Another thing to consider is if you want your yoyo to be responsive or unresponsive. responsive is like your yoyo now it comes back at a tug. unresponsive requires a trick to return called a "bind" which is used in advance play. Anyway hope to see the second one soon and great videos !
Great project Bob. Quick tip next time if you feel like it put the chuck out of the drill press and put it in the lathe tail stock. Should.... work perfectly and easy to take out and put back in the drill press when done. Take care good luck with the move too.
It makes me happy to know that you can take a class on yoyos.
Ohhh, this is what you were wanting advice from Jimmy and David about on the podcast! Love how it turned out on the end!
yes! Thanks!
You should thread the center making a place for an axle, and purchase the bearing and axle from a yoyo store, touch up the gap, and make a spot for some rubber k pads. If it doesnt pull up when you tug it you've just made a pro grade yoyo. Pros have to bind to get it to come up, so you dont want it to come up by a tug but by a bind. Shape and everything else looked awesome
My grandson has been asking me to make him a yoyo. You have helped inspire me with your video. Thanks.
I love that you do different stuff everytime.
I love your channel dude! You should do some diy classes to help people!
Thanks! Well, that's kind of what these videos are for :)
Hey Bob, thanks for continuing to post even in the midst of moving and such!
SuicideNeil Right, I figured he had pre-recorded this, but I just appreciate him taking the time to post still!
Stephen Isbell I don't know how he manages to get all this done.
Stephen Isbell ordor
Reply
I didn't even know I wanted to make a yo-yo until I watched this - now I have to give it a go!
:) Go for it!!
Hey bob Good video! I watched the knife block vid and I have a tip for making your stock perfectly square first try. If you joint a face and joint an edge that will make one corner square. Then plane your stock jointed side down on the planer bed Then plane your stock down to thickness (leaving room for sanding) and then on your table saw run your stock along the fence with the jointed face joined edge corner(that should still be square) and cut and your stock to what ever you need to cut it too and it should be perfectly square!
Sorry for suuch a long comment love your vids!
There could also be slight changes in the wood that could be throwing the spin off. You could use something like an old tire balance to make sure the center of gravity is where you want it. Neat project!
for version II, putting a channel on the outside for a brass our steel ring will distribute the weight further from the center giving longer spin times. making sure it's done on the lathe will keep the weight distributed evenly.
The hero we need, but not the one we deserve
Hi I'm Mark and I like to watch Bob make stuff. :)
This was a great little project. Happy Moving!!
Thanks Mark!
YO! Nice video Bob :)
Thanks Yo!
Nice video!!!
It's possible that your drill press chuck will come out and is held in it by a Morse taper. It's also possible that the chuck WILL fit your lathe. I swap mine back and forth often. Just pull the chuck all the way down on the press and give the spindle a look. If you see a slot, it should pop out by placing a wedge in there.
Im very thankful that you made a wooden yoyo with a bearing because i watch other videos making wooden yoyo but it doesnt have a bearing good job on the yoyo it looks good hope you keep making this great videos (coming from a yoyoer)
Thanks so much!
I Like To Make Stuff you're welcome 😊
The manufactured yo-yo has material removed from the center of the outside. This focuses the mass of the yo-yo to the outside of the radius, and increases the moment of inertia. Because you left the sides of your yo-yo basically flat, the mass is spread more evenly throughout the yo-yo, making maintaining rotation more difficult. Also, contrary to the homogenous nature of plastic (like that used in the manufactured yo-yo), in general, wood has a lot of inconsistencies in density and mass distribution. This is based on the cellular structure of the material and the way trees grow. The micro-differences in density and mass distribution could be adding to the wobble you're experiencing.
I loved the project, and if I had the lathe tools to use with my Shopsmith, I would definitely like to make a yo-yo or two myself. Great video, Bob.
Oh, that's a great point! Next one, I should make the pieces in the opposite configuration so that I can hollow out the outside a little bit. Great info, thank you!
To increase the M.O.I. and mitigate a lot of wobble, you could also possibly add a metal ring to the outside diameter of each half. I know a lot of the hardware stores near me sell them for various purposes. if you used a steel ring, you might get the added benefit if a spark or two when you try "Walk the Dog" with your ILTMS yo-yo...
oh man! This was the lathe project you asked Jimmy and David about on the podcast!
Hi Bob! Interesting build, I would have never thought about making my own yoyo :) To answer your question, I would think that the string is not attached solidly enough to the bearing and that, right now, it's not making the bearing to turn. Knots won't do it, you need to glue the string to the outer ring of the bearing. May need to make the outer face rougher to increase the friction and the holding power.
Hey, neat video!
I have a little info that'll help when you turn your next yoyo. A great wood yoyo is made out of really dense hardwood, with very tight grain patterns. Consistency in weight distribution is just as important as having equal masses. An ideal overall weight for a modern yoyo is about 50-70 grams, including your axle system of choice and the bearing (if you use one). Try and shoot for a diameter around 50-60mm too, that'll help with spin time and the response.
The shape is pretty great, but when you have a surface that's parallel to your axle you're gonna experience some bounce out, like you mentioned at the end. The catch zone on your particular yoyo is a bit flat, no big deal ordinarily because it wont impact spin time, it'll just be harder to do string tricks. :)
When you make your next yoyo, I also suggest that you plan out a system that'll allow you to disassemble the yoyo so you have access to the bearing and the bearing seat for making adjustments with shims if necessary.
If you want to do some research on general wood yoyo shapes, and maybe some legwork (read: look at pretty pictures) on what kind of wood yoyos are popular, check out Tom Kuhn yoyos (old school wood), TMBR yoyos (much more modern styles) and Once Upon A Tree yoyos.
Yo, Bob, Great simple project for my grandson and myself. Thanks for sharing.
Hey, you ought to experiment with adding a clutch mechanism to version 2.0. I remember back when all the cool yo-yos had clutches, and I think it would be neat to see a butterfly-style yo-yo with a clutch; that's something you don't normally see. Awesome video!
Okay, so. Yoyoer here.
All yoyos that are plastic or metal have a type of response system. Starburst or response pad, your One has response pads, which are little pieces of silicone. Starbursts are pieces that stick out a slight bit. Both work by causing friction. (I might be able to get pictures for you, if you'd like.) If you want the yoyo to work 100% of the time, and be super nice and responsive, you may need one. (Maybe not though, if it's wood, you might just need to make the axle gap smaller and you won't need a system for it.)
Bill Clinton ya ikr
every time i see you have a new video i get soooo haaaappy please keep making them
I hope that you film version 2 when the time comes. Maybe from the new shop.
I love the little projects like this!
As someone who yoyos (and mind you I know more about metal yoyos than wooden) I would suggest cotton string, it helps as it grips the wood a bit better and polyester, the string that most likely came with your other yoyo will wear down the wood as to not grip at all.
Victor Alpert polyester works better for metal you right?
Cool video. I bought a cheap tailstock chuck from Amazon for like $15. Drill press works too. That's a sweet hacksaw by the way.
I love the image on the Table saw's push stick! I laugh every time!
:) We use that image a lot on Twitch for the livestreams.
Its hilarious! Thanks for the videos by the way ;-)
My 10 year old said " lathing with an Apple Watch on, bob really lives on the edge huh?? ". I busted out laughing. Kids... gotta love em
+A Glimpse Inside Ha! Tell him I wore it while doing fiberglass yesterday too!
Knowing alot about yoyos, next time you should add response pads. The response pads help the yoyo move up and down. Also, you actually used a c size center track bearing wich is typically used for unresponsive play. You should get an a size bearing, spacers, and some sylicon response pads. These few tips should make your next yoyo prototype much smoother and more responsive
Sean Michaels ikr
Awesomeness! I made a one piece yo yo video not to long ago.. I had know idea what I was doing . It is definitely a fun project. Going by your video it seems simple enough for my skills to try a bearing one . Thanks for sharing. Peace!
joined your channel about a month ago. I pretty much watched all your old vids already. kinda wish you posted more often. lol keep it up bro.
I'm doing them as quickly as I can :) Thanks!
Hi Bob! You could try 3d print different shapes for the yoyo to see which one works best. This way you can create a prototype and change it to get the best results, (which is what 3d printers were created for in the first place), but its probably not worth the time or the filament to do this. Also I think if you made the space between the two halfs a little bit bigger, where the bearing is, it might work better, while also shaving off that ledge that you were talking about
If you 3D printed one it would probably be more balanced and you could model a more even bevel on the inside to prevent the string from causing it to slow down. Great to see you doing more projects on the lathe. The more you use it the better you get! Try it out once you get the droid farm up and running at your new place!
Hey bob, I now look forward for Thursdays when your videos come out. You are very talented and I like how you point out your mistakes and say what you would do next time. You really are a great TH-camr, keep up the great work
That's very kind, thank you!
hi bob. great vid.
a lot of people dont now this, but your drill press has a removable chuck that will fit on your lathe most likes, i use the chuck out of my drill presson the lathe all of the time. hope this helps?
round off the edges (like you said in the video)
but also, yoyo you got most likely has these rings inside called the response pads. they are some kind of rubbery material, and the purpose is to allow the string to have something to "bite" into in order for the yoyo to come back up. I made my own response pads using clear silicone sealant, and it works pretty well for diy
if the yoyo still does not come up, you can try a shorter axle that decreases the gap between the two halves of your wooden yoyo. this allows the string to bind much easier
can't wait to see your version 2 of the yoyo!
Ah, that's great info! Thank you!
No problem! Looking forward to the next video!
Interesting. I don't know much about yo-yos either. That's cool that you were able to get it to work though!
Nice job! I wonder if the shape on the outside makes a difference. The original was hollowed out, that would tend to remove some of the mass on the inside and shift the balance to the outside & make it a more effective flywheel.
Having zero experience with yoyo's but being a machinist, I can take an educated guess that by not drilling them both while they were attached to each other probably threw them out of concentricity of one another. Even balanced, if they aren't concentric to one another or lathed while together, it will in turn throw them off balance, making it harder to get consistent rotations out of them.
It's pretty much as you have already said. Get a smoother curve on the insides of both discs. Try to get them as symmetrical as possible. Wood might be a problem if you take into account how not homogeneously dense it actually is. So shape symmetry might not mean weight symmetry. If you get better at playing with it you'll also notice how good it might be for you to have the possibility of disassembling the yoyo once in a while for maintenance. So don't glue the axle. But that was a very good try, man. If you get good at it, raise the challenge. Put some hubstacks, make some hybrid response systems, add weight rings... That'd be awesome to see.
excellent yo-yo waiting for version 2 best of luck
Yo Bob, You are the person that got me into the wonderful world of woodworking but I can never watch you livestreams on twitch because I am in England! :)
That's awesome to hear! Well, we have some Brits watching at that time, but I understand it's inconvenient for some. They stay on Twitch for a few weeks if you ever want to watch them later. Thanks!
I've been yoyoing for about 3 years so I know quite a bit. When trying to make a professional yoyo or a good yoyo at least. Ill give you a couple of tips, the number one thing you need is to replicate each side of the yoyo so that they are exactly the same. If you are off just by a little bit it will mess up the yoyo. Thats why most yoyo's are made out of plastic or metal. Plastic is the cheap way to go but if you want to make a really good yoyo. Look into unresponsive play and make a metal yoyo. It's more expensive but it will also be easier to fix you mistakes that you make.
If you open up the yyf yoyo you'll see that the bearing seat is slightly higher on the inner diameter because that will have contact and hold onto the inner part of the bearing while the other part of the bearing is left to turn freely. Yours seem to have a flat bearing seat which will cause the free spinning part of the bearing to rub against the yoyo.
The wobble that comes from your yoyo is most likely because of uneven distribution of mass.
Usually yoyos have a very low tolerance because the slightest difference will cause vibration or simply "vibe" in yoyo terms, being made of wood and by hand will contribute to loads of vibe but that just gives the yoyo character.. imo
Very cool idea tho! would really love to see an unresponsive yoyo with proper response pad.
was the class you took taught by Tyler Severence? You should look at using a smaller bearing on that yoyo, look for one of the duncan freestyle replacement kits, it comes with the spacers and everything your need for 5 or 6 bucks, also you need to add a response system to it. after the string rubs the wood and "polishes" it and the bearing breaks in it will stop returning to your hand even if you do a bind trick. common response is just a small groove about a 2 mm away from the bearing and then filled with red high temp gasket maker silicone (red lasts the longest)
Hey! I'm a yoyoer who really liked this video. I think that next time you should use a screw-in axle rather than an axle that you glue in, so that you can take it apart. I also think that you should make an unresponsive yoyo (doesn't come back when you tug at it). Thanks!
This might be an opportunity to use your 3D printer. There are companies out there that make wood 3D printer filament. You can find them on amazon. So you could create one side of the yoyo and then print two of them and have both the halves to create the yoyo. Really cool Video! Hope youll take this into consideration.
i haven't seen a yoyo in a long time! nice video!
One way you could improve on the wooden Yoyo would be to get yoyo spacers for the bearing... it would make for a better surface in contact with the bearing that would reduce its speed/spin time. The issue with that its you'd need a different axle, a small screw similar to the Yoyo you purchased. But it would help keep the yoyo spinning a little longer. Another issue would be bringing it up, but in the test throws it looked ok. Currently rubber pads are used, but for a wooden, glued-together responsive, yoyo, you'd probably want to use what called a starburst response. I'm not sure that would work, but you could check out the yoyofficer (I think it's that company...a company recently came out with a wooden fixed axle/no bearing wooden yoyo). If it doesn't have a response system for whatever reason other than plain wood, check out that starburst...it's the response used in a lot of responsive yoyos
The side indents on the original yo-yo aren't just cosmetic. They serve both as a mechanism to balance and bring the yo-yo centre of gravity closer to the locus of rotation, i.e. the axle.
Try to make it macaroon shaped with two 'rims' on the outside to make it more stable, and the inside angles are usually flat or convex, not concave as in your example. Kinda like cutting a gyroscope in half and flipping the sides!
The best analogy for this is a car wheel with alloy rims. On closer inspection, the rear side is hollow. Also, think about how little weight is used to balance a car wheel, that is a very small margin of error in the distribution of the weight, which scales linearly to yo-yo size.
tl;dr: Match the original's shape more closely, particularly the angles interior. Add a divot to bring in the COG closer to the bearing and either use a denser, heavier wood or be more precise in the balancing of the sides!
Epic vid though, brings back many memories of the yo-yo fad years! Keep trying and give yourself a yo-yo to be proud of! Like making your own guitar! :D
Duncan Yo-Yos are excellent. Look at their designs for more insight to their shape and design.
You never failed to impress me! Keep it up
Aww, thanks!
Maybe next time for V2 you could cast one out of resin, that way you avoid the balancing issues. Or even cast one made from aluminium. Love the videos, keep it up. Sending love from the UK :)
Yeah, either would be pretty awesome! Hopefully I'll get a metal lathe at some point and can make an aluminum one, that'd be sweeeeeet!
I Like To Make Stuff You could possibly make a mould to cast an aluminium one. smelt metals down in a furnace and pour it. would be a great learning curve if you're interested. can always build your own furnace that alone would be a great video.
Cool project. I don't think I would have ever thought to make a yo-yo.
To make it more responsive, carve a groove into one of the sides, and place an o-ring. However, you might want to widen the gap a bit, and work on your binding technique (I have a yoyo for almost 5yrs now, and I've been on and off the hobby).
Also, if you want to make a fun little "follow up", you can 3D print a counter weight, and work on your 5A (freehand) yoyo skills.
Great video!!!
Ah, so this was the lathe project you had questions about on the podcast!
Yes!
Budietoyka - My first thought when I saw it!
My thought as well. Nice work.
Omg that push block with the face on it is amazing
:)
I was mad at something before watching this and watching this made me smile or happy. nice vid man
That's kind of awesome to hear :) Thank you!
Nice work Bob!
It is fun to replicate stuff and learn how its made Bob. And I like seeing your floor, next video please show us your ceiling. Delete this comment if it sounded creepy.
your tail stock is Morse taper #2. if you plunge one of your drill presses there is a hole in the spindle for a key. put the back of the chuck key in that hole and drive the press back and there you have one.
you videos never disappoint
there is an extra ring right next to the axel that the inside of the bearing sits on. this keeps the bearing in place such that it doesn't shift around, and more importantly it keeps the outer ring of the bearing from touching anything.
Wobble can be a result of many things. One major thing that causes wobble is if your string in not straight. If you pull the string out and it twists together instead of staying fairly straight, that force of the string twisting on itself while in motion can cause the yo-yo to wobble or tilt.
Another reason it may be wobbling is because of the throw. When throwing a yo-yo, especially one that feels different than what you are used to, it takes some time to adjust your throw to match it. Your throw could be off axis by just a bit, which causes wobbling or tilting.
One last reason I could think of it just the sheer weight of it. Now I have not had any personal experience with this, but the fact that it weighs just over 1.5oz might be causing it. With it being so light, this might be a factor, but I am not sure of that.
These are a few things that might be causing it that are not due to your build of it. Always a pleasure watching your videos. Thank you for the great content Bob! :)
That's great insight, thank you!
Get it yo-yo man! Nice job!
Awesome video, Bob!
Not sure what the taper is on your lathe and drill press, but I was lucky enough to have a matching MT2 taper on my drill press chuck. If you can remove yours it might work in your lathe for future projects until you get a dedicated chuck.
Great quick build! perhaps laser engraving on one side changed the weight slightly?
Nice yoyo Bob! Good to see another lathe project :)
Thanks!
If you are going to use wood, try to increase the diameter and reduce the width to minimize wobbles. The wider the yoyo vs diameter, the more pronounced the wobble is. Also make a groove near the bearing and fill it up with flowable silicone as the response system.
Great content as always. Love the variety, keeps my inspiration juices flowing. Thanks again Bob!
Thanks Cody!
Cool project Bob!
I love this channel! I saw this channel like TWO DAYS BEFORE and I'm already in love with this channel! BTW, nice vid...
Hey Bob great video. I have often thought about making a yo-yo.
I don't know if you thought about this, but there is a good possibility that the Morris taper on your drill press chuck, Will fit the Morris taper on your lathe for holding dill bits on the lathe. :)
Fun project Bob! Great job 👍🏼
How to improve yours:
- Lower the walls (thickness of the wood around the bearing). This will reduce the amount of material the string has to rub against.
- Increase the weight around the rims (the part of the yoyo which has the largest diameter). This will allow the yoyo to spin for longer.
- You may want to carve into the flat caps of the yoyo and make it concave. This will get rid of the weight that isn't very useful. Weight towards the center of the yoyo doesn't do much to help it spin longer (it does have advantages in advanced yoyoing, but for your project, you probably don't want it).
- Modern yoyos have response pads. These are little rubber o-rings that fit into recesses around the bearing and sit flush with the walls (mentioned in the first bullet point). They grip onto the string when you throw it and allow you put more power into your throw. They also help the yoyo return to your hand. I can't say if you need them with your yoyo without trying it myself. If you feel the string doesn't wrap around the bearing tightly, or when if it hits the bottom of a string with a thump, you probably want to at least try fitting a pair.
- If you do try response pads, don't recess the bearing into the yoyo as much.
- Sadly, you probably won't be able to get rid of vibe (vibration) completely. On a manual lathe, it would be difficult to make the weight distribution completely even on both halves. Even small changes in the shape will produce vibe. You need really tight tolerances. I would recommend focusing on the axle and bearing if you want to try to cut down on the vibe.
- Get the axle to sit very snugly inside the bearing (although on modern yoyos, the axle doesn't touch the bearing, as they have dedicated bearing seats). Make sure the outer side spins freely.
- Make sure the axle is perfectly aligned with the axis of rotation.
I would recommend unscrewing your yoyofactory yoyo to take a look at how the axle, bearing, and response are set up. This will help you understand the basics of how a ball bearing yoyo works. YoyoDesign101 by ZachTheSloth on youtube is a very helpful resource to learn how to design a yoyo, but he focuses on metal yoyos which require a highly accurate CNC lathe to produce without vibe/vibration.
Nice one, Bob! You inspire me!
Thanks so much!
nicely done bob
Have you considered making one from hdpe? It would be pretty smooth, and you could make some funky colors if you choose. Thanks for the video.
Yo! Cool project! A bearing without a fidget spinner! 😂
Rule #0 - No Fidget Spinners.
kyjeepguy lol!
kyjeepguy Not jumping on the bandwagon. I thought they were bullshit from the moment I saw it.
The millennials pet rock.
Thats Rule 608. Bro lol
Corey Creehan needs to be stream disclaimer, "before chat is allowed, you must read the following:..." 😂
dude you are awesome with your projects!
you do have that drill chuck. it's in your drill press. just swap it in to your tail stock the next time you need to drill a hole on the lathe. they both use the same mortise taper
Hey Bob, I don't know if anyone said it, but it seemed that the issue you talk about at 4:40, that the yo-yo os not balanced, is due to the inner rod not being perfectly aligned. You can notice that it looks a little unbalenced at 4:03, while you are spinning the yo-yo when aplying finish.
I'm no expert in yo-yos either, in fact, I don't play with mine for years, but it's just what I think it happened :) awesome project thought :D
(Btw, I'm sorry if I misspeled something, I am not english :/)
Since yesterday i am your fan 😀 i hope someday to learn to do this stuff
Nathan Ramirez ya, TRY IT