**The Making of a Yo-Yo: A Step-by-Step Guide**

As I began working on my latest project, a yo-yo, I realized that it was not going to be as easy as I thought it would be. With the right tools and a bit of patience, I managed to create a functional yo-yo, but not without some challenges along the way.

The first challenge I faced was flattening out the two pieces of basswood that I had cut from a larger piece. While one end was still attached to the faceplate, I used a tool to flatten it out. Then, I unscrewed the faceplate and lined up the other X on the second piece with the flattened area. I put it back on and repeated the process, ensuring that both pieces were the same shape and thickness. After holding them up next to each other several times, I finally parted them off.

To drill a precise center hole in one of the pieces, I needed to use a drill chuck, which I unfortunately didn't have available to me. I explained to my viewers that using a drill chuck is the best way to achieve this level of accuracy. Without it, I had to come up with alternative methods, such as using a pencil to mark the center of the piece and then drilling into it.

Before proceeding, I made sure that the outside faces of both pieces were perfectly flat. To achieve this, I used a belt sander to smooth out any imperfections. However, I left a small nub in the center of each piece, which was necessary for the bearing to fit properly. Using the center punch, I marked the location of the nub so that I could reference it later.

Next, I selected a drill bit that was closest in size to the bearing and set the depth stop on my drill press. This ensured that the bit didn't drill too deeply into the piece. I then drilled two identical holes in both pieces, one for the axle and another for the bearing. To avoid gluing the rod in place, I used a small amount of five-minute epoxy to attach it to the inside of the holes.

After testing the yo-yo, I held the bearing with wire cutters to ensure that it was free to spin. I then spun the yo-yo around several times to test its smoothness and functionality. To add some flair to my project, I used a laser to create intricate designs on the outside of the pieces.

Finally, I applied two coats of spray lacquer to protect the finish and add some shine to the yo-yo. While creating this yo-yo was not without its challenges, I was pleased with the final result. However, I realized that there were still a few areas for improvement, such as modifying the shape of the butterfly to better accommodate the string.

**Weight Balance**

One of the crucial aspects of making a functional yo-yo is ensuring that both pieces are balanced evenly. To achieve this, I weighed both sides of the piece to ensure that they had the same weight. This was essential in preventing wobble and achieving smooth rotation.

**The Importance of Precision**

As I worked on my yo-yo, I realized the importance of precision in every step of the process. Whether it was drilling a precise center hole or ensuring that the bearing fit snugly into its housing, attention to detail was crucial. By taking the time to get these aspects right, I was able to create a yo-yo that functioned smoothly and reliably.

**Future Improvements**

While my first attempt at making a yo-yo may not have been perfect, I learned a lot from the experience. In future attempts, I plan to modify the shape of the butterfly to better accommodate the string. I also want to experiment with different materials and designs to create an even more efficient and effective yo-yo.

**Conclusion**

Making a yo-yo is a challenging but rewarding project that requires patience, attention to detail, and practice. While my first attempt may not have been perfect, I was pleased with the final result and learned valuable lessons along the way. If you're interested in trying your hand at making a yo-yo, I encourage you to give it a try and don't be discouraged by any setbacks or challenges that you may encounter.

**Additional Resources**

For those who are interested in learning more about yo-yos and how they're made, I recommend checking out my other channel, where I explore non-project-related topics. You can also find additional resources and tutorials on making yo-yos and other crafts by visiting our website or social media channels.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhey I'm Bob and I like to make that today I'm going to make a yo-yo not too long ago I was at a really cool event and I got to take a 30-minute class on the yo-yo I actually never spent 30 minutes with a yo-yo before so I immediately started thinking about how to make one this is the one I got in that class and it actually has a bearing on the inside which is something new to me as well so I decided to give it a shot and make my own let me show you how it went I started by tracing the outline of my reference yo-yo on a thick piece of maple and then measured that circle once I knew that size I cut it down to a rough square it was pretty close I used a couple of extra pieces of basswood which were scraps left over from another project and cut them down to roughly the same size as well then on the table saw I squared these all up there was one main piece of maple and two pieces of basswood which are going to be sacrificial for the lathe I had some glue and stacked all these up put them in the clamps to dry after this dried I drew a line from corner to corner where they meet is the center point so I used that point and the lines to put on the faceplate and make sure that it was centered within the block of wood I put in four screws and then slid it onto the lathe I lined up the other center point with the tailstock and then started turning my first objective here was just to get it down to the right sized cylinder so use some calipers to measure my reference yo-yo and then just turn down the main cylinder until they were roughly the same size then I found the center point of my piece of maple and held a pencil in place while turning it this gives me a center line all the way around it that I can use for reference then I just experimented with shaping until I got it looking like I wanted to I cut in the butterfly shape in the center and then started to round over the outside edges of the piece of maple before turning down the speed and doing a little bit of sanding I realized that my parting tool was not sharp so I used the hand saw just to split these pieces right down the middle I took off one end and then while the other end was still on the faceplate I flattened it out with one of my tools then I took it off unscrew the faceplate lined it up with the other X on the other piece put it back on and flattened out that face as well I held the pieces up next to each other several times to make sure that they were the same shape and the same thickness before finally parting them off there basswood stands let me point something out really quickly that I cannot do just because I don't have the right tools I need to drill a really precise level at the very center of both of these pieces and the best way to do that is to take a drill chuck put it in the tailstock and actually drill into the very center of this piece while it's still on the lathe unfortunately I don't have that drill chuck here to use I'm just letting you know that if you have that that's the best way to drill a center hole and something that's on the link and since I don't have it I'm going to come up with another way to do it before moving on to drilling I had to make sure that the outside faces were perfectly flat and I did that with the belt sander I left a little bit of a nub right in the center of the inside of each piece and I ran over it with the pencil so that I could see it and then use the center punch to mark it I found the drill bit that I had that was closest to the size of the bearing and then set the depth stop on my drill press this makes sure that the bit doesn't drill too deep a little bit less than half the thickness of the bearing I drilled the same hole in both sides and then use the smaller bit that was the same size as the inside of the bearing to drill a center hole a little bit deeper on both of these pieces this is going to hold the axle that goes through the bearing and holds the two outside pieces together and for that axle I'm using the bearing removal tool that actually came in the package I just used a hacksaw to cut it off to length I used some rough sandpaper to go over this cut edge just to smooth out the birds I also weighed both sides to make sure that they were the same weight because that's very important I did a test fit before blowing anything up to make sure that the rod was the right length and everything spun freely then I used some five-minute epoxy and mix it up with a very very tiny paintbrush I put this all the way down on the bottom of the holes on both pieces and pushed in the rod I wanted to make sure that this epoxy did not touch where the bearing was going to be because I didn't want it to be glued in place that would defeat the purpose after this dried I held the inside bearing with some wire cutters and then spun it around to make sure that the bearing was free before putting on a string and testing it out of course I just had to add a little bit of flair with my laser before adding a couple of coats of spray lacquer just to finish it off it took a little bit of practice to get the feel of this one and I tried it with a couple of different length strings and it actually worked after a little while as a first go I actually think it turned out pretty good it's not perfect and it doesn't work every single time but I think the bearing runs smoothly the big issue seems to be the shape when I look at the butterfly that I got originally the ridges on the inside of this where the string meets the outside plastic is a lot more rounded than what I ended up with here so I think what's happening on mine is the string is actually hitting on this little Ridge right here and slowing it down that can easily be fixed just by modifying the shape the next time I do one you saw me weigh the two sides so they are balanced as far as weight but it's possible that there's some small shape differences maybe that has something to do with creating wobble I really don't know that much about yo-yos and how they're made and why they work and why they don't so if you have any information as to why this one doesn't work as well as this one other than the fact that I made it let me have some things that I can change in version 2 to make it work even better I hope you liked this one and if you did give me a thumbs up and maybe a comment if you're not interested in yo-yos I have a lot of other types of projects that you might dig so be sure to check those out and don't forget to subscribe I've also got a second channel here with the non project stuff that you might be interested in as well that's it for this one guys thanks for watching see you next timehey I'm Bob and I like to make that today I'm going to make a yo-yo not too long ago I was at a really cool event and I got to take a 30-minute class on the yo-yo I actually never spent 30 minutes with a yo-yo before so I immediately started thinking about how to make one this is the one I got in that class and it actually has a bearing on the inside which is something new to me as well so I decided to give it a shot and make my own let me show you how it went I started by tracing the outline of my reference yo-yo on a thick piece of maple and then measured that circle once I knew that size I cut it down to a rough square it was pretty close I used a couple of extra pieces of basswood which were scraps left over from another project and cut them down to roughly the same size as well then on the table saw I squared these all up there was one main piece of maple and two pieces of basswood which are going to be sacrificial for the lathe I had some glue and stacked all these up put them in the clamps to dry after this dried I drew a line from corner to corner where they meet is the center point so I used that point and the lines to put on the faceplate and make sure that it was centered within the block of wood I put in four screws and then slid it onto the lathe I lined up the other center point with the tailstock and then started turning my first objective here was just to get it down to the right sized cylinder so use some calipers to measure my reference yo-yo and then just turn down the main cylinder until they were roughly the same size then I found the center point of my piece of maple and held a pencil in place while turning it this gives me a center line all the way around it that I can use for reference then I just experimented with shaping until I got it looking like I wanted to I cut in the butterfly shape in the center and then started to round over the outside edges of the piece of maple before turning down the speed and doing a little bit of sanding I realized that my parting tool was not sharp so I used the hand saw just to split these pieces right down the middle I took off one end and then while the other end was still on the faceplate I flattened it out with one of my tools then I took it off unscrew the faceplate lined it up with the other X on the other piece put it back on and flattened out that face as well I held the pieces up next to each other several times to make sure that they were the same shape and the same thickness before finally parting them off there basswood stands let me point something out really quickly that I cannot do just because I don't have the right tools I need to drill a really precise level at the very center of both of these pieces and the best way to do that is to take a drill chuck put it in the tailstock and actually drill into the very center of this piece while it's still on the lathe unfortunately I don't have that drill chuck here to use I'm just letting you know that if you have that that's the best way to drill a center hole and something that's on the link and since I don't have it I'm going to come up with another way to do it before moving on to drilling I had to make sure that the outside faces were perfectly flat and I did that with the belt sander I left a little bit of a nub right in the center of the inside of each piece and I ran over it with the pencil so that I could see it and then use the center punch to mark it I found the drill bit that I had that was closest to the size of the bearing and then set the depth stop on my drill press this makes sure that the bit doesn't drill too deep a little bit less than half the thickness of the bearing I drilled the same hole in both sides and then use the smaller bit that was the same size as the inside of the bearing to drill a center hole a little bit deeper on both of these pieces this is going to hold the axle that goes through the bearing and holds the two outside pieces together and for that axle I'm using the bearing removal tool that actually came in the package I just used a hacksaw to cut it off to length I used some rough sandpaper to go over this cut edge just to smooth out the birds I also weighed both sides to make sure that they were the same weight because that's very important I did a test fit before blowing anything up to make sure that the rod was the right length and everything spun freely then I used some five-minute epoxy and mix it up with a very very tiny paintbrush I put this all the way down on the bottom of the holes on both pieces and pushed in the rod I wanted to make sure that this epoxy did not touch where the bearing was going to be because I didn't want it to be glued in place that would defeat the purpose after this dried I held the inside bearing with some wire cutters and then spun it around to make sure that the bearing was free before putting on a string and testing it out of course I just had to add a little bit of flair with my laser before adding a couple of coats of spray lacquer just to finish it off it took a little bit of practice to get the feel of this one and I tried it with a couple of different length strings and it actually worked after a little while as a first go I actually think it turned out pretty good it's not perfect and it doesn't work every single time but I think the bearing runs smoothly the big issue seems to be the shape when I look at the butterfly that I got originally the ridges on the inside of this where the string meets the outside plastic is a lot more rounded than what I ended up with here so I think what's happening on mine is the string is actually hitting on this little Ridge right here and slowing it down that can easily be fixed just by modifying the shape the next time I do one you saw me weigh the two sides so they are balanced as far as weight but it's possible that there's some small shape differences maybe that has something to do with creating wobble I really don't know that much about yo-yos and how they're made and why they work and why they don't so if you have any information as to why this one doesn't work as well as this one other than the fact that I made it let me have some things that I can change in version 2 to make it work even better I hope you liked this one and if you did give me a thumbs up and maybe a comment if you're not interested in yo-yos I have a lot of other types of projects that you might dig so be sure to check those out and don't forget to subscribe I've also got a second channel here with the non project stuff that you might be interested in as well that's it for this one guys thanks for watching see you next time\n"