Bearing maintenance

Hi readers,

As the title goes , today , I will be explaining the methods of proper bearing maintenance. The bearing of a yoyo is also another crucial part of the yoyo. Just like the yoyo string , without the bearing , the yoyo will not spin. To any new yoyo players , this would be a great read for you and to the seniors , this might also be a good share of knowledge to any of your juniors. 

So, lets start with the basics, What is a yoyo bearing ? Its simple , yoyo bearing is the small little metal piece that is in the middle of the yoyo that makes the yoyo spin. The most common bearing that is placed in any yoyo is Specs Bearings and it looks just like the picture below. 

http://www.28spin.com/v5/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/363x/040ec09b1e35df139433887a97daa66f/l/a/largespec.jpg

Tools and equipment that you need :
A needle
A small glass bottle
A pair of pliers
A piece of tissue or a small clean cloth
A can of Zippo fluid (CAUTIOUS : THIS FLUID IS HIGHLY FLAMABLE. PLEASE HANDLE IT WITH CARE)

Steps to clean your bearing :
Step 1
First remove the bearing shields by extracting out a small "C" shaped shims at the inner side of the bearing caps. Use a small sharp edge needle to pry out the shims and after doing so , the bearing caps will just come off. Once you have done on one side , do the same for the other.

Step 2
Squeeze some Zippo fluid (lets say half of the bottle) into the glass bottle and place the bearing into the Zippo filled glass bottle. Give it a little shake and let it soak for a good 5min - 10min (depends on your preference). The reason why we soaked the bearing into the Zippo fluid is to allow the excess lube to be washed out of the bearing.

Step 3
Next , used the pliers to take the bearing out of the glass bottle. Placed it on the tissue or the cloth and just let the bearing sits dry on it.

Step 4
Once it is properly dried up , drip a small drop of lube on the bearing. You can use any thin yoyo lube that can be purchase at your own local yoyo shop. Its either Yoyofactory thin lube , Yoyojam thin lube, Duncan thin lube or any other brands but my preference is the OneDrop yoyo lube.

Step 5
After applying the lube , all you need to do is to replaced back the bearing caps and the "C" shims back into the bearing and you are all set to spin again !

Here is a video to assist you further :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A38tW6ZCSFk

In regards on how often do you need to drip a lube on the bearing will depend on the yoyo players itself. There are few indication that the bearing needs to be lube, one of the indication is when the bearing has a very loud sizzling sound. This means that the bearing is too dry and there is too much friction between the ball bearing in the bearing with the surface of the bearing. So it is advisable to drip a drop of lube onto bearing to ensure that there isn't too much friction in the bearing. 

If the yoyo is still responsive after applying thin lube , this could either mean that there is some yoyo string fibre stucked in the bearing or there are other form of dust in the bearing. I would recommend to carefully inspect your bearing when you are cleaning your bearing.

I hope that this article will help the readers in some way or another.

Till next time,

Wyvern Strings