Bearings not working

[Marhai]

In my past few years I have been buying Yoyo upon yoyo. Each one of them has the bearing that no longer works in it. All of a sudden they go really loud and then start grinding on the inside I guess (they hardly spin when flicking them with your finger). I keep good care of them, I occasionally clean them and lube them with some quite thin lube. I really dont know where I AM going wrong. So that makes about my 5th bearing in about 2 years.

[rizki_yoist]

In my past few years I have been buying Yoyo upon yoyo. Each one of them has the bearing that no longer works in it. All of a sudden they go really loud and then start grinding on the inside I guess (they hardly spin when flicking them with your finger). I keep good care of them, I occasionally clean them and lube them with some quite thin lube. I really dont know where I AM going wrong. So that makes about my 5th bearing in about 2 years.

Where do you store your yoyos?
Do you keep it with string attached all the time?

[Marhai]

Yes I keep the strings attached and I sometimes store them in ny yoyo box or pockets but mostly out on the table in my room.

[T4T3Z0R]

In my past few years I have been buying Yoyo upon yoyo. Each one of them has the bearing that no longer works in it. All of a sudden they go really loud and then start grinding on the inside I guess (they hardly spin when flicking them with your finger). I keep good care of them, I occasionally clean them and lube them with some quite thin lube. I really dont know where I AM going wrong. So that makes about my 5th bearing in about 2 years.

Do you have long hair?  i do and this sounds exactly like what happens when a piece of hair gets cought and all rolled up in the bearing

[rizki_yoist]

Yes I keep the strings attached and I sometimes store them in ny yoyo box or pockets but mostly out on the table in my room.

I'll say, storing yoyos with string attached for long time might be one of the reason because it may be damp because of sweat and humid weather, but I've never do a research for that so I can't be really sure. If you're going to store yoyos in longer time, it's good not to leave the string attached.
When cleaning the bearing, make sure you don't leave any residue inside the bearing. It's best not to leave it alone to dry. I personally don't clean the bearing too often, in fact my main player bearing has never been cleaned since I got it since about a year ago. I just deshield the bearing and leave it that way, it's still as smooth as new bearings and quiet also.
Do you open your yoyo often? e.g when getting jammed or maintenance?

[Kikaru]

I have the same problem too.
I posted my problem few months ago, and the input i got was "Did you hurt your bearings? If you did say sorry"

I have come up with the solution to my problem, might not be the same as yours.
The way I binded back then was with a huge portion of string.
The string rubbed on the response an extended period compared to a regular bind, causing pieces of silicone(or whatever you use) to go into the bearing.

It may be fixed with a quick clean, but when I binded back, the crusty bearing sound would come back.

[Marhai]

Yes I keep the strings attached and I sometimes store them in ny yoyo box or pockets but mostly out on the table in my room.

I'll say, storing yoyos with string attached for long time might be one of the reason because it may be damp because of sweat and humid weather, but I've never do a research for that so I can't be really sure. If you're going to store yoyos in longer time, it's good not to leave the string attached.
When cleaning the bearing, make sure you don't leave any residue inside the bearing. It's best not to leave it alone to dry. I personally don't clean the bearing too often, in fact my main player bearing has never been cleaned since I got it since about a year ago. I just deshield the bearing and leave it that way, it's still as smooth as new bearings and quiet also.
Do you open your yoyo often? e.g when getting jammed or maintenance?

I open it everytime I get one of those really annoying tight knots around the bearing after having done a perfectly normal bind, but it makes the knot anyway.

[Marhai]

Yes I keep the strings attached and I sometimes store them in ny yoyo box or pockets but mostly out on the table in my room.

I'll say, storing yoyos with string attached for long time might be one of the reason because it may be damp because of sweat and humid weather, but I've never do a research for that so I can't be really sure. If you're going to store yoyos in longer time, it's good not to leave the string attached.
When cleaning the bearing, make sure you don't leave any residue inside the bearing. It's best not to leave it alone to dry. I personally don't clean the bearing too often, in fact my main player bearing has never been cleaned since I got it since about a year ago. I just deshield the bearing and leave it that way, it's still as smooth as new bearings and quiet also.
Do you open your yoyo often? e.g when getting jammed or maintenance?

and also should I cover it in kitchen towels when drying it after a wash, to keep dust or dirt settling?

[rizki_yoist]

I suggest against separating the yoyo too often, use a toothpick or something to take care of jams instead.
As for cleaning the bearing, I personally rarely do that. I used to clean my bearing quite often but that only broke the bearing itself. Don't clean the bearing unless it's "grinding" when spun with your hands. Also, I always keep my bearing unshielded so when some string enters it is easier to be cleaned.
Warning, DO NOT touch the balls with anything other than for lubing purpose. I found that using brush, towels, etc to directly touch the balls may cause some parts to bend.

[Hollandyo]

I don't mean for this to come of brash, but your yoyo wouldn't have a knot after a bind if you were doing it correctly. But on the topic of your bearings. It sounds like a cleaning is in order, make sure you deshielded them before you give it a bath in mineral spirits. I prefer to run my bearings deshielded just so I don't have to deshield them as often. Soak the bearings for 20min or so with the occational stir/shake(depends on the vessel you are using). After that Simply take them out and set them on a paper towel until they are COMPLETELY dry. Then add one drop of lube and throw till your heart's content.

[Marhai]

I don't mean for this to come of brash, but your yoyo wouldn't have a knot after a bind if you were doing it correctly.

Don't tell me that you've never had the random bind knot. 

[nobody]

I don't mean for this to come of brash, but your yoyo wouldn't have a knot after a bind if you were doing it correctly.

Don't tell me that you've never had the random bind knot. 

Actually no.

It is probably just some dust. Deshield the bearing and hold it near a light, do you see any dirt inside of it? If yes clean it, if no it is probably just the lube breaking in.

[Japhle]

I don't mean for this to come of brash, but your yoyo wouldn't have a knot after a bind if you were doing it correctly.

Don't tell me that you've never had the random bind knot. 

Those used to happen to me quite frequently,(a few months after I started I got those almost every 3rd throw, sometimes many times in a row.) not at all anymore.


In regards to bearing maintenance though, one trick I found is that after you lube the bearing, put it on a pencil, add the drop or two of lube, then spin it with your finger, (The usual idea anyway...)

After that keep the bearing on the pencil and roll it on a flat surface with a bit of force, that will usually at least temporarily get rid of the cracking sounds from the bearing, at least for a little bit.

[Graiskye]

I don't mean for this to come of brash, but your yoyo wouldn't have a knot after a bind if you were doing it correctly.

Don't tell me that you've never had the random bind knot. 

Actually no.

It is probably just some dust. Deshield the bearing and hold it near a light, do you see any dirt inside of it? If yes clean it, if no it is probably just the lube breaking in.

Trying to say youve never had a knot from a bad bind, or weird flip of the string ??
 Sorry the odds are too great, the chances of a knot in your string too HUGE for it too NEVER have happened.
Either your lying or you dont yoyo much if ever.