Making a yoyo

[hedgeclipper]

Alright so I recently got into yoyoing again really drunk at three in the morning and some of my friends and I stayed up all night mastering many tricks. Was lots of fun, although i honestly cannot understand how I was able to yoyo in my condition. Anyways, one of the ideas we came up with is that we should make some yoyos. I have a very good metal lathe and access to various different materials. I'm thinking Aluminum or some sort of plastic. I could easily carve the shapes of the sides out of clyindrical blocks of material and order parts. I'm not sure what I'd use for an axle, but I think it would be a really good project.  I could make everythign exactly to my specifications. Have any of you done such an endeavor? Does this sound like a good idea? What are the characteristics to keep in mind when making plans?

e: it looks like there's a lot of information already here for me to read, but I could use some specific help and this might turn into a project I might update anyways. I am young and rather inexperienced, but I'm gertting the help of a friend who's a professor of mechanical engineering and an expert at machining stuff. We plan to make designs in CAD. And I also have various sanders, a drill press and many other things and, if need be, access to the machining equipment at a university, btu I'd rather do it on my own for the experience.

[FunTimeYoHap]

You're young, drunk and have access to power tools?  You should totally build a yoyo.     

[justink1025]

I once talked to a guy to made yoyo once and
i heard if you want to make a yoyo for real you need
to rent CNC factory.....
and this cost alot because you have to hire ppl too

[fzzyrn]

you can make them by hand on a lathe. Thats how all the 3yo3 yoyos get made.

[hedgeclipper]

You're young, drunk and have access to power tools?  You should totally build a yoyo.     

Yeah. What would you do in my situation?
I don't, however, intend to be drunk when the actual turning is done.

I've lathed various cylindrical objects, before, none as complex as a yoyo, though. It seems like it shouldn't be too difficult.
My plan is to:
-turn two cylindrical yoyo halves, although I'm not sure of specifications or material yet, probably plastic.
-turn two small metal cylinders, shaped to fit spacers and hubstacks
-tap the metal cylinders to give them threads of the size of the axle I chose
-insert the cylinders into the middle of the yoyo halves
-add axle, spacers, hubstacks and a good bearing
and I should have a yoyo
How crazy should this be and do you guys have any recommendationns about shape, size, weight, material, etc?
All I've got right now is 2.5 inch diameter mylar rods, but I don't think mylar is a great material for yoyos. I could probably get scraps of material from the university or something, though, or go to a wholesaler.

[FunTimeYoHap]

Keep making 'em until you have a playable model, then make another with some minor tweeking to further fit your taste.  You'll know what you want to change about your design.   Best of luck.

[Humphrey]

I just so happen to be making yoyos on my lathe.

First off, I like delrin to turn. It doesn't melt easily and it cuts like butter.

Your big issue, at least in my experience, is the axle system. Delrin is too soft to tap into unless you have really coarse threads. What I do is buy 1/4-20set screws, drill them out, and tap them for the axle of the yoyo. Then you drill outthe body of the yoyo to 1/4-20 and screw the set screw in. This is good if you use Teflon tape to keep the set screws in place. If you don't then eventually the half will strip. Recently I've been experimenting with helicoils to fix this problem.

As far as aluminum goes, I'm too impatient to cut it. It takes forever.