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What to do with all that old worn out yo-yo string?
Make counterweights for freehand yo-yo play!
These are incredibly easy and simple to make. The basic anatomy of a WaspNest CW is: A strong hollow tube that forms hole that goes through the CW, some kind of heavy material as the core to add weight, string to wrap around the tube and core, then a glue/water mixture to soak the WaspNest in to harden.
There are multiple types of tubing that can be used. Your everyday plastic straw will not do. The types of tube I have found have come from ballpoint pens. A particularly strong tube I found was from a empty ink cartridge from a ballpoint pen. Another but not as strong came from the rubber coated plastic grip from a ballpoint pen.
There are couple types of weight that can be used. Most counterweights, such as the Duncan Freehand ones, are around 10-12 grams. An exact weight isn't very necessary, it actually depends on your preference of weight. My first WaspNest used an aluminum nut that probably weighed 4-5 grams. Then the string added about 3 grams more, then the glue coating added about 3.5 grams more. That averaged to about 11.5 grams. Compared to the bouncy ball CW from Duncan they are very close in weight. My second and third WaspNests used clay instead. I averaged that those turned out around 13 grams because I used a little more clay and let the WaspNest soak longer in the glue/water mixture.
Any type of string will work well. For the first one I used mostly Slick 6's for my first one and then one 100% Poly for an accent on top. My second one was 100% Polys and my last one was mostly 100% Polys with a Slick 6 on top for a color change. I cannot tell any difference in weight because of the string type, among all three of them.
The first WaspNext I made was soaked in a mixture of 2/3 water-soluble glue and 1/3 water. Due to the thick viscosity it turned out a little white and faded. But it is much stronger than my other two. It's literally impossible to pick the string apart. I used for my second and third ones a 1/2 glue and 1/2 water mixture. They are not as strong and stuck together as the first but they will not fall apart anytime soon. They are also not as faded at the first one, so the color of the strings shows well.
Make counterweights for freehand yo-yo play!
These are incredibly easy and simple to make. The basic anatomy of a WaspNest CW is: A strong hollow tube that forms hole that goes through the CW, some kind of heavy material as the core to add weight, string to wrap around the tube and core, then a glue/water mixture to soak the WaspNest in to harden.
There are multiple types of tubing that can be used. Your everyday plastic straw will not do. The types of tube I have found have come from ballpoint pens. A particularly strong tube I found was from a empty ink cartridge from a ballpoint pen. Another but not as strong came from the rubber coated plastic grip from a ballpoint pen.
There are couple types of weight that can be used. Most counterweights, such as the Duncan Freehand ones, are around 10-12 grams. An exact weight isn't very necessary, it actually depends on your preference of weight. My first WaspNest used an aluminum nut that probably weighed 4-5 grams. Then the string added about 3 grams more, then the glue coating added about 3.5 grams more. That averaged to about 11.5 grams. Compared to the bouncy ball CW from Duncan they are very close in weight. My second and third WaspNests used clay instead. I averaged that those turned out around 13 grams because I used a little more clay and let the WaspNest soak longer in the glue/water mixture.
Any type of string will work well. For the first one I used mostly Slick 6's for my first one and then one 100% Poly for an accent on top. My second one was 100% Polys and my last one was mostly 100% Polys with a Slick 6 on top for a color change. I cannot tell any difference in weight because of the string type, among all three of them.
The first WaspNext I made was soaked in a mixture of 2/3 water-soluble glue and 1/3 water. Due to the thick viscosity it turned out a little white and faded. But it is much stronger than my other two. It's literally impossible to pick the string apart. I used for my second and third ones a 1/2 glue and 1/2 water mixture. They are not as strong and stuck together as the first but they will not fall apart anytime soon. They are also not as faded at the first one, so the color of the strings shows well.
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Signing UpStep 1Everything you might need.
Just read the image notes below for a good idea what to use to make a WaspNest Counterweight.
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I think yarn will give some more versatility with the colors.