Thread: how can I shim a MFHZ

Is there a way to widen the gap in a MFH?

I have a metal free hand that has a silicone mod and plays pretty ok; it just has an awfully small gap. And If I put spacers anywhere within the bearing configuration the string gets caught up.

Any suggestions? Shoudl I look around for a wider bearing maybe? Or will I have to send this to someone for another mod?

Is the bearing set up similar to other Duncans? If it is, the simplest way would be to put shims of some sort behind the spacers. If that causes the string to slip between the bearing and the spacers, you can either try to use thinner shims (you can try cutting your own out of index card or something similar) or you can get a wider bearing like you said. That would widen the gap without exposing the edges of the bearing to the string. If you have thinner spacers, you can try beefcaking it, but with the stock spacers, it will probably be too wide a gap if you do that.

You could look around for the old Dif-E-Yo large bearing conversion kit. It's spacers made to fit Duncan yoyo's but sized to hold a large bearing or a KK. Might have to go straight to Frank on that though because they're not in stock anywhere really anymore since he started making small bearing KK's.

I had some in a MFH a while ago. Didnt really care for it much though, but I dont care much for MFH's that much to begin with so that may be why.

http://www.vxb.com/page/bearings/PROD/5mm/kit884 these are 3mm wide, instead of 4mm wide for standard duncan bearings. If its as thin as you say it is, beefcaked it should be around 5mm i'm guessing? worth a shot to post atleast.

Thanks for the help guys.

I tried the slimmer shims and it worked fine for a while and then it got caught up again. I guess I'll try the beefcake next. I don;t think this yoyo is worth me bothering Frank about so if the beefcake doesn't work, then I'll just sell it.

Thanks for the vxb link. I actually just ordered a 10 pack or bearings from them that I am going to try and turn into concaves.

They'll likely break. KK's have a thicker outer race than flat bearings so that when they're concaved, the strength of the race isnt compromised. Put a concaved groove in a flat bearing with a normal outer race and the race gets weak. I've had some hold up alright but alot of them broke on me or somewhere down the road for someone else on the ones I've given away.

Originally Posted by Luke Vader

They'll likely break. KK's have a thicker outer race than flat bearings so that when they're concaved, the strength of the race isnt compromised. Put a concaved groove in a flat bearing with a normal outer race and the race gets weak. I've had some hold up alright but alot of them broke on me or somewhere down the road for someone else on the ones I've given away.

oh no.. that's not good to hear. I shoudl have asked about it before I spent the $$$ on 10 bearings. I just read the sticky and thought it would be cool to try. Well, if nothing else, at least I will have some spare bearings that I won't be scared to run dry. Maybe I'll try just a very shallow convave and see how it holds up.

Another mod I read about was stuffing the bearing full of metal polish and spinning it for a minute and then re-cleaning them. Sounds like fun, have you tried that one? And is it worth the trouble?

I've not had much luck with Shield's polish mod. Nothing that performs better than just a regular cleaning anyways. I've had a few end up spinning worse afterwards and ended up having to clean all the polish out, so I had to clean it twice to get the same result (once for cleaning out the lube and again to clean out the polish). The polish mod has come in handy a few times for me on saving locked up bearings though. Works pretty decent for that.

Either way, good luck with the VXB bearings. They're packed to the gills with grease but are pretty decent if you manage to clean all of that grease out. Carb and Choke Cleaner works pretty good for that. It's alot stronger than mineral spirits (alot more toxic as well) and tends to cut right through the grease. You can pick a can of it up for a couple of dollars at Walmart or anywhere that sells car parts. Mineral spirits may take a few cleanings to get all of the grease out.

Originally Posted by plaunier

Shoudl I look around for a wider bearing maybe?

ive seen wider bearings around that one bearing site which i cant remember the name of.

If you wouldn't mind posting a photo of the inside of the yoyo with the normal configuration that would help us figure out what exactly is going on.

I myself have had sucess in modding the yoyo slightly and using exsisting spacers and a HSpin size bearing to make the gap larger. Plays fun aswell, not sure how it would fair on a metal zero though.

That would be quite doable, Skip. In fact, I may have to do that to my own metal zero.

Johnson, get the drill-press!

Originally Posted by plaunier

Another mod I read about was stuffing the bearing full of metal polish and spinning it for a minute and then re-cleaning them. Sounds like fun, have you tried that one? And is it worth the trouble?

Like Luke, I've had some good results in recovering bearings that were not spinning well, but I've never done it on a bearing that was good to start with. I had 5 spintastics maelstrom bearings that were under par and all but one responded well to the treatment.