This page will describe in detail the various mods. This is the main reason for this web site. It will give cost of parts and resources where to get them. Eventually, if there is enough interest, I might try to sell kits directly. I'm not really looking to make a profit, rather let people enjoy their yo's in new ways, and for less money than buying super high priced yos.

Well, I finally got around to a tweaking project I've been thinking about for some time. Ever since I played a Cold Fusion GT, I've been trying to think of a poor-mans ( yeah, that's me ) way to get the performance of the CF-GT, but for a hell of a lot less than $130+ bucks.

The candidate, or victim if you prefer, is my beloved Cherry Bomb. I like the CB allot, but I always thought it would be nice to get some more rotating mass, much more than you get when you install the supplied outer rubber rings. Remember, my ultimate goal was to have a CF-GT, for the price of a CB plus time and materials. Also the CB lends itself nicely to tweaking as it already has slots for weight rings.

Lately at work I've been using the machine shop, and I noticed that we had a few scraps of 2" brass round stock. Hmmm, brass weight rings.... Yes I think that definitely has the potential to substantially increase the mass, and possibly look good as well..

So the first thing I do is measure the ring and the ring slot on the CB and quickly enter the measurements in AutoCAD, so I have a drawing to work with. Finally on one lunch break I get the lathe set up and start turning some brass.

I oversized the depth of the rings to a full .25". The normal rings are only .16". The rings extrude slightly beyond the edge of the yo by about .050". I intended to make the rings so that they came flush with the outside surface, which was .2" and change, then I said to myself, screw it, lets go for an even .25" -- if knew that if I wanted to, I could always sand them down after the fact.

So, how close did I get to the CF-GT performance? Damn close. The first throw I made with it spun like a motorized yo-yo. Just like the CF-GT I played. I was pumped!

Actually at first I was second guessing myself and asking myself if I might have over done it. The difference in feel from the stock CB was night and day, it came almost as a shock -- this ain't my trusty, humble little CB anymore. Whereas I could whip the stock CB around with reckless abandon, this tweaked version commands a whole lot more respct and caution -- otherwise you stand a good change on inflicting serious injury to ones self or close proximity valuables -- just like the CF's.

I like the stock CB very much. In fact I think I'll get another one to leave as stock. But after a few throws and doing some intense string jams, all doubt was removed. This yo rocks! And the shinny brass looks really cool spinning.

Any down sides: Yeah, there's a wobble. I'm not exactly sure why I got it, but it's consistently there. It's not bad, but I'd like to see if I can remove it completely. I measured the rings, and they were matched to +/-.001 inch, so it's not due to poor machining. The only thing I suspect is that I had to press the rings into the yo via a vice. It's possible that the yo distorted in the process of pressing the rings into place, although there are no obvious external signs. The only fix will be to make a balancing jig and then add small weights inside the CB cut-out to fix the imbalance. But that wont be happening anytime soon, cause it's fun as hell to play as it is.

One other slight downside: I usually do pull overs every time I mount a split bottom entry ( Like split-the-atom...) I got one nasty string burn in the process. Ouch! Now I know why Play-Max gives yo-yo gloves with the CF's... It's also going to be brutal on strings.

Cost of parts: Well, that's hard to say. If I had to buy the 2" round stock, it would probably go for around $20 per foot. I spent a good hour machining the rings. So unless you have access to a machine shop, or know someone who is a machinist, it probably wouldn't be worth the effort. Not to mention there are other cheaper tricks to increase the weight ring mass like: solder, or some other soft formable metal. But, if you could see the brass in motion, you'd know why it was worth the effort.

Having gotten my feet wet in the machine shop, the next project will be weight rings for my RB-II's. Actually I thought of putting weight rings on the RB's before I thought of the CB. And if there's a yo that really needs some extra rotational mass, it's the RB's.

I'm going to make two different versions. I have four RB's altogether. Two I have dialed in for two hand ( No, I'm not a two hand expert by any means ) the other RB I have set up for all-round. If you've ever seen the RB's close up ( Look at picture above ) you'll see that there is a squared cut-out along the outside rim. All this cut-out is, is where the side caps would be if it was a Raider. Yes, the RB-II is nothing more than the Raider without end caps. Yomaga does allot of precycling in their yo's.

Project 2.1: For the two-hand or looping yo's, I'm only going to make the ring so they fit precisely into the cut-out, and round them so there is a flush and continuous soft corner to the rims. This should just slightly increase the rotational mass, and fill in the otherwise annoying square cut on the sides. I think the aesthetic factor will end up being more significant than the functional factor.

Project 2.2: For the all-round, where I want a little more rotational mass for string tricks, without compromising it's looping comfort. I'm going to machine the yo first. I'll probably take the cut-out and go cut straight back into the yo as far as I can without weakening the structure. So the ring will be substantially thicker and heavier than the looping version.

The pictures above shows the fixture I need to hold the yo's pricisely, so they can be turned on the lathe. The small diameter rod in the center will actually be threaded to allow the nut inside the yo ( Not shown ) to clamp the yo to the fixture. The critical dimension is where the spacers would normally go. This is where the fixture will center the yo for turning. I've already started turning the basic shape. Now I have to do the more intricate turning.

Of the two, I'm more interested in the 2.2 tweak, as the functional improvement will be more noticable. I'm not looking to go as radical as I did with the CB. I just trying to find a better balance in performance. Stay tuned...