How to build a wooden yo-yo
What You’ll Need:
- 3⁄4″ thick hardwood or plywood board, large enough to cut out two 21⁄2″ disks
- Safety goggles
- Drill
- 21⁄2″ hole saw with 1⁄4″ pilot bit
- Sandpaper
- Tung oil
- 1⁄4″ x 2″ bolt with locking nut
- Two 1⁄4″ washers
- 1⁄4″ x 1⁄4″ x 1⁄2″ nylon spacer (from a hardware store)
- Yo-yo string (available at some hobby stores and online; you can also buy a very cheap yo-yo and use the string from that
What You’ll Do:
1. Put on your goggles. Using the hole-saw bit, drill out the two wooden disks. (The pilot bit will make a hole in the center.)
2. Sand the wooden disks very smooth. Make sure that the edges are rounded. When the two disks are sanded to your satisfaction, apply the tongue oil.
3. Slide a washer over the bolt, and push the bolt through the pilot hole in the first disk.
4. Slide the spacer over the bolt, and place the yo-yo string over the spacer. Yo-yo string comes with a loop at one end.
5. Push the bolt through the second disk. Place the second washer over the bolt and screw on the locking nut. Do not screw the nut on too tight.
6. Tie a slipknot on the other end of the string, and your yo-yo is complete. The slipknot will tighten around your finger.
Enjoy your wooden yo-yo!
I yoyo alot with unresponsive yoyos. I usually use the speedaholic (3yoyodesign). yoyo strings come with loops for convenience.
Why do you have to use a nylon spacer ?
is waxed string best to use?
where do I get tung oil
You could probably find online somewhere.
yoyoing is my favorite thing. i can do kamikaze,cold fusion,and a lot of trick combos
yo-yoing is my favorite thing to do. I can do tricks like mach 5 and brain twister
Yikes, good catch on the tung oil. We’ve fixed the error. Thanks for everyone who let us know!
I’m guessing it must hurt like crazy to get the “tongue” oil… Or maybe you really meant “tung” oil?
I believe the finish you are using on the yo-yo is tung oil, not tongue oil. Tung oil is squeezed from the nuts of the tung tree, much like sunflower oil is squeezed from sunflower seeds. I don’t know where you’d get tongue oil.
why does it have to be yoyo string not just string?
because it my be a type of string that may not make the yoyo go up