Yo-yo Materials

Over the last centuries different materials have been used for making yo-yos, specifically yo-yo halves. This page deals with their history and yo-yoing properties. For axle materials see Axles.

Wood

Yo-yos were - if we ignore some old Greek ones made of clay - originally made out of wood. Since yo-yos are usually subjected to lots of physical abuse the woods used are most often hard woods. For its even density, maple has become the primary choice here. Beech is also sometimes seen. To add a nice color effect, plywood also is used, each layer dyed differently, looking like a rainbow. This technique was pioneered by Hummingbird.

Advantages:

• Abundantly available
• Can be easily turned
• Looks and feels nice

Disadvantages:

• Uneven density, making a yo-yo often slightly wobbly
• Difficult to process other than by turning. While it is technically possible to machine a starburst into a wooden yo-yo, it is usually not done for reasons of economy.
• Insufficient density for modern yo-yo shapes

Plastic

Since the advent of thermoplastics (i.e. plastics that can be molded by melting them), these materials have been widely used to make yo-yos.

Advantages:

• Cheap
• Easily molded into nearly any shape
• Easily dyed any color
• Good density

Disadvantages:

• Molding often leaves sharp edges
• Difficult to mold without enclosing gas bubbles

Celcon

One favorite among plastic yo-yo makers such as Yoyojam these days is Celcon, a slightly elastic thermoplastic that is very sturdy.

Delrin

Delrin is a lightweight, durable low wear, low friction plastic developed by Dupont in the 1950s as a metal substitute. Like Celcon it is an acetal resin. The Silk by Eric Wolff, the Milk by Paul Yath, the Lucha Libre by Throw Down, and the Gung-Fu by Death By Yo-Yo are the only yo-yos so far that are made of this material. Delrin is also used in the hub stacks of the YoYoFactory G5.

Heavy Gravity

Heavy Gravity is a plastic used by YoYoJam. It allows for rim weighting, but at a cheaper price than metal rim weighting. The Heavy Gravity material is much denser than the regular celcon plastic.

Aluminum

While other metals have been used to add rim weight to yo-yos, none was so often used as aluminum. Ever since Tom Kuhn made his first Silver Bullet, it is present as the most exclusive of yo-yo materials.

Advantages:

• Attractive
• Slightly more dense than most plastics (and won't have air bubbles like some plastics resulting in smoother play)
• Usually smoother and has less friction than plastic giving better grinds
• Anodization allows many different colors to be made

Disadvantages:

• Can corrode
• Expensive compared with plastic alternatives
• It is easy to get dings or scratches if it makes contact with rough surfaces
• Resonates easily, resulting in an annoying ringing during play

Titanium

Titanium is a relatively rare yo-yo material because its cost makes the yo-yo retail price prohibitive. Most yo-yos that do use titanium only using in small quantities for the weight rings, such as the YoYoJam Night Moves, or for the axle, such as the Oxygene Oxy4. Only the YoYoJam Titan, Kyo TiPhiter and Derti have been made almost entirely of titanium.

Advantages

• As strong as steel, but lighter
• Attractive
• Corrosion resistant

Disadvantages

• Very expensive

Magnesium

Magnesium is another rare yo-yo material with properties similar to aluminum. It strong and light, and often used in racing car wheels. The Duncan Freehand Mg is the first and only yo-yo to be made from a magnesium alloy.

Advantages

• Strong
• Light
• Can be machined to very precise tolerances
• Can be anodized or powder coated

Disadvantages

• Expensive
• Harder to work with than aluminum
• Flammable in powder form

Corian

Corian is the same material that counter tops are made from.

There are currently no fully produced yoyos in this materlial, but a few prototypes of yoyos made of this material have been made.