Gearing up for another spinner

Maybe helpful for some:

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I’m using WD-40 for its solvent properties. I usually have to hold and wipe the bearings between two paper towels for a while, and then let them sit on the towels overnight to drain most of the residual WD. I’m thinking of hitting them with some isopropyl alcohol to remove the WD and speed drying.

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Brilliant! I’ve been obsessively sizing and then pressing the bearings into place while the acrylic is still warm. What a relief — thanks for sharing this. :+1:

In my younger days when I had to clean inline skate bearings regularly I’ve used gasoline(Really bad idea but super effective), WD 40, and specific purpose citrus based degreasers.

Almost always put a large amount of the degreasing agent of choice in a small glass and shook heavily, but I had a lot of grit and sand and dust to get out. After all the bearings had been through I’d save the non-flammable and do 1 more pass with fresh until the solution stayed noticeably clean. I kept a towel around I would set them on between. I’d usually then run them through soapy water and a rinse to get the last of the cleaning agents off, unless I used WD-40 and was re-lubing with oil(usually sewing machine oil). then I’d use a hair drier to get them as dry as I could and then apply the oil.

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I pop them into an oven set as low as it goes (150F) and leave them for an hour. Not hot enough to melt any of the plastic or nylon components/shields but will leave them bone dry.

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At some point I want to experiment with a design where, when they compress, you have a flush surface on the bearing instead of a corner… but my stupid day job & my awesome wife’s laser-honey-do list has so far interfered. :wink:

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i haven’t bothered with the spinners, but i do have a little ultrasonic bath i use with regularity. i find a couple of drops of dish soap, some hot water, and a couple of 3 minute cycles are usually all you need. it’s like frigging magic at getting oil off of things.

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Great ideas, everyone…thanks!

Smart. I’ll definitely be using this cut. Thanks @Dan

If you are looking for a cheap place to buy bearings, I’ve found that VXB.com usually is one of the cheapest places to get almost any size bearing.

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Wanted to report back on this…

YES! TOTALLY did the trick. Sprayed 'em w/ WD-40, wrapped 'em in paper towel for a day, and they work GREAT now. We compared to a real purchased, pre-fabricated spinner and got literally the same length spin. Very happy.

Thanks!

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i missed this before. just to drive the point home for others, wd-40 is a solvent (stands for water displacement). it’s not a lubricant (referring to it as such is actually listed as a myth on their website). it should never be used to lubricate hinges, or anything else, really; when it feels like it’s lubricating, you’re getting the benefit of things dissolving, and any problems fixed with this ā€˜lubricant’ are likely masked and will return, though it’s possible that wd-40 occasionally fixes a problem that had been previously masked by extra lube.

there are way better lubricants out there if you need them, but wd-40 is a great solvent for lots of things, so worth keeping on hand. if you need lubricants, there are things like 3-in-1 oil or graphites, depending on the problem.

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From the WD-40 website:

A Question of Lubrication

Myth: WD-40Ā® Multi-Use Product is not really a lubricant.

Fact: While the ā€œW-Dā€ in WD-40Ā® stands for Water Displacement, WD-40Ā® Multi-Use Product is a unique, special blend of lubricants. The product’s formulation also contains anti-corrosion agents and ingredients for penetration, water displacement and soil removal.

Sort of an odd double negative, but the WD-40 website, at least, claims that WD-40 not being a lubricant is a myth, or in other words, they claim that WD-40 is in fact a lubricant, along with suiting other purposes.

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:blush:

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Yes that argument rages all over the internet.

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haha, i swear to bits it used to say other things.

regardless i stand by my recommendation never to use it as a lubricant - even if it technically works sometimes, there are better tools for the job (and better places to use wd40, i still love the stuff)

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I agree completely :slightly_smiling_face:

As long as the bearing runs smoothly I don’t think the quality of the lubricant matters much in a fidget spinner made from skate bearings. You are never going to wear it out with next to no load.

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for sure but if we can make it spin 5% faster with different lube, i mean, isn’t it the right thing to do? :smiley:

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It think it would spin for longer, rather than faster, with a very thin low friction lubrication. I have some PTFE spray that might fit the bill.

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