# Basic tips for wood axle maintenance
**URL:** https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/basic-tips-for-wood-axle-maintenance/333716
**Category:** Yo-Yo Mods and Maintenance
**Created:** [February 7, 2021, 4:34pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/basic-tips-for-wood-axle-maintenance/333716 "2021-02-07T16:34:32Z")
**Posts on this page:** 12
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@DocPop](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/DocPop)
#### Post date: [February 7, 2021, 4:34pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/basic-tips-for-wood-axle-maintenance/333716/1 "2021-02-07T16:34:33Z")
A friend asked about ways to smooth out their axle on a new wooden yo-yo. So I made this quick video
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56HkYM3NxQc)
BTW, if you are on TikTok, you can find me there too [TikTok - Make Your Day](https://www.tiktok.com/@doctorpopular) I’ve been making a lot of these short tutorials and silly videos on TikTok lately.
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### Author:  [@anon5341354](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/anon5341354)
#### Post date: [February 7, 2021, 9:22pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/basic-tips-for-wood-axle-maintenance/333716/2 "2021-02-07T21:22:00Z")
Just beware that if you intentionally smooth out the axle on your yoyo, responsiveness will drop somewhat.
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### Author:  [@DocPop](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/DocPop)
#### Post date: [February 7, 2021, 10:05pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/basic-tips-for-wood-axle-maintenance/333716/3 "2021-02-07T22:05:13Z")
Great point! I try to talk people out of smoothing their axle, unless they absolutely need to. Personally, I’d prefer a little too responsive vs a little too unresponsive.
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### Author:  [@anon5341354](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/anon5341354)
#### Post date: [February 7, 2021, 10:10pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/basic-tips-for-wood-axle-maintenance/333716/4 "2021-02-07T22:10:57Z")
I find that Legend Wings are particularly sensitive to how smooth the axle or walls are. There is a sweet spot and either side of it can cause a few finicky play issues.
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### Author:  [@FireMind](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/FireMind)
#### Post date: [February 7, 2021, 11:32pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/basic-tips-for-wood-axle-maintenance/333716/5 "2021-02-07T23:32:14Z")
Any tips on smoothing the walls out on a Legend Wing? The one I have seems to be a bit rough
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### Author:  [@jhb8426](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/jhb8426)
#### Post date: [February 8, 2021, 12:47am UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/basic-tips-for-wood-axle-maintenance/333716/6 "2021-02-08T00:47:34Z")
You could use some double sided tape to attach a piece of sand paper (grit of your choice) to the blade of a putty knife and sand the inside. I’ve done this to open the gap on a couple of yoyos with good results.
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### Author:  [@DocPop](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/DocPop)
#### Post date: [February 8, 2021, 5:31pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/basic-tips-for-wood-axle-maintenance/333716/7 "2021-02-08T17:31:39Z")
You can use sand paper if you want, but I wouldn’t. I’m not throwing my Legend Wing with sleep tricks in mind, so I really prioritize snappy response. You’ll lose that if you smooth the walls and axle too much.
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### Author:  [@anon5341354](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/anon5341354)
#### Post date: [February 8, 2021, 7:40pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/basic-tips-for-wood-axle-maintenance/333716/8 "2021-02-08T19:40:54Z")
It depends on the grit size and how aggressive you do it, but yeah, I would avoid sandpaper personally.
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### Author:  [@Digited](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Digited)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2021, 4:25am UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/basic-tips-for-wood-axle-maintenance/333716/9 "2021-02-09T04:25:12Z")
I’m an übernoob but wouldn’t a slightly rough wood axle smooth out with use? I have a NoJive that needed a new axle when I got it. Finally popped one in recently and found took a few throws and sleepers to get smooth.
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### Author:  [@DocPop](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/DocPop)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2021, 7:36am UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/basic-tips-for-wood-axle-maintenance/333716/10 "2021-02-09T07:36:07Z")
Yeah, play will always smooth out a yo-yo. Sometimes folks like to fastforward a little bit to get to a slicker axle faster. And sometimes the axle is really too grabby to start with, so these tricks can help. If possible, I always like to just play with the yo-yo as is, but then again I’m usually not throwing a wooden yo-yo with expectations of getting a long sleep on it.
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### Author:  [@Digited](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Digited)
#### Post date: [February 11, 2021, 2:50pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/basic-tips-for-wood-axle-maintenance/333716/11 "2021-02-11T14:50:34Z")
Thx DocPop; I thought it was my technique that needed smoothing at first! Nature vs. Nurture…
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### Author:  [@photogeek](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/photogeek)
#### Post date: [February 11, 2021, 4:40pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/basic-tips-for-wood-axle-maintenance/333716/12 "2021-02-11T16:40:19Z")
Axle smoothness is really a function of what you want to do with a wood axle throw. Those Russell Coke loopers had the roughest axles I’ve ever seen. But lotta people put shows on with them all over the world.
For me, I mostly just play an axle to the smoothness I want these days. There were times in the past when I’d try to speed up the process with sanding or pulling a looped string through a bunch of times. But either I’ve gotten more patient (unlikely) or I’ve just got so many wood throws that I can spend time breaking a new one in (more likely). So I just play to smooth them out these days.