Changing response in a fixed axle throw that cannot be taken apart

Heya everyone, I was looking for some advice on adjusting the response of a wooden throw that cannot be taken apart. The throw in question is just about entirely unresponsive so there is no hope of stalls or any other kind of responsive play - a bind is always needed to get a return. I was wondering what suggestions you may have to increase the response a little. I have tried double looping, and that makes the yoyos sleep time reduce to zero, although I have not yet tried waxing the string. The string is YYE cotton, and the string that came with the yoyo did not increase it’s response, so I doubt it’s the thickness, but if people find that string to be too thin generally then I’ll pick up something different. Ideally I’d like something ‘undoable’ encase I mess the yoyo up, but ultimately I’ll go along with whatever people think is the best option.

I apologize in advance if this is clearly discussed in a different thread, but I never have much success with the search engine - I promise I did try!

Thanks.

What yoyo is it? We’ve pretty much ruled out most of the TMBR line since I think all but one of their yoyos are a take-apart design

I am not super experienced with wood fixed axles, but I find over-tensioning the string seems to help for me. I am also having much better results with YYE’s Type 10 100% cotton as well.

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It’s a new Currier from Hildy Bros. I contacted their website but I haven’t heard anything back. Over tensioning the string is fine, and works to some degree, but it has to be a lot over tensioned to do any good. This too is fine if that’s just the way it is, but I was kinda hoping for a non-spaghetti string solution. This is my first wooden throw, so I’m crazy inexperienced in this regard, and this just wasn’t what I was expecting I guess. I suppose over tensioning isn’t really a problem, and so perhaps I should just deal with it - again I was just expecting it to play at least a little responsive at roughly neutral tension.

As I mentioned in the manufacturer thread, I don’t know how to quantify the lack of response except to say that I can perform a sloppy kwijibo and then bind afterwards without any fear of the yoyo coming back.

well getting thicker string can help, also more tension on the string.
I am going to go with the assumption you understand how to play fixed axle and go from there.
Non take apart throws can be taken apart it just takes tools.
You can if you really want this throw and to adjust it. cut the axle in half, then drill it out of the body of the yoyo.
get another dowel, then put it all back together. This time with a tighter gap setup.
Make sure you measure your gap, prior to you removing the axle. that way you can set it up tighter when you replace it.
Once you get it set at the gap you want. glue the axle back in with wood glue, and make sure not to let any seep out.
It will take a lot more time then a screw apart but its not that hard.

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I’m going to say that I know the principles of throwing a fixed axle yoyo, and I know that string tension helps, as does string diameter and so on. I also know that I can double loop these things with some wax. I have also read everything I could find on changing how responsive a fixed axle yoyo is when you can take it apart, or shave a little off the axle or so on - I just wondered if there were sneaky tricks for a throw that can’t easily be taken apart. In all honesty I suspect I may just buy a TMBR and play around with that, but this yoyo is really gorgeous and I’d really love to be able to play it as a responsive throw. If the only sensible option is to play it with crazy thick string and with tight tension then that is what I will do. I just wanted to ensure I wasn’t missing something obvious that would solve all these issues, without me having to play with really overwound string and so on. Perhaps putting a new axle in it will be the way forward in the longer term, and it has been suggested I contact mrcnja for a tidy mod.

You might be able to get a friction sticker or response pad on it if you cut an opening in the pad to get it around the axle. You’d probably need tweezers or some similar tool to place it. It might not work, but it could still be worth a try and shouldn’t do anything that is too hard to undo.

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Dip your string in salt water. That upped the response on my poly in butterfly. Might be different with cotton on wood, though.

I have not played the Currier, but just looking at the gap in pictures is what steered me away from this yoyo.

I have TMBRs of the same model that all have varying responsiveness. One Fremont had to have the axle shaved to the limit while another is unaltered, and the 3rd was only shaved a tiny bit. My Lovejoys have needed no alteration. My Baldwin needed a ton. It was dead unresponsive. My Turner needed a good bit of shaving down.

Ed said that his Currier comes back with a tug. Ultimately wood is inconsistent. I can’t tell if it is just that Ed is so good that it doesn’t matter what he throws or if there is really an inconsistency in material or build or skill gap.

I have 2 Curriers, both are knuckle busting responsive. The regular cotton string sold here is pretty thin, my Butterfly isn’t reliably responsive with it. The type-10 sold here (100 packs only) is a much better string and will probably take care of your problems.