Does Tom Kuhn Sleep Machine require Turbo Discs?

Does a Tom Khun sleep machine require “turbo discs?”
I need to give this one a try again, been a while.

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It’s difficult to play if you don’t have any turbo disks

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You may encounter a ‘double issue if you throw a Sleep Machine without discs.

The initial common thought is that without the friction discs, the yoyo won’t come back very well without a good bind… or back at all🙀

The reality is that the friction discs also serve the function of providing enough friction to discourage the yoyo from ‘falling down the string’ like any yoyo without response pads.

…Just get any good response pad yoyo and pull out the pads and try having fun with it🤔

So the friction discs are important for both directions of travel.

Running a SM ‘naked’ will certainly negatively alter the power generating results of your throw.

And this is especially true of a wooden yoyo with no real stock rim weight.

…Something I use to do years ago was pretty interesting at the time. Interesting enough that one of my Roller Woodys is in the National yoyo Museum with the simple mod.

I seriously got tired of the outer edges of the friction linen discs getting torn up. Even though a certain fuzzing fringe was helpful for response. So I just cut into the yoyo halves, several thousandths of an inch, to submerge the edges from getting torn up so fast🤔
The cut was not done equal depth from ID to OD. It was a slight taper from the inner diameter to deeper at the outer diameter.
So just the outer edge was protected; leaving the major area of the disc functional.

You can make your own friction discs… but you need some tools. First you need adhesive linen bookbinding tape. And then you need a washer cutting double punch set.

I will provide more info once I get back home.

And it will make things very clear.

…plus another option not yet mentioned.:wink:

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I’ve only ever used mine naked. I have to double-loop the bearing but I get reliable response. It does tend to fall down the string like doc says at lower rpms, but it’s not severe enough to take the fun out of it. Ed Haponik said in another thread that he’s had good results with a single thin Dif pad on a Sleep Machine. I’m planning to pick some up next time I make an order, but I am wondering if the adhesive will affect the paint.

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:thinking:

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No, the adhesive will not affect the paint.

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Free your mind, and your ■■■ will follow

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I bet a nice mod would be to do an evenly deep cut for a modern silicone pads.

Also you could add some negative response holes.

I remember we used to coat linen disks with super glue to make them last longer. It worked pretty well! I don’t think I ever did that to one of my wood ones though…

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I have 2 Sleep Machines. My first one came without turbo discs and my second one did. Once I got my pack of turbo discs with my newer SM, I proceeded to put them on every adjustable gap TK that I own. I haven’t tried the discs on any of the no jives, but I don’t think I need to with them.

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If you are OK with physical cuts on the inside of the yo-yo, this works REALLY well … shockingly well, and takes only a reasonble knife, it isn’t difficult to do. You basically end up with low-end wood starburst response:

I favor it for the wood yo-yos that aren’t reversible since you’re never gonna convert them from butterfly to imperial, etc. Or padoga lol.

But obviously it is permanent, turbo discs are not.

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Tah dah😉>>

Could not find a Sleep Machine… But I did find a Roller Woody. <Same innards

PS… Yes, I do still mod stuff😉

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aaaaaand bookmarked.

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That’s a nice Roller Woody! I have one like that.

Beautiful job

How does it play now?

It looks like the official site had a restock on parts. Turbo discs and axle sleeves are in stock, and I’m pretty sure they were sold out early this year.

Yeah, I noticed that they updated and restocked the store too. Could this be a revival of the Tom Kuhn brand?

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