Hey everyone! This morning I decided to repair my Yoyo Factory BoHo and thought I would share the process since I’ve seen this topic come up a couple times. It should be pretty similar for all fixed axle wooden yoyos. In my case, the BoHo was sent to me with one side of the axle having not been glued.
THINGS YOU WILL NEED:
BoHo:
Two stacks of 8 USPCC playing cards:
Glue and something small like a toothpick to apply it inside the axle hole:
I like to use a clear epoxy, however, most wood glues should be fine. Just don’t use a poly based wood glue as it will expand and potentially foam over into the inside gap
A vise and something to pad the jaws so it does not damage the yoyo while clamping it:
The first thing you’ll do is put your vise pads on and hold the yoyo inside the space to get a general sense of how open the jaws will need to be so you don’t have to fiddle too much with the vise once the glue is applied.
Second, apply a coating of glue to the inside of the axle hole. Be careful to not apply too much as it may squeeze out into the response area making the response potentially very rough and the yoyo unable to sleep. Just a light coat around the inside edge should do it.
Third, insert the two stacks of 8 playing cards all the way into the gap on either side of the yoyo so they are pressed flush up against the axle. Now would also be a good time to align the wood grain (I aligned the grain on mine after the fact, but it would be easier to do during this step).
And lastly, center the yoyo in your vise so the jaws are applying pressure across the center of the yoyo. The cards will ensure the gap is even and the correct diameter.
And remember, fixing a fixie isn’t rocket science. It’s fun! You can change things, experiment with axle wood types, gap diameters, and even add your own response if you’d like. You’ll find that most mass produced wooden fixies will use a 1/4” axle, however, 5/16” is also a popular axle diameter. Once you’ve seen both it’s pretty easy to eyeball which is which.
END RESULT:
