I recently picked up a couple of TKs: what I believe is an early Roller Woody (small, 80’s style box in black) and a later Sleep Machine (large box).
In the attached pics, you can see the aluminum, “female” threaded insert installed proud ~1mm in the RW and flush in the SM. So far (and from my noob’s perspective) I’ve found the flush method easier to tune, but in theory, the earlier version provides a bigger gap (should you want that).
It seems to me that the flush insert depth is an evolutionary design change. The SM’s box lists a model #20311, c.2001. The RW’s box has no numbers and appears to be model-agnostic.
I’ve got the SM feeling good, but have yet to dial in the RW. I can’t seem too get response feeling good: set so that the string doesn’t drag on the insert flanges and the gap’s huge and has almost non-existent response friction. Reducing the doesn’t seem to improve response friction, even when the insert flanges leave so little room on the bearing that the string drags or hangs. I also noticed that only at certain gap setting do the stripes line up…
Any tips on dialing in the early style axle assembly? It seems self-evident that Turbo Discs are useless here as the insert flange protrudes so far past the face of the pad, but is that actually true?
You’re absolutely correct about there being more than one version of the RW and SM. The initial models all had the bearing assembly protrude above the inside gap. Later models are flush and rely on the turbo discs for response. That’s not to say that the turbo discs don’t help on the older models, but they’re not necessary.
I have a prototype of the Roller Woody (Essentially a clean machine with a flush bearing seat) and it’s not a good throw; getting the yo-yo to return is almost impossible, even with a bind. The production model of the RW is considerably heavier and the bearing seat not being flush helps the yo-yo to catch and wind the string.
I’ve been experimenting with response pads on my earlier (I.e. non-flush, or “proud” inserts) RW & SM.
I think the error in my thinking above was assuming that the proud inserts’ offset from the inner faces would prevent the string from sufficient contact w/ the applied response pad. In practice, that’s not the case at all.
I settled on a single Duncan sticker and a 1x string loop with the same gap I liked before with 2x loop and no stickers. The response seems more consistent as the string wears. I tried two stickers but could find the sweet spot between too much and too little. My later SM w/ flush inserts and double Turbo Discs isn’t difficult to dial in so perhaps the Duncan stickers with their higher friction are a driver here.
I think the proud inserts primarily serve to center the string on the bearing, though the recommendation of 2x looping the string may encourage a touch of friction from the face of the insert as well.
They are; I was surprised! Like the Turbos though they seem short-lived. I guess if they weren’t so ephemeral, they’d be less effective. Reminds me of Fruit Stripe gum: it’s super delicious for about 10 secs, then tastes like glue ;)…perhaps I should try re-purposing spent Fruit Stripe as response pads!
Glad I stumbled upon this thread I got an older model big box RW and SM a few months back and also was having issues dialing them in properly. I did end up adding Turbo Disk and felt some improvement but like yall are saying there are probably better options. On another note I seem to notice both models lose spin unusually quickly after landing on the string makes it difficult to go for a lot of tricks. Any advice on that I’m probably overlooking something with proper setup. Really was hyped about these models and sadly been a bit disappointed in their overall performance but might be user error lol
Made any headway in setup? It’s taken quite a bit of trial/error/experimentation for me. Plus, I’m super beginner so what constitutes the ‘right’ amount of response is still a moving target for me as I’m just beginning to learn a string trick or two.
It depends on what type of tricks you’re looking to do. If you’re mainly interested in the classic fixed-axle tricks then having the yo-yo set up to be responsive is going to be best. If you’re looking for something completely unresponsive, then the RW and SM may not be the best choice for you.
Much of my experimentation so far is learning how various combinations of gap dimension, response pad, and string characteristics feel. I still want some response at my nascent skill level but its fascinating to explore the tactile spectrum of response available through relatively small variations on the suite of adjustable factors described above.
