Pretty tough and costly to make that many wooden yoyos at once, especially consistently. Wooden yoyos are also a fairly risky choice for manufacturers. Easy to damage, appealing to a small cross-section of our microcosm. I know I’d love to see more eh’s, but not so much that I’m willing to watch a bunch sit around unplayed at a cost to all parties.
I think its the right call for the small run. Its kind of a test run so to say, see what kind of demand there is. If these things sell out in 2 minutes then, yeah, might be a second run. If some of them sell, and some of them don’t, then you know it was a good thing not to make a big giant run. You can always make more; you can’t ever unmake what you already did.
I don’t know, I’m just praying I can get some cash by the drop!
I just know I want one as Colin and Ed may know many of us do. I can def see enough demand for a second run. Honestly I want to own one of everything TMBR makes.
Well I ordered some Duncan stickers to tighten up the binds on my No-Jive and bought a few more butterflies. I’m still not able to get Spirit Bomb on a fixie, which is driving me crazy, but enjoying every minute of it.
Anyone know a quick way to wear down duncan stickers? I don’t really want to break my fingers while breaking one in.
Dont know if this has been brought up, but I love this idea!
I wanna know how well it plays, and it just seems weird to have a metal, with a good ol wood feel!
reviews on it any one?
Cheers,
My little outburst probably sounded a lot more negative and less playful than intended. I am, however, pretty excited about this release. It’s a new experience for me. My normal reaction is passing interest with an occasional covet.
How similar is the production eh to the original? Have there been changes or refinements?
are they the ‘new’ stickers or the ‘old’ ones? by new i mean, made since around 2009, when duncan switched to a model much closer to their silicone stickers. it can be hard to tell the difference. basically their old ones (not the REALLY old white ones) wore down in a few hours of play, but you could also scratch off a layer of the tacky, sticky stuff to reveal the linen base of the pad beneath. for whatever reason, that stuff is magic on wood. feels just like a tk turbo disc.
all good. i want people who want to really play them to get them, too. if colin and steve feel another run is justified, maybe they’d do it. personally, i’m impressed (and very grateful) that a yo-yo company focusing on high end metal is willing to make one wood yo-yo at the behest of one of its players, let alone a production run of any size.
specs are VERY close to the original. same size, shape, weight, same quarter-sawn red oak.
big dif’s:
• original eh has larger, softer hemlock axles - production uses harder walnut (standard tmbr)
• original eh has a maple leaf on the “eh” side - production has an oak leaf (made in 'murica)
• original eh has shallower response dimples - production does NOT need any sticker response
• original uses inset reverse-threaded screws to hold the axle - production uses [invisible, matched-• grain] caps like the balwdin to attach the screws.
Does everyone use short strings in their wood fixed axles, shorter than what they would use for 1A bearing play?
I’m asking because the cotton strings I have are pretty short, on one hand I can see that that longer strings would make returns less successful, but I’d like more length.
Inspired by this thread, I’ve sanded the gap edges of my Irving to make them less sharp (to make repeated thumb starts less painful) and am trying a coffee stain.
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As I realize that I still need to post pics of my tea-stain…
let us know how the coffee stain works out! ;D
At first I submerged the whole yoyo in a coffee bath before realizing that was a dumb idea. I ended up concentrating the coffee by evaporating it on the stove a bit and brushed it on the wood yoyo, then sanded it a little after drying. I should’ve sanded the yoyo a little before the staining, though.
I think it’s an improvement and knowing that it is a coffee stain is kind of fun, haha.
I’ll post up a photo too at some point.
Why not use a good quality wood stain, like watco danish oil (walnut) instead of messing around w/soaking in coffee or tea. There are a number of other good quality stains available in much smaller quantities that the watco oil as well. Wipe on, let sit, wipe off, done.
I drink alot of tea and stain very little. I have more tea bags on hand than proper staining setups. I’m also confident that if I do it right, I can make it look super dark. I’m going for as dark as possible. As far as I understand it, the trick is in the use of a very fine steel wool & vinegar solution which after soaking for 3+ days, makes a iron acetate. Putting several coats of this on the wood reacts with the tannins in the tea, making the wood much darker. I’m looking forward to trying it, but I still have to get the steel wool… Science rules.
I think this would make a pretty cool little tutorial. Maybe when you start you could take progress shots the whole way through? I know I would like to see it.
Well I wasn’t necessarily going for the best result, more just having fun with what was around the house and giving the yoyo more “character”. Mission accomplished, I think. Plus it’s now scratch ‘n’ sniff coffee flavor and looks like it needs a shave. I call this colorway “coffee beard”. Scope the pic below…
Thanks for the complete response, Ed.
I thinks it’s cool you guys are taking the time to personalize your yoyos like that. My Fremont looks like somebody who didn’t wash his hands after work has been playing it.
Thanks Ed, I’m not sure which variety they are other then the ones called, “standard” online. I’ll see how long it takes me to split my knuckles open. 
Just kidding, of course, I play with alot of fixed axle yoyos so my knuckles are already split.
On the modification front, I’ve had a curious setback that I hadn’t anticipated. In the immortal words of Biggie, the things done changed. Duncan has given the butterfly a sizable face lift including a more complicated axle system. Now I have an extra gap between the axle post and the plastic to fill or I risk unnecessary snags. Now I just need to find a suitable material to mimic the stock axle. Maybe some kind of delrin sleeve or plumbing section. I won’t have an answer until I go to a larger hardware store. Nothing like having a weird request for Home Depot’s finest.
On the upside, even with the weird gap, the yoyos play very well and the injection quality is perfect. No weird dimples or unfinished edges. If I can’t do a sleeve realistically, I’ll just fill in the gap with a flush fitting oring and call it good. Some minor weight adjustments and these puppies will be ready for mass consumption.
Here’s an photo of Duncan’s new axle for the disbelievers.
So for a wood noob like myself this info here was incredibly helpful…
…and with it I realized that the TMBR Irving I had was too unresponsive, double-looped the axle (forgot about doing that), and now I’m rocking it with lots of response, just landing my first Ed-inspired stalls.
One day I’ll have to try a 3-in-1 but this Irving is working better now and getting me started, all proper wood-like and stuff.
Here is three different examples of stain. The Zebrawood Irving is a satin danish oil. The Freemont with the teardrop is a Walnut danish oil. I go over it again every month or so and I think I put a lil English Chestnut stain on it. The Irving Pro is just English Chestnut stain. Ive finished plenty of woods with the clear satin oil and I think its my favorite from ease to consistency it cant be beat.
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Also sorry bout the poor quality pictures I hope it gets the point across.