Wood YoYo setup (TMBR Fremont)

[Devenda]

Hi all!

A few days ago I got my new TMBR Fremont, it looks and feels awesome!

Now I do have some questions.

I have tried making the yoyo a little less responsive while still double looping the string around the axle.
I did this with an other yoyo string, wrapping it around the axle and pulling it up and down.

This seems to help, but just a little, when turning one side, the yoyo is responsive and doesn’t spin at all.
When turning the other side (catching the yoyo and throwing again) the yoyo is spinning but not that responsive, when it is spinning slower it is hard to get it back to my hand.

Do you have tips for setting it up correctly? Is there a way to correct this behaviour? And when it is to unresponsive what should I do to make it more responsive?

[wcrase (Waylon (Rain City Skills))]

Try this: get a hubstack oring and place it on the axle as a spacer. Then, on the same side as the oring, apply a Duncan friction sticker. Play until the sticky stuff wears off the sticker then leave it in.

If you feel that gap is too big, you can always sand down the axle sleeve.

Remember, string tension plays a big role in the responsiveness of a fixed axle throw.

You are using cotton string, right?

[Devenda]

@Waylon

Try this: get a hubstack oring and place it on the axle as a spacer. Then, on the same side as the oring, apply a Duncan friction sticker. Play until the sticky stuff wears off the sticker then leave it in.

If you feel that gap is too big, you can always sand down the axle sleeve.

Remember, string tension plays a big role in the responsiveness of a fixed axle throw.

You are using cotton string, right?

At this moment I don’t have a Duncan friction sticker, but I will look for them!

Do you have other tips?

I’m using cotton.

[jhb8426 (Resident Curmudgeon)]

@Devenda

This seems to help, but just a little, when turning one side, the yoyo is responsive and doesn’t spin at all.
When turning the other side (catching the yoyo and throwing again) the yoyo is spinning but not that responsive, when it is spinning slower it is hard to get it back to my hand.

That is a natural occurrence. Here’s a note on that from elsewhere:

Dale Oliver’s Famous SWEET SIDE/SOUR SIDE tip

Every Yo-Yo player that has gotten into string tricks (Brain Twisters, Trapezes, Atom Smashers) knows what happens when you put the Yo-Yo on the string ‘backwards’. It has a tendency to ‘bite’ i.e., catch the string and try to wind up. Some Yo-Yos will tolerate this if you are careful, other Yo-Yos will immediately ‘bite’ and freeze up. What does “on the string backwards” mean? The string is wound around itself (about 7 to 9 times per inch at neutral, depending on the type of string). That wind is directional (like a one way street). If you have a sensitive touch, you can feel that the string slides more easily through your fingers from top to bottom than from bottom to top. The Yo-Yo spinning at thousands of R.P.M. greatly multiplies that difference. When the Yo-Yo rides on the ‘Sweet Side’ of the string, i.e., with the direction of the string wind, it is smooth sailing. But when it is put on the string with the spin going against the grain of the string wind, you have a potential disaster. This function is actually used in the trick ‘Thread the Needle’ and ‘The Shotgun’. Many yoers who were trying to learn Brain Twister’ from written directions were continually frustrated by unwittingly putting the Yo-Yo on the string ‘backwards’. What most players don’t know is that the same scenario holds true for the single strand of string that goes around the axle. This ‘single’ string is actually 6, 7 or 8 individual threads twisted together to form the string. It is this unidirectional twist that causes the string to wind around itself those 7 to 9 times per inch. This unidirectional twist also creates the some type of ‘grain’ or ‘sweet side’ experienced with the doubled string. The Yo-Yo will actually spin easier and longer in one direction than the other. I have seen this phenomenon cause problems in every contest that I have ever witnessed. A contestant will ‘test throw’ their Yo-Yo until it sleeps and then try the trick only to have the Yo-Yo return to the hand without sleeping. They will take another test throw and the Yo-Yo sleeps easily. Back to try the trick again and once more the Yo-Yo doesn’t sleep. The trick is to throw a sleeper on the test throw, then take another test throw to put the Yo-Yo back on the ‘sweet side’ of the string for the attempt that counts. When you are on the ‘sweet side’, the Yo-Yo not only sleeps easier and longer, but string tricks run smoother also. I actually use a bi-colored Yo-Yo and set it up so that I know which color needs to be on the right for the ‘sweet side’. Remember, it’s the string not the Yo-Yo so if you use this bi-color method, when you change a string and test it, you may have to remove the string and put it back on the other way to match the color you want to use as a key. It’s best to always use the same color as the key so you don’t have to stop and remember each time which is the ‘sweet side’.

For transaxle players, the sweet side can have an effect too, but in reverse. One of the biggest problems in using a transaxle yo-yo is getting it up at times. The sweet side that makes a standard yo-yo work better will make a transaxle harder to get up…so…if you are in a transaxle competition, better to try the trick on the sour side (particularly on tricks like around the corner) so it will be more responsive on the return. Also in this vein, most transaxles can be adjusted to be more responsive by varying the number of wraps around the axle. The more wraps, the more responsive. You’ll also give up some smoothness at the same time but for some tricks, it can be worth it.

[Devenda]

@jhb8426

@Devenda

This seems to help, but just a little, when turning one side, the yoyo is responsive and doesn’t spin at all.
When turning the other side (catching the yoyo and throwing again) the yoyo is spinning but not that responsive, when it is spinning slower it is hard to get it back to my hand.

That is a natural occurrence. Here’s a note on that from elsewhere:

Dale Oliver’s Famous SWEET SIDE/SOUR SIDE tip

That’s right! I remember that now, never thought of it before

[Devenda]

I have been practicing but I still do have some problems, I can hardly do a trapeze, after doing the trapeze the yoyo can’t come back to my hand, there isn’t enough response…

And when it stops spinning the only thing I can do to wind it up again is doing so by hand. Which than messes up the string tension…I tried snap start en other techniques but none give it enough spin to come back.

How do you guys deal with this?

[jhb8426 (Resident Curmudgeon)]

I think you mean there isn’t enough spin rather than response to make it return. Fixing that part is in practice and improving your throw. As for rewind, a lot of people use the snap start. I’ve never been able to get that down and rewind by hand.

[Devenda]

@jhb8426

I think you mean there isn’t enough spin rather than response to make it return. Fixing that part is in practice and improving your throw. As for rewind, a lot of people use the snap start. I’ve never been able to get that down and rewind by hand.

That’s true but it slows down really fast, can anything be done against this?

[wcrase (Waylon (Rain City Skills))]

Is the axle damaged? Is there something in the gap? Maybe you could provide photos or a video that shows the issue. I’m lost on what the problem could be.

[Devenda]

There probably isn’t really a problem, just the fact that I can’t do any long tricks, even after a trapeze the speed is to low to get the yoyo back.

Maybe it just the difficulty of wood, but having seen a video of someone doing all these trick makes me think I’m doing something wrong…

TMBR1 Fixed Axle Yoyo Tricks

[Joeybob]

You say you double loop the axle? Because if you do that it won’t have an spin time.

[jhb8426 (Resident Curmudgeon)]

Yes, double looping will make it more responsive.

[Devenda]

Yes I double loop, but otherwise I can’t get it to return, hmm…

[wcrase (Waylon (Rain City Skills))]

Single loop, add a worn friction sticker.

[Devenda]

@Waylon

Single loop, add a worn friction sticker.

I think this will be the best option, will try!