Reviews of the Tom Kuhn Roller Woody yoyo. Write your own review or post a comment!
Old Tom Kuhn Roller Woody Did I say Roller Woody? I meant to say Wobble Woody, because that’s all mine is good for. What an expensive piece of junk. At first, I thought I just didn’t have it adjusted correctly. But then I took it completely apart and laid each wooden half down against a flat surface. That’s when I discovered the real reason for the wobbling — one of the pieces wasn’t made evenly. I guess the days are long gone when Tom Kuhn used to manufacturer his own yoyos.
Reviewed by Lars
Old Tom Kuhn Roller Woody I must have ordered and received my Roller Woody around the same time that Lars did…because from the first day I received it, I did more “tinkering” trying to adjust it then I did spinning it. ( Which was more of a chore than a pleasure) I had also ordered Tom Kuhn’s Sleep Machine at the same time. ( which I will get into at a later date) Lars had the name correct when he called it “the Wobble Woody”. When the yoyo is spinning in a sleeper…the string is “vibrating” back and forth so much, from the wobble… you can feel the vibration in your spinning hand. I don’t think any adjustment on this yoyo is in any way going to be beneficial in correcting the problem. Mine is one of his earlier productions. I am not aware if there has been any design improvements in this product or not. I won’t come right out and say don’t buy one…I’m also assuming Lars and myself have just been unfortunate in getting a couple that were supposed to have gone in the “recycling bin”. The price is also too high for what you’re getting in the way of a quality functioning yoyo. I do feel, however…since Brad Countryman from BC “What’sNext” mfg. co… is involved in the Tom Kuhn line, he is going to improve the Quality and the “playability” of these wooden yoyo’s. I just received a flyer saying the newer versions of the Roller Woody & the Sleep Machine have gone to the Turbo Disc Technology. This in itself, say’s he’s on his way in ‘changing things’ with the yoyo player in mind. I would like to try a couple of his new designs…perhaps I would have given them a more positive review.
Photo and review submitted by Hoosier Rudy
New BC / Tom Kuhn Roller Woody — There is a lot of nostalgia in a wooden yoyo, as it brings back a lot of childhood memories to the people that owned them. These NEW versions of the Roller Woody and the Sleep Machine are the “new memory makers” for this generation…and the future generations to enjoy and cherish. This NEW Roller Woody…is NO LONGER a “wobble woody”. It is a take apart ball bearing, adjustable string gap, smooth as silk, “balanced Beauty” of spinning perfection that is “vibration free”. The workmanship, finish, and playability of this New Woody is simply “superb”. The yoyo comes in a black box with an instruction booklet and 5 extra strings. I feel the addition of Turbo Discs has definitely helped in improving the playability of the Roller Woody and the Sleep Machine. The “older versions” suggested the string be “double wrapped”…these however, do NOT require you to do that and is completely unnecessary. The factory gap setting is going to be “right on” for the majority of players. Myself however, I found I had to make a “very slight” adjustment to enlarge the gap just a tad bit more. I took a black marker pen and marked my new settings on the turbo discs, to see if there was any “backing out” or “in”, of the adjustments. Going thru 5 strings of hard play, there has not been any sign of the settings changing. If you want it to loop…and it is a great looper…just make the string gap narrower per the instructions from the instruction booklet. I have been thrilled with this NEW and IMPROVED Roller Woody. The people at BC / What’s Next, appear to have the yoyo players in mind with these improvements. With the quality, workmanship, playability, and appearance of this New Roller Woody…it is definitely a “must have” for any player or collector.
Photo and review submitted by Hoosier Rudy
this is a great feeling yo in your hand. Solid maple and a perfect size. I believe I got one of the original Roller Woody’s from pre BC What’s next MFG because I’m experiencing a little of the same thing some of these other reviews talk about. When I throw th sleeper it’s not as smooth as I imagined it to be. Although I wouldn’t exaclty call it a ‘wobblw woody’. It’s not perfectly straight but definatly playable. Also the string gap is a little too much work for a yo-yo. In order to make an adjustment you have to unwind the yo, unscrew the halves, turn the “clock” and put it all back together again. Test it out and if it still needs adjusting you have to do the whole thig over again. Also I noticed it isn’t performing well on the string. I have a pocket rocket yo and I throw an easy routine braintwister 7-8 times and loop out of it fine. This woody barely goes around twice. Maybe I just haven’t tweeked it enough yet. I also put the new turbo disks on it and changed it from a double loop to a single and it seems to work allright. I prefer the single loop simply because it gives you that extra half inch or so of string to use. I do like this yo because it is a wooden yo-yo and I love the feel of it. It does sleep well but I’m a little skidish about doing complex string tricks in front of people. I would recomend this to someone who’s learning the gist of ball bearing yo’s and someone who’s stepping up from conventional fixed wooden axle yo’s. I reall wouldn’t want to pay full price for it unless it was a ‘new’ BC What’s next yo. I paid $22 on eBay for this one. I got a good deal I think.
Photo and review submitted by Kris H 08/26/02
