A visit to "The Uncycle Factory"



Jethro wrote:
> I am not trying to be judgmental here--just curious.
> 1)Is Tom Miller male or female?
>


Male.



>
> 2) Does he/she have some really strange fingernails?


Yes, they are very long, a "form of protest" for him. It looks as
though it'd be impossible to do any kind of machining, but he gets
along quite well.


--
U-Turn

Weep in the dojo... laugh on the battlefield.
'LiveWire Unicycles' (http://www.livewireunicycles.com)
'Strongest Coker Wheel in the World'
(http://www.unicyclist.com/gallery/albup39)
'29er Tire Study' (http://u-turn.unicyclist.com/29erTireStudy/)
'New York Unicycle Club' (http://www.newyorkunicycle.com)
-- Dave Stockton
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Jethro wrote:
> Is he protesting Darren Bedford leaving a unicycle in his yard for 21
> years?
> :D


No, that unicycle is not alone. Stuff in the yard is there because
there's no room anywhere else. When I visited in early '83, he had his
old 24' on the side of the garage. I believe it was still there,
unmoved, in the more recent photos.


--
johnfoss

John Foss
"jfoss" at "unicycling.com" -- www.unicycling.com
-----------------------------------------------

"The worst thing you can do on a unicycle when you land is stop dead."
-- Kris Holm, world's expert on high-consequence unicycling
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I grew up in Kokomo and never knew about Tom. I did find a picture that
I took of him in the early 80s riding a 24" uni in a parade. (I wasn't
a unicyclist at the time) I finally met him at a juggling convention in
Fort Wayne a couple of years ago. I thought he was a woman carrying
around plastic rings. I wasn't a unicyclist until a couple of years
ago. I like to ride my Coker on country roads. I think we are roughly
the same age. Tom lives on the north end of town and has a pyramid of
bowling balls in his front yard. He has a machine shop in his garage
and knows alot about making custom unicycles, properties of metals,
welding, etc. He also likes visitors and likes to talk. He spends a lot
of his time recording TV programs looking for snippets of unicycles. He
has several video recorders and thousands of video tapes.

He's told me about being in the Peru Indiana circus when we was
younger. This is an amature circuis held yearly in the town where
circuses spend the winter in days gone by. He used to ride a giraffe
uni on a high wire, amoung other things.

I recently cut my finger on a table saw and lost my fingernail. I
called Tom to ask if there is a way to make nails grow faster. He said
that there wasn't, just like my Doctor, but I'm taking suppliments
anyway. I have no idea how or why he keeps them so long.


--
kokomojuggler

Kokomo Juggler
-All Glory to God
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kokomojuggler wrote:
> I grew up in Kokomo and never knew about Tom. I did find a picture that
> I took of him in the early 80s riding a 24" uni in a parade. (I wasn't
> a unicyclist at the time) I finally met him at a juggling convention in
> Fort Wayne a couple of years ago. I thought he was a woman carrying
> around plastic rings. I wasn't a unicyclist until a couple of years
> ago. I like to ride my Coker on country roads. I think we are roughly
> the same age. Tom lives on the north end of town and has a pyramid of
> bowling balls in his front yard. He has a machine shop in his garage
> and knows alot about making custom unicycles, properties of metals,
> welding, etc. He also likes visitors and likes to talk. He spends a lot
> of his time recording TV programs looking for snippets of unicycles. He
> has several video recorders and thousands of video tapes.
>
> He's told me about being in the Peru Indiana circus when we was
> younger. This is an amature circuis held yearly in the town where
> circuses spend the winter in days gone by. He used to ride a giraffe
> uni on a high wire, amoung other things.
>
> I recently cut my finger on a table saw and lost my fingernail. I
> called Tom to ask if there is a way to make nails grow faster. He said
> that there wasn't, just like my Doctor, but I'm taking suppliments
> anyway. I have no idea how or why he keeps them so long.




He has about 10 less now. He made me take them at the last NAUCC.
Refused any kind of money, and when I tricked him into taking some, he
chased me a good hundred yards to try and give it back. Later he
caught me and gave me 2-3 blue 24" tires that would likely fit a
Schwinn. I can't use them, and told him as much...Made me take them
anyway. Anyone need blue tires?:D

Another funny thing about Tom was he has been the Employee of the Year
for his company every year, and has framed photos to that effect as
well.:D


--
bugman

*-NAUCC 2006 -*
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10less what? Unicycles? Video's? Fingernails?


--
unicycle6869

Jamey (formaly tuna6869)

Which is worse, a president who screws an intern, or a president who
screws the country?

I feel sorry for people who don't drink. When they wake up in the
morning, that's as good as they're going to feel all day!"~Frank
Sinatra
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GhettoSmurf wrote:
> he sorta creeps me out a bit


You know I thought he would creep me out too. I heard about him from
several people before I met him and it really scared me, but he's a
really nice guy. Extremely odd, but nice. He has a sign in his workshop
that says

"If I were normal, you wouldn't be here"


--
kokomojuggler

Kokomo Juggler
-All Glory to God
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i want that giraffe w/ the tiny wheel


--
dan de man

James_Potter wrote:
> Each end has to eat. What goes in one end, comes out the other.
> Therefore, whatever end A eats, let's call him Fred, what Fred eats has
> to come out of side 2, let's call him Charlie. Whatever Charlie eats
> must come out of Fred.
>
> It's gruesome, I know. But the truth hurts sometimes.
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kokomojuggler wrote:
> I have no idea how or why he keeps them so long.


Tom's super-long nails are fake ones, not the real thing. No problem
growing them back...


--
johnfoss

John Foss
"jfoss" at "unicycling.com" -- www.unicycling.com
-----------------------------------------------

"The worst thing you can do on a unicycle when you land is stop dead."
-- Kris Holm, world's expert on high-consequence unicycling
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bugman wrote:
> Another funny thing about Tom was he has been the Employee of the Year
> for his company every year, and has framed photos to that effect as
> well.


Now THAT is my kind of lunatic. :D If I ever have the guts to leave
Big Corp America and hang out my own shingle, I'm totally stealing that
idea.

I hope that there is enough growth in people taking up the sport to
over-compensate for the growth in mass-produced unis. It would be nice
if the sport can keep such a great craftsman busy into his retirement
years.


--
tomblackwood

Tailgate at your own risk...
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johnfoss wrote:
> Tom's super-long nails are fake ones, not the real thing. No problem
> growing them back...



Are you sure? Never knew you could buy super long fake nails....


--
unicycle6869

Jamey (formaly tuna6869)

Which is worse, a president who screws an intern, or a president who
screws the country?

I feel sorry for people who don't drink. When they wake up in the
morning, that's as good as they're going to feel all day!"~Frank
Sinatra
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I've looked at his fingernails and they are continuous. Also they are
different lengths, one is much shorter than the others. If they were
fake, I don't think that would be the case. I'll ask him the next time
I see him. I promised to give him the book "One Wheel Many Spokes" when
I'm done.

I don't know how he lives. He lost a lot of business to the internet.
(He has no interest in the internet or computers or accepting credit
card payments)


--
kokomojuggler

Kokomo Juggler
-All Glory to God
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I have to reply to this now even though I didn't the first time it went
around. I just can't take it anymore, I'm sorry. Tommi Miller actually
-makes- unicycles, he doesn't -unmake- cycles as the title of the
thread might suggest.


--
harper

-Greg Harper

B L U E S H I F T

*jc is the only main man. there can be no other.*

This is still my nth post....*AWESOME!!!*
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