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Help Please! STRANGE internal piece on my Little Magic 6x6x6 that might be causing cube to catch???

Scubadoo79

Member
Joined
Mar 28, 2019
Messages
3
Hey cubers,
I’m pretty new to cubing, so if I sound ignorant, I’m blaming my inexperience.
I just bought a Little Magic 6x6x6. Every side turns, so I’m sure the pins are in the right orientation(plus, there are interlocking prongs on the core, and one side is higher than the other on each prong, so it guides you as to how to orient the pins). However, when I turn it(especially when I turn it slowly), it catches drastically more than any catch I’ve had on a cube. You have to apply a little more pressure to get each side over whatever bump is causing this. And no, it isn’t static friction causing it. There’s some of that too just like there is with the Little Magic Megaminx, but this isn’t that. I’ve had cubes that are catchy, but this is much more pronounced. This happens on every side(some slightly stronger than others at times, and vice versa). I filmed a video showing the problem, but every time I try to upload it it says the file is too big. I’m not tech savvy, so if anybody knows a simple way to get a large file to upload(25 sec video), I’m all ears. Lol. I wish you all could see this video showing the problem, because that bump(or “catch”) really just stops the turn in its tracks if you’re not already turning fast enough. And when you are turning fast, it makes the solve jerky, and is just much too bothersome to try to ignore. Anyway, I was hoping someone might be able to instruct me on how to fix this problem with my Little Magic 6x6x6.
I looked at several Little Magic 6x6x6 reviews but nobody spoke about any problems, and in videos they turned the cube so fast it was difficult to tell if theirs had these pronounced bumps too.
I’ve taken the cube apart, lubed it with Weight 3 on the core and Weight 1 and Speedy on the pieces, and tensioned it, and everything seems in order. But nothing helps the problem.
There is one thing that I’ve noticed that may be causing the problem. Here’s a pic of the square piece that the pin piece turns inside of.
48000CA7-DFFD-43F3-ABE6-A92CFC6F0352.jpeg
I noticed that there are 2 indentions on only one side—a smaller one and a larger one. I’m thinking they have to be there for a reason, and maybe me not having those indented pieces oriented in a particular way is causing this. And these indentions are identical on all 6 pieces.
Any ideas? If this is the cause, I sure would appreciate a map of how to orient these 6 square pieces. Or if they’re the same on each side in relation to the pin, that info alone would help me understand if they need to be facing a particular direction. I’ve seen videos online of people talking about the pin orientation on a 6x6x6, but I can’t find anything about the orientation of these square pieces that have the indentions. I’m not even sure if other 6x6x6’s have these indentions, or if it is only the Little Magic that does.
Any answers or guesses are welcome, as I’m really stuck here. I’m afraid to use this cube even though I’m a slow, algo-less solver, because even though it turns, if these square pieces are supposed to be oriented in a particular way I might be wearing grooves in something.
Also, if this is a defective cube and there is no way to fix this, is this a big enough issue for me to ask for a replacement? I bought it from The Cubicle for around $15. They seem like a really reliable store, and every order I’ve placed with them has arrived quickly with everything in order and functional, so I’d really hate to ask for a replacement if this is not the kind of thing that deserves replacing. I know budget cubes are going to have their problems—believe me, I’ve fixed(or tried to fix) several of them that have arrived with issues from other stores. But this one cost a little more than the $3-$5 budget cubes I’m used to buying, and I was really looking forward to having a nice 6x6x6 that I could solve(or attempt to solve) on a regular basis.
Hopefully one of you brilliant cubers can figure out the problem, and I won’t have to even consider asking for a replacement.
Thank you all so much for your help!
Randy
 
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Scubadoo79

Member
Joined
Mar 28, 2019
Messages
3
Does anybody else have a Little Magic 6x6x6? ‍ Lol. Or maybe these strange pieces are on other brands of even-numbered big cubes too?
If nobody seeing this post has a cube with these pieces, could you pretty paleeze tell your friend who has one about this post?
I’d be ever so grateful.
If someone has one(and assuming it turns smoothly and those strange square pieces being misaligned are the problem with mine), it would help me greatly if they could just spread apart the center cubies on theirs and look at that strange piece and see which side the 2 indentions are on in respect to the pin(and look on the other sides of the cube as well to make sure the other 5 strange pieces all line up the same in accordance with their pins). Nothing has to be taken apart. Simply spreading the center cubies apart and looking should do the trick.
Until this day comes, I am stuck here with my only 6x6x6 being unusable and not knowing if the solution to fixing it is simply correctly aligning those strange little pieces, or if it is a defective cube.
See, other than the LeFun MoYan 1 that I just recently bought, the 4x4x4 and 6x6x6 are the only cubes I’ve been unable to solve out of my 50ish cubes(well, there are only about 20 different types of cubes in my stable—the other 30ish are just different brands and models of some of these 20 cubes), so you can see why I’m eager to try solving it. I tried solving this 6x6x6 for a short while(even with those jarring catches) until I considered that if those pieces are misaligned, they may be causing grooves to wear in places. So I haven’t been able to solve the 6x6x6 long enough to really hypothesize this, but I’m beginning to wonder if there’s something special about solving even-numbered cubes that I’m missing. It’s the only thing that makes sense to me after solving the 5x5x5 and 7x7x7 a few times each, while still being unable to solve the 4x4x4 and 6x6x6. It’s tempting to look it up, and I’d love to someday learn algorithms to better understand these cubes, and to attempt to get faster at solving. It blows my mind when I look at videos reviewing cubes I’m considering buying and I see people from this community solving them faster than I can get one out of the box. Even though I’m sure I could never solve them even close to as quickly as many of you, I’d love to practice and attempt to get relatively fast at solving. But I’m kind of scared to do this because for now I am just having way too much fun figuring these cubes out on my own. I figure I can always learn solutions and algorithms, but after learning them I can’t purposely unlearn them and go back to solving purely by working through the cube. I guess I’m afraid of losing that option forever, so I’ll just stick with what I’m doing until I am able to repeatedly solve all the wca cubes(as well as some additional cubes) and until I fully understand how I’m doing it. It may take a long time for me to solve most cubes, but I’m really enjoying it, and every time I solve one it is such a feeling of accomplishment. So I’ll have to just continue to wonder why I can’t solve even-numbered cubes for now, as I wait hoping for one of you generous cubers to help me with the alignment of those strange pieces on my 6x6x6. Lol.
Thanks again everyone!
 
Last edited:

xyzzy

Member
Joined
Dec 24, 2015
Messages
2,878
I don't have the YLM (but I do have the Qiyi Wuhua v1 and the XMD Shadow), but I'm pretty sure the indentations on those centre pieces are not the problem. That part rotates with the outer layer, so it's not like you can force the indentations to be in a specific orientation anyway.

I'm guessing that a slight bumpiness in turns is completely normal; some of my big cubes are like that too—it helps with aligning the layers.

>I filmed a video showing the problem, but every time I try to upload it it says the file is too big. I’m not tech savvy, so if anybody knows a simple way to get a large file to upload(25 sec video), I’m all ears.
Upload to YouTube and link it here? (You can make the video unlisted, and delete it once people here have figured out the problem, if privacy is a concern.)
 

One Wheel

Member
Joined
Feb 24, 2016
Messages
2,883
Location
Wisconsin
WCA
2016BAIR04
I have a YLM 6x6, and I don’t think what you’re describing is normal. I’m not sure of the purpose of the notches in the center piece, but I’m reasonably certain they aren’t the problem. I second what @xyzzy said about uploading the video to YouTube. Like any 6x6, and especially budget 6x6s, the YLM can tend to be a little catchy. If you’re inclined to invest time in it I’m very happy with mine that I added magnets to. I think it’s about as good as any 6x6 out there.
 

Scubadoo79

Member
Joined
Mar 28, 2019
Messages
3
Thank you guys so much!
It halfway exploded again, so I’m putting it together right now, and then I’ll reply again by tomorrow and tell you what I’ve been trying with it.
I considered what XYZZY said, and I grabbed my MoYu AoFu Cubic 7x7x7 to see if I could feel the same bumps. I couldn’t try my QiYi 7x7x7 because I took it apart and cleaned it in preparation to magnetize it. Anyway, XYZZY was right! I felt the bumps, but they were so subtle that I didn’t previously notice them even after using it for a few weeks. You have to turn it very slowly just to feel them. But my YLM 6x6x6’s bumps are so prominent—it just feels so obstructing. I’ve noticed a few more things I’ll post here once I get my cube back together and can finish what I’ve been trying. And I think you’re both right—that the indentations have nothing to do with the bumps. I’m not certain, but I do think you’re right. Isn’t it weird though that Yuxin designed this to have those indentations if there is no purpose for them?!
Thanks again One Wheel and XYZZY!!! I really appreciate your help!
P.S. I just noticed the “male” symbol in the top line of my 2nd post. I just wanted to make clear that I inserted the emoji with the guy holding his hands out to the sides and shrugging in confusion. I have no idea why it showed up as that “male” symbol. It makes me look weird posting that with a “lol” in a completely random spot. I just had to address that because I didn’t want anyone to be confused as to why that symbol is there.
Actually, what am I doing? I can click edit and just delete it, right? If I could insert an emoji here of a guy slapping his forehead, without the fear something weird would show up in place of it, I would. Lol.
Oh, and XYZZY, you taught me something else besides the bumps felt in big cubes that are there for stability. I was using the word “indentions”, and you used the word “indentations”. I don’t know why I used that word—I think I just thought they were interchangeable and that is the word I happened to choose this time. When I saw you typed “indentations”, it just stirred my curiosity and I had to look to see what the difference was. Well, “indentions” wasn’t necessarily wrong in this instance, but your word was much more correct than the word I was using. With this usage, it said “indentions” was antiquated, and it seems to be used almost exclusively in regard to sentence structure today. While the definition of indentations fits this instance perfectly when referring to those notches. So I just wanted to say thanks again, and that you have a well-honed vocabulary.
 
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