Simple beginners problem getting the cross.

[BrokenArrows]

pretty much everytime i try and get the cross working i get the following

How can i prevent this from happening and more importantly how to i get them switched around without messing up anything else.

Thanks

 

[Rawn]

Rurn the R layer twice to put the White Red piece on the bottom layer. Turn the D layer so that the red sticker matches with the red center. Then turn that layer twice to get the cross piece in the right place. Do the same with Blue since I'll already be on the bottom layer.

 

[bixarrio]

Yeah, should be R2 U' R2 U R2

 

[MistArts]

pretty much everytime i try and get the cross working i get the following

How can i prevent this from happening and more importantly how to i get them switched around without messing up anything else.

Thanks

Look at the centers when you insert the edge. Try to solve each edge one at a time.

 

[brunson]

First of all, you should be solving the cross on the bottom. Second, when it's on the bottom put the misaligned edges on R and B, then do R D' R' D R, practice that and get fast at it, it's extremely useful in times solves. I can to that swap in about .7 seconds so sometimes I even do it on purpose if it simplifies the solution.

 

[blgentry]

Second, when it's on the bottom put the misaligned edges on R and B, then do R D' R' D R, practice that and get fast at it, it's extremely useful in times solves. I can to that swap in about .7 seconds so sometimes I even do it on purpose if it simplifies the solution.

I still solve with cross on top, even though everyone tells me to switch to bottom. The swap that Bruson describes can be done on top as:

R' U' R U R'

As he said, it's very fast if you practice it a little.

Brian.

 

[jonny guitar]

If you are just starting you should certainly be doing the cross on the bottom...it is much easier to see the pieces that you are putting in and you will cut down on your mistake of putting them in the wrong place. I would say that cross on the bottom is 50% easier to see where the pieces go and certainly overall faster than cross on top because your first pair insertion is usually much easier to find.


blgentry: it honestly only took about 100 solves before cross on bottom became faster for me and I switched after about 20 years of cross on top. It is absolutely worth the effort.

 

[Scigatt]

To help prevent this, you should know the colour scheme of your cube very well. You should especially know which colours are opposite to which (What's opposite to red, blue, etc.) on your cube. This will help prevent situations like that.

 

[IamWEB]

Not only what's opposite what, but what's next to what.
Reason: If you switched blue and green, they'd still be opposite each other, but not in correct relativity to the other colors. So no what's next to what.

This is also why you need to learn to do the cross on the bottom. When you do, blue is right of the orange, green is right of the red. When you do the cross on the top, blue is left of the orange, green is left of the red. This will screw up learning your color scheme inside and out, so do the cross on the bottom.
You also need to know this for faster F2L and inserting pairs w/o seeing their slots.
You also need to know this for faster PLL recognition.

Both of those occur with the cross being on the bottom, so practicing making it on the bottom will definitely benefit you in the long-run.

...and there's always that nasty z2 rotation if you don't.

 

[bixarrio]

...and there's always that nasty z2 rotation if you don't.

Hmmm. I always solve the cross at the top, and then flip the cube over. But then again, I've never had a sub-1min solve, and I've ony been doing fridrich for about 4 days, now.

 

[Stefan]

Sigh... what a wasted opportunity. Do you guys really think this is so hard that he needs explicit instructions? And why cramming him with all the additional advice not asked for?

I like MistArts' reply best, though asking him "Why do you think this happens?" or "Describe what's wrong there" would be my first choice. Why steal his opportunity for discovering it on his own? You're lazy and selfish.

To elaborate a bit: When he said "how to i get them switched around" I'm not sure he's talking about the edges. Could be the centers as well. So first step in my opinion should be to find out how he's thinking about the situation.