[Help Thread] "Breaking in" discussion

[cubemaster13]

after an average of 5 on my v7 i noticed a huge difference but it still wasn't as good as an older 7x7 broken in over a long amount of time. maybe a solve a day for a month will make it a lot better

 

[thackernerd]

yeah, i have had it about a week and i solve it 1-2 a day.

 

[Vinny]

I heard CRC and Jig-A-Loo are good lubricants for breaking in because they "eat" away the plastic. It makes the breaking in process faster. I used BSB Quiklube on my V 7 and it worked pretty good even though the stuff is really meant for like longboard wheels and stuff.

 

[Sahnguini]

Breaking in cubes.

Does it really make a difference? I have a guhong v2 that's not exactly smooth, but I have a friend with a very smooth one that he used for 7 months. Is it the cube or the breaking in process? I just got it today 8/20/13

 

[Username]

Breaking in really does help. It grinds down the plastic making it smoother, and removes a bit of the friction

 

[kcl]

Well this is kind of on topic. I don't wait to lube cubes when I get them I just do some random stuff with it and then lube it when I have time that day. It still breaks in normally, yes?

 

[windhero]

Lubing slows down the breaking in process, because it diminishes the friction. It would be faster to break in the cube without lube and then lube it when you got it smooth.

 

[Gordon]

Or you could try something like this:

 

[Sahnguini]

So i just took out the lube in my guhong v2, ill now attempt to break it in. how many solves do you think ill need?

 

[legoanimate98]

So i just took out the lube in my guhong v2, ill now attempt to break it in. how many solves do you think ill need?

I've done 10,000 solves and some mods and mine still isn't as good as it could be. It depends on what you mean by broken in.

 

[Sahnguini]

Is ur guhong much smoother than when u first got it?

 

[ComputerGuy365]

I would just solve it a lot. I have a zhanchi and it's clicky, but that's because of these bumps on the pieces. Just use it and it will break in with time. Also, I would recommend putting some lubix, or calvin's lube inside your cube to help speed up the process.

Hope you found this helpful,

Comp

 

[Username]

Also, I would recommend putting some lubix, or calvin's lube inside your cube to help speed up the process.

Lube reduces the friction, and therefore slows down the breaking in process. A cube without lube breaks in faster than a lubed one

 

[windhero]

Some people tried grinding 2 pieces of sand paper against each other to form a rough dust. This dust would then be poured inside the cube to increase friction and help speeding up the breaking in process. The grit of the sand paper should be atleast 300-400. This has been tested to work with a FangShi ShuangRen. It might not work with the guhong v2, because honestly the Guhong does not need smoother surfaces; It need a decent amount of plastic to be shaven off to be great. This is why modding a Guhong is still so popular. 48P mod is the mod that should be done to the guhong to make it better. So my suggestion is to grab a nail file and watch a tutorial on youtube. Then you should break in the modded cube WITHOUT lube for something like 200 solves to smoothen all the rough filed surfaces and finally lube it for the perfect product. A guhong also needs gummy lube to get that smooth feeling. This basically means a high viscosity lubricant like 50k traxxas.

 

[Sahnguini]

It's basically almost a cool guhong v2 from the cubicle. I've done a very precise 48 pt edge mod and even the corner base rounding. UPDATE: it has gotten better, the clack noise kinda subsided but its still there. Hopefully breaking it in even more should get rid of it.

 

[WhatIsRubiks]

Is this normal?

For the TL;DR skip to the bottom, for the "full story" keep reading.

Well, I just recently started getting into "cubing". My wife bought me a a Rubik's brand cube for christmas. She got it at a thrift store, still new in the box. It seems to be an older cube, because it doesn't have the rubik's logo sticker on it like the ones i see around. I was addicted immediately. My cube was really stiff at the beginning. I didn't know if this was normal or not, apparently it is. So I basically just started solving it over and over again using the basic method. I start from different sides because I figured it is like rotating a tire, if you get my drift.

The problem is, I took my cube apart to wipe of the dust caused by all the "breaking in". I put it back together and it was actually a lot faster. Still not that great but loads better than when I started, but when it is solved some of the corner pieces sort of "jiggle" if I shake it. I almost feel like it is going to fall apart. I have done about 100 or so solves since I took it apart to clean it. I have not lubed it, because I don't have the proper lube and I don't want to risk ruining it.

TL;DR

My question is, the more you "break in" the cube, does it get so loose that you almost feel like it is going to fall apart?

 

[ottozing]

For most cubes that's fairly normal. Once a cube gets like that you should probably replace it.

 

[Lagom]

For the TL;DR skip to the bottom, for the "full story" keep reading.

Well, I just recently started getting into "cubing". My wife bought me a a Rubik's brand cube for christmas. She got it at a thrift store, still new in the box. It seems to be an older cube, because it doesn't have the rubik's logo sticker on it like the ones i see around. I was addicted immediately. My cube was really stiff at the beginning. I didn't know if this was normal or not, apparently it is. So I basically just started solving it over and over again using the basic method. I start from different sides because I figured it is like rotating a tire, if you get my drift.

The problem is, I took my cube apart to wipe of the dust caused by all the "breaking in". I put it back together and it was actually a lot faster. Still not that great but loads better than when I started, but when it is solved some of the corner pieces sort of "jiggle" if I shake it. I almost feel like it is going to fall apart. I have done about 100 or so solves since I took it apart to clean it. I have not lubed it, because I don't have the proper lube and I don't want to risk ruining it.

TL;DR

My question is, the more you "break in" the cube, does it get so loose that you almost feel like it is going to fall apart?

He he sounds like you should buy a speedcube!

 

[andrus]

I've had an idea of speeding up the process of breaking in by putting some volcano ash into the cube.
I immediately grabbed my sulong which I never use (so no regret) and put a pinch of ash on edge and corner pieces. Unfortunately I was too excited to take photos before I did it so I can't present you the difference. What exactly happened? The cube slowed down and became extremely cruchy and slow. No corner cutting at all. After 5 solves the ash was equally spread and the cube became a bit faster, but not as fast. 50 solves later it looked like 5000 solves old. LArge amount of grated plastic were fallling from the cube, when I was solving on a black table it looked like dandruff I washed it in water and used a toothbrush to get rid of the remains o ash. But it's not possible. little black grains are just encased in the plastic and the cube still wears off 10 times faster than normally. Also, no lube helps to speed it up. It's simply as slow with any kind of lube as without.
Conclusion?
Don't do it.
Just don't.

 

[Kirjava]

I've had an idea of speeding up the process of breaking in by putting some volcano ash into the cube.
I immediately grabbed my sulong which I never use (so no regret) and put a pinch of ash on edge and corner pieces. Unfortunately I was too excited to take photos before I did it so I can't present you the difference. What exactly happened? The cube slowed down and became extremely cruchy and slow. No corner cutting at all. After 5 solves the ash was equally spread and the cube became a bit faster, but not as fast. 50 solves later it looked like 5000 solves old. LArge amount of grated plastic were fallling from the cube, when I was solving on a black table it looked like dandruff I washed it in water and used a toothbrush to get rid of the remains o ash. But it's not possible. little black grains are just encased in the plastic and the cube still wears off 10 times faster than normally. Also, no lube helps to speed it up. It's simply as slow with any kind of lube as without.
Conclusion?
Don't do it.
Just don't.

Reminds me of when I WD40'd my first cube years ago

Was good for about 30 seconds