[Help Thread] Puzzle Setup / Tension Discussion

[Cheese11]

umm, the lube from lightake isn't spray. it is thick goo and I only lubed the visible part of the screws by lifting the core arms a bit.Hopeflly that won't rust anythin but it seems to have done the trick.

Oh okay, the only lube I've found on Lightake was spray. It should be fine.

 

[Ninja Storm]

Best way to tension?

I'm rather new to cubing, albeit nearly sub-20 already 0_o

However, I'm still completely clueless on the concept of tensioning cubes, as well as a lot of the basic maintenance that comes from being a cuber.

How, exactly, does one best tension his cube, and what sort of tensions should I be looking for?

 

[BrainOfSweden]

What sort you want depends on the type of performance you want and your solving style. A loose cube will corner cut better, but a tight cube will pop less, for exmple. Too tight cubes will of course turn very slow and a cube that's too loose might explode very easy. When I do the first time tensioning on a cube, I disassemble it so that I can pull the center pieces and see if they go equally far away from the core. When they all have the same tension, i re-assemble it and test it. Mostly likely, the tension won't be what I'm looking for, but by tightening or loosening the screws exactly the same amount, all sides will have equal tension when I've found what I'm looking for. I hope you understand what I mean, but feel free to ask about details

 

[Jostle]

Make sure all sides are even.
The best tension is all preference, experiment.

 

[Ninja Storm]

What sort you want depends on the type of performance you want and your solving style. A loose cube will corner cut better, but a tight cube will pop less, for exmple. Too tight cubes will of course turn very slow and a cube that's too loose might explode very easy. When I do the first time tensioning on a cube, I disassemble it so that I can pull the center pieces and see if they go equally far away from the core. When they all have the same tension, i re-assemble it and test it. Mostly likely, the tension won't be what I'm looking for, but by tightening or loosening the screws exactly the same amount, all sides will have equal tension when I've found what I'm looking for. I hope you understand what I mean, but feel free to ask about details

Thanks! This really helped, and I think I'm grasping the basic concept. Hopefully my Guhong won't be so tight after this.

 

[BrainOfSweden]

Glad I could help, please reply with your results when you're done

 

[radmin]

Tension on the screws is to balance speed and popping.
Looser=faster due to less friction = more popping
tighter = less popping= slower due to increased friction

Some cubes, not GuHong, simply can't get an acceptable balance.
In those cases I reduce friction without loosening screws by shortening the springs.

A GuHong should be able to get decent speed without popping just by tensioning the default springs.
I've notice that lube ruins the feel of a GuHong more than anything. I can't stand a gummy GuHong.
I've also noticed that when a GuHong gets gummy, wiping the pieces doesn't work, water doesn't work. I clean them with Goo Gone. That seems to restore to a new feeling.

 

[BrainOfSweden]

Thanks for the tip, I'm planning on buying a GuHong 2 at a later time, but first I'll wait for my Alpha CC. The GuHong will be my first DaYan, and it seems to be the best choice, as it's cheaper than the ZhanChi, but seems to be almost as good with the new version.

 

[Ninja Storm]

At the moment, I have two Guhongs and a Zhanchi. The Zhanchi and one Guhong are just fine, but one was really tight(as I like looser cubes), and now that's out of the way.

However, it is... "gummy". How expensive is Goo Gone, and could I just buy it at a regular hardware store?

 

[collinbxyz]

 

[crazycubes]

Tensioning my Zhanchi

hi all

I bought a new dayan zhanchi recently. Its fast and smooth and all but i can get it to cut corners for more than 15 - 30 degrees. My knowledge in tensioning is near to nothing as this is my first speed cube. I tried watching youtube videos to get the correct tension but it just wont come. Can someone post a video in the reply or give any tips?
Iam sorry if this kind of thread already exists but my search tool wont work.

 

[Wulf]

it's a very trial and error based process, just go by wrist turns and see what works the best for you.

you might not necessarily need the 45 degree cuts, so you've got experiment to see what accommodates your turn style.

 

[Kattenvriendin]

OK.. going to blatantly advertise my blog here haha.. made an entry on how I do it:

http://kattenvriendin.blogspot.nl/2012/07/tensioning-your-rubiks-cube-some-things.html

 

[Lagom]

Check out Camcubers tutorial on youtube and start with 8 full turns

 

[crazycubes]

OK.. going to blatantly advertise my blog here haha.. made an entry on how I do it:

http://kattenvriendin.blogspot.nl/2012/07/tensioning-your-rubiks-cube-some-things.html

Thanks very much. That was so informative. But one problem in tensioning it is that the cube gets too tight when i am approaching the correct tension for a 45 degree cut. However, I have not yet lubed it as i am not yet sub 30 i thought that getting a few seconds by lubing isnt worth right now. But will lubing it solve my problem?

 

[Kattenvriendin]

the one thing I did not mention in my video.. should have.

If you cannot get it to the 45 degree point, tension them all to a little less, some cubes just can't make it. That is ok though. The trick is to get them all at the same tension first so all sides can corner cut the same amount, whether that is 45 degrees or a little less doesn't really matter, it is only a nice clear point to start out from, but a little less is ok too

After THAT is done and they all cut the same, then you can either loosen or tighten all the sides the same amount of screw turns until you like the feeling.

 

[crazycubes]

I tried to tension it further just this morning and my cube DOES NOT CUT EVEN 15 DEGREES. No amount of tensioning would make it cut. I could do with a 30 degrees at the least.
And one more thing i noticed while trying to tension it is that when i try to rotate the cube for cutting the corner, the center screw goes down. It just sinks. When i revert the cube back to its original position, it comes back up.
Please help!

 

[speedcuber50]

@crazycubes The screw's not sinking. What's actually happening here is that the center piece is lifting up for the cut, creating the illusion that the screw is sinking.

 

[jayefbe]

The screw is not moving at all. The center piece is moving. Corner cutting works due to the fact that a spring is holding the center piece in place, maintaining a cubic shape when the cube is held stationary. However, when you apply pressure in the opposite direction, the spring is depressed and the center piece will extend farther away from the center. If you pull the center pieces on opposite sides away from each other, they should extend a tiny amount. About the width of a coin on each side. It is this tiny amount of wiggle room that allows for corner cutting. It sounds like you're applying way too high of tensions in order to keep the center piece from moving. I guarantee your cube can cut 45 degrees if it was properly tensioned.

 

[Chree]

Thanks very much. That was so informative. But one problem in tensioning it is that the cube gets too tight when i am approaching the correct tension for a 45 degree cut. However, I have not yet lubed it as i am not yet sub 30 i thought that getting a few seconds by lubing isnt worth right now. But will lubing it solve my problem?

Lubing will absolutely help. But if your Zanchi came pre-assembled, chances are it came with lube already inside.

If it was a DIY, however... Def lube it up. Even the best cubes will perform poorly without it. I remember thinking my lunhui was a piece of garbage, and after I put Maru Lube in it, it became my main for a good long while.

Tensioning it is gonna be the big thing, though.