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Stiff 4x4

Joël

Member
Joined
Mar 14, 2006
Messages
633
Location
3rd rock from the sun
WCA
2004NOOR01
Hello everybody,

One of my 4x4's it quite stiff.. The outer layers are quite allright, but when I try to move two layers, it feels as if the core is pretty stiff... Does anyone know a way to modify the cube, or to make it less stiff?

Thanks!

Jo?l.
 

dougreed

Member
Joined
Mar 17, 2006
Messages
287
Location
Austin, TX
Have you tried opening it up and looking for imperfections to sand down?

If the imperfections are on the outside or just inside the groves that run around the core, you should be able to take care of them. If the imperfections are too far inside the grooves, you may want to exchange it for another one.

-Doug
 

BillT

Member
Joined
Mar 20, 2006
Messages
23
Location
Reading, PA, USA
Hi Joel,

The core of the 4x4 has screws on each of the eight triagular pieces (spherical geometry). These pieces are glued in, but I believe if take the screw off you can break the glue and loosen the piece. I haven't done this on any of my speecubes, but I did remove one of these pieces on a broken 4x4. If I get some time I'll try this and let you know how it works.

-Bill
 

Scott

Member
Joined
Mar 17, 2006
Messages
207
Location
Glastonbury CT, USA
I've done it, it doesn't help that much. It causes it to jam more often, but rotate easier... So i dunno, they kinda even each other out.

Have you tried drip silicone?
 

pjk

Administrator
Staff member
Joined
Mar 13, 2006
Messages
6,686
WCA
2007KELL02
SS Competition Results
I dont know too much about lubing, but the spray I have has a small tube that is attachable and you can get into the center of the cube rather easily.
 

Richard

Member
Joined
Mar 19, 2006
Messages
130
Location
Colorado, USA
Haha, guess i'll throw my two cents in as well. I would think that grinding the sand down in there and then cleaning it out and lubing it with some silicon spray would work...but i'll also throw some of your own advise back at you. You said that lubing a stiff cube sometimes just makes it worse...You also said that one of the best ways may be the most natural, just using it a ton. Well...good luck with that.
 

BillT

Member
Joined
Mar 20, 2006
Messages
23
Location
Reading, PA, USA
Originally posted by Scott@Mar 20 2006, 02:35 PM
It causes it to jam more often
I assume this is because the pieces can wiggle around once they are loosened. But what if you put a layer of hot glue (or some other filler) to fill the gap between the core and the piece? I'm still only guessing here though. Any thoughts?

-Bill
 
Joined
Oct 3, 2022
Messages
833
Location
Funkytown
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2022ESPI14
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Hello everybody,

One of my 4x4's it quite stiff.. The outer layers are quite allright, but when I try to move two layers, it feels as if the core is pretty stiff... Does anyone know a way to modify the cube, or to make it less stiff?

Thanks!

Jo?l.
try lubing it with scs or cubicle lubes, might help you

troll
 

Thom S.

Member
Joined
Sep 26, 2017
Messages
1,292
March 2006?
Yeah, might be the longest Bump currently.
And 2006 Threads will become a hot commodity if you guys don't stop bumping ancient threads for less than no reason.
 
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