Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Where to Get Replacement Parts


cubesmith.com

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

5 x 5 x 5 Cube

How to solve:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkN1NmAvvi4&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDyfEjYSVXw&feature=related

To solve last 2 edges:

http://www.bigcubes.com/5x5x5/lastedges.html

From the above you will note:

There are 10 cases and 10 algorithms.
However, I think we need to remember only 2 algorithms:

Single Edge Flip:
(Rr)2 B2 U2 (Ll) U2 (Rr)’ U2 (Rr) U2 F2 (Rr) F2 (Ll)’ B2 (Rr)2

Edge/Flip Swap:
(Ll)’ U2 (Ll)’ U2 F2 (Ll)’ F2 (Rr) U2 (Rr)’ U2 (Ll)2


All the other cases can be converted to the above 2 cases:
1.
By inverting one of the the tredges and/or
2.
Applying either the first and/or the second algorithms a few times in different combinations




Monday, April 21, 2008

Malaysian Cube Forum

http://www.malaysiancube.com/forum/

Mini Cube 2 x 2 x 2

How to Solve:

by EventHorizon5

How Only 2 Algorithms:

Ri Di R D or, its mirror L D Li Di

Li U L U F Ui Fi

Saturday, April 19, 2008

4 x 4 x 4 Cube

How to Solve:

By Pogobat (Dan Brown)
www.masterthecube.com

Last 2 dedges both parallel to each other.
D* R F' U R' F D'*
[ DoX RuFi UcRi FoDiX ]
[ DucKs R First ORiginal Food Divisor Wrong (X) ]

Parity 1 (2 diagonal corners)
With one corner on top right:
1. 2U* Tie 2 Undertaker with X
2. 2L* Noah carries 2 LuX soaps
3. 2U Ma's 2 pendulous boobs
4. 2l Rice only 2 small l's
5. 2U Law riding on 2 Untas
6. 2L* Shoes are 2 legs
7. 2U* Cow with 2 joint Urns and X's
8. R Ivy being Raped
9. U' Bee's abdomen is an Orange which explodes Ink
10. L Toes is Lever
11. 2U Toad with 2 huge Organs
12. R' Tin - out comes a Rabbit
13. U Tomb infested with Ulat
14. R Tyre is covered with Rambut
15. L' Towel ???
16. U' Dish is used as Undi box
17. L Tack as Lantern
18. 2U Dove with 2 Ular heads
19. R' Tub with naked Rita in it
20. U Nose with Urat
21. L' Net with Light's head
22. U Nun in Utar

Parity 2 (1 flipped edge)
With edge in front:
30. 2R* Mouse with 2 Razor X's
31. 2B Mat with 2 Brokers to step on
32. 2U Moon is 2 Oreos
33. L* Mummy is Leong Fatt with X-Ray
34. 2U Mower with 2 Ulamak's head being chopped off
35. R'* Mule with Resistor wearing TuX
36. 2U Match lights with 2 Uhura's head
37. R* Mug out comes Racoon being ridden by Xerxes
38. 2U Movie - out flies 2 hUnny pots
39. 2F Mop - as 2 Flutes
40. R* Rose - explodes with Rockets and sparX
41. 2F Rod - catches 2 Fab
42. L'* Raining Lighter which burns Tax forms
43. 2B Ram with 2 Bottles as antlers
44. 2R* Rower is 2 Radar with Boxes

Parity 3 (Opposite edges - but no flip)
With one edge in front:
2r 2U 2r 2U* 2r 2u

Parity 4 (2 corners in front)
With both corners in front:
50. 2U* Lace with 2 Ukuleles and u inject BotoX
51. 2L* Loot is 2 Labs with Fox
52. 2U Leon's boobs is 2 Ultrasound machines
53. 2l Loom is 2 small tiny Labels
54. 2U Lure with 2 Urethras
55. 2L* Lily is 2 Ladders which emits toXins
56. 2U* Leech is 2 UFO's that resembles a saX
57. F' Log is a FaIry
58. U' Lava is UkIran
59. F Lip is Farm
60. U Cheese with UMNO logo
61. F Sheet is one layer of Fat
62. R' Chain made of RaIsins
63. 2F Chum is 2 Feathers
64. U Cherry is Underwear
65. F Jail for Farts
66. U Choo Choo is Uncang teh
67. F' Chalk is FerrIs
68. U' Chef is UranIum
69. F Ship is Flag
70. R Case with Rachel inside

Parity 5 (Front and Right Edge - no flipped)
With Front edge in front and Right edge on right:
Use Algorithm 3


You only need Last-2-Edges Algorithm and Edge Parity Algorithms
After analyzing the above. I find that you can use Niklas to fix parity corners
(Parity 1 and Parity 4) and convert it into edge parities (Parity 2, 3 and 5).

As such you only need to remember Algorithms for Last 2 Edges and Algorithms for Parity 2 and 3:

Last 2 edges:
Last 2 dedges both vertically parallel to each other.
D* R F' U R' F D'*
[ DucKs R First ORiginal Food Divisor Wrong (X) ]



Parity 2 (1 flipped edge)
With edge in front:
30. 2R* Mouse with 2 Razor X's
31. 2B Mat with 2 Brokers to step on
32. 2U Moon is 2 Oreos
33. L* Mummy is Leong Fatt with X-Ray
34. 2U Mower with 2 Ulamak's head being chopped off
35. R'* Mule with Resistor wearing TuX
36. 2U Match lights with 2 Uhura's head
37. R* Mug out comes Racoon being ridden by Xerxes
38. 2U Movie - out flies 2 hUnny pots
39. 2F Mop - as 2 Flutes
40. R* Rose - explodes with Rockets and sparX
41. 2F Rod - catches 2 Fab
42. L'* Raining Lighter which burns Tax forms
43. 2B Ram with 2 Bottles as antlers
44. 2R* Rower is 2 Radar with Boxes


Parity 3 (Opposite edges - but no flip) &
Parity 5 (Front and Right Edge - no flipped)

With one edge in front:
2r 2U 2r 2U* 2r 2u


How to solve 4 x 4 x 4 - bigcubes.com

Alchemist Matt

philliesrule3690

www.cubestation.co.uk

How to Reassemble:
How to re-assemble a 4 x 4 x 4


What are the Colors :

In the Eastsheen, orange is replaced with purple:
See this pic by cube4you.com

The color orientation:
White opposite Yellow
Purple (Orange) opposite Red
Blue opposite Green

See this pic by puzzleproz.com

Video from AOL


How to Adjust Tension on Eastsheen:

RubikFan Video

How to Lube Eastsheen:

Note that Rubik and Eastsheen has different Lubing Techniques.
On Rubik, it is same as 3 x 3 x 3, you twist 45 degrees and pop an edge.
But, never do that for Eastsheen, it will lock some pieces later when u put the edge back on.
Instead, for Eastsheen, you remove 4 center caps.

See this AOL - youtube

An alternative, or, probably better (for both Eastsheen and Rubik), is to use the straw and attach it to the Silicon Spray can. Misalign the cube and insert the straw into the gaps betwen
the misaligned layers and spray. For Eastsheen, there is a hollow spot in every middle layer. You can see it after misaligning.

See Pestvic video


Friday, April 11, 2008

OLL and PLL - why bother? Petrus and Fridrich Hybrid is better.

OLL and PLL by Bob Burton

OLL and PLL youtube by Pestvic

I find it ridiculous to memorize so many algorithms solely for the purpose of decreasing the time it take to solve the cube - it's a no-brainer. Rubik Cube competitions won by memorizing tons of algorithms is a test of memory - not a test of skill and intelligence. What's the fun in that?

57 algorithms for OLL and 21 algorithms for PLL - a total of 78 algorithms - just to speedsolve the last layer (LL) is ridiculous.

To me, the joy of solving a cube lies in its intuitive methods - eg Petrus Method.
Use your brains and think... that's where the fun is.

I have greater respect for those who solve cubes by thinking rather than by memorizing steps.

But I realize that the LL cannot be solved intuitively - so I still have no choice but to memorize algorithms and in this respect, I would prefer to memorize as few algorithms as possible. And as such, Dan Brown (pogobat) method is the way to go - only 4 algorithms for the last layer. Another LL which I recently fell in love with is Petrus' LL, which has only 3 algorithms, i.e. Niklas, Sune and Alan (in that order).

Even the Fridrich LL is way too many algorithms for me to memorize.

So, my technique is:

either:

(1) Fridrich F2L - no algorithms
Dan Brown's 4 LL only 4 algorithms to remember, or Petrus LL, only 3 algorithms
Note that, if using Petrus LL, if no cross on LL, may need to do this first:

F R U Ri Ui Fi

[ FRU Rigid Unzipped Floppies ]

Combining Fridrich F2L with Petrus LL is what I call Fridrich + Petrus LL (Fridrich Hybrid).


(2) Petrus F2L - no algorithms
For LL, only 3 algorithms to remember


So to solve the Rubik Cube, I only need to memorize 3 algorithms (Petrus) or 4 algorithms (Fridrich)!

Monday, April 7, 2008

How to break in a cube

Do not lubricate the cube. We need the friction to grind down the imperfections.



Demo of the cube after breaking in:
PestVic Method YouTube Part 1

Demo of the ACTUAL method:
PestVic Method YouTube Part 2

Rubik Speed Cuber Kit

by Tokyomango

The company website rubikcube.jp

Rubik Store with Speed Cubing similar to Petrus

Rubiksolver

Cubing Tips from Cubefreak


www.cubefreak.net

Sunday, April 6, 2008

How to Sand Rubik Cube - Warning - Don't Do It!

I tried all the below methods of sanding and I lost a cube!
So, my advice - don't do it! I also did the silly thing of using WD40 on one cube and I lost that cube too. It become stuck and worse than before using the WD40 on it.

Only use Silicon Spray - nothing else. I use CRC Brand Silicon Spray - ensure that when buying a silicon spray - read the fine print on the can to check whether it is suitable for plastic. The CRC Silicon brand that I use specifically mentions plastic. Some silicon spray excludes plastic - so be careful.


DO NOT DO THESE:

How to sand using 400 - 600 grit file, sand pape and steel wool:

ttumoeg youtube Pt 1

ttumoeg youtube Pt 2


Simple sanding just using finernail filer:

NuclearBanana10 youtube

yaya2295 youtube

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

quillfredimenti Petrus Method

quillfredimenti on Petrus Method F2L

Fridrich Method

This is too complicated:
dudemanpp youtube



From the horse's mouth:
Jessica Fridrich website


This is ok if got time to study it:
fallofshadows youtube

Notes from fallofshadows video:

After doing white cross, put it bottom.

Rule 1:
where white facing up on top layer
put side line up with cente color opposite to white corner
roll clockwise F
move white on top of it

Rule 2:
where white facing sideways and edge different color on top
setup opposite sides on top
roll white corner over the correct edge
roll white over opposite side to connect.
2-in-1 rotate insert white in one go


Rule 3:
where white facing sideways and edge same color on top
setup opposite side to white
roll white down
rotate 180 to match up side by side with the downed white
bring white back up