# How to break in a cube



## RampageCuber (Jul 9, 2009)

Note: This is how I break in my cube, and I'm not stating its the best way, but it works well for me.

Step 1) Assemble, tension, and sticker your cube.

Step 2) Lubricate your cube with Vaseline (this will be cleaned out later)

Step 3) 100 solves, only around 50 if you are breaking in a big cube (not more, the Vaseline can melt a lot of plastic after that)

Step 4) Clean out your cube, good tutorials are at the bottom of this post

Step 5) Lubricate your cube using CRC Silicone or Jig-A-Loo

Step 6) Work in for 3 minutes, then let it sit for around an hour

Step 7) Do 200 more solves

Step 8) Repeat steps 5 and 6

Step 9) ???

Step 10) Profit.


How to clean a cube:

[YOUTUBE]KEHErX7MZ0M&feature=related[/YOUTUBE]

How to lubricate a cube:

[YOUTUBE]s0rjg7ckq-0&feature=channel [/YOUTUBE]


Another Youtuber

[YOUTUBE]gXNTSqJFZZc&feature=related[/YOUTUBE]


----------



## daeyoungyoon (Jul 9, 2009)

Too much work for me. I just lube and solve.


----------



## JLarsen (Jul 9, 2009)

Same. I actually don't really believe in breaking in 3x3's.


----------



## miniGOINGS (Jul 9, 2009)

Actually, I'm still breaking in the very first 3x3 that I bought, ever. And it's been over a year.


----------



## JLarsen (Jul 9, 2009)

So have you not lubed it yet? I've heard people tell me don't lube it until 100 solves like screw you thats psychological crap, go put some sand in it you'll get the same effect.


----------



## miniGOINGS (Jul 9, 2009)

I've lubed it twice, well, actually: Steve lubes my cubes.


----------



## JLarsen (Jul 9, 2009)

You have someone else do it? Interesting....do you tension it?


----------



## miniGOINGS (Jul 9, 2009)

It was a storebought, but a Godly one at that. Yea, I get someone else to do the lubing for me .

EDIT: Right now I'm using a different storebought that I got about 2 months ago because I'm waiting for bright stickers from CubeSmith.


----------



## rahulkadukar (Jul 9, 2009)

I just lube it and solve and when I find that it is getting slower or harder to turn rhen I lube it again.


----------



## JTW2007 (Jul 9, 2009)

daeyoungyoon said:


> Too much work for me. I just lube and solve.



Me too. But I just solve and lube.


----------



## ChaosWZ (Jul 18, 2009)

JTW2007 said:


> daeyoungyoon said:
> 
> 
> > Too much work for me. I just lube and solve.
> ...



same, on a storebought I solve it until its relatively turnable, then lube it. Its harder to wear down the inside of a cube with lube inside it


----------



## HASH-CUBE (Jul 18, 2009)

thanks for the information


----------



## SaberSlash49 (Jul 31, 2009)

Might be dead post, but I solve and lube. Does thrwast mean ACTUAL sand like on a beach?


----------



## spdcbr (Jul 31, 2009)

SaberSlash49 said:


> Might be dead post, but I solve and lube. Does thrwast mean ACTUAL sand like on a beach?



Yeah, it has an effect of sanding down the parts where the parts of the cube are rubbed together.


----------



## SaberSlash49 (Jul 31, 2009)

I see.. Thanks, spdcbr.


----------



## Paul Wagner (Jul 31, 2009)

Jig-a-loo does the trick for mien store-boughts.


----------



## JLarsen (Jul 31, 2009)

spdcbr said:


> SaberSlash49 said:
> 
> 
> > Might be dead post, but I solve and lube. Does thrwast mean ACTUAL sand like on a beach?
> ...



It's purely psychological. You have sand in your cube and eventually you forget how hard your cube is to turn, because your hands are no longer used to it. To prove it I want you to take a cube, and another cube that you think is very close in quality. Take one and put sand in it and grind the crap out of your cube, and then test both the cubes. You'll think your cube has become smoother, until you feel the other cube, and you'll see you've only made it worse. How would grinding the plastic attribute to a better moving cube anyway?


----------



## spdcbr (Jul 31, 2009)

Sn3kyPandaMan said:


> spdcbr said:
> 
> 
> > SaberSlash49 said:
> ...



Have you actually tried it as proof? I think it does the same thing as just sanding down pieces. What you just said MIGHT be true if the sand was big and rough


----------



## xXdaveXsuperstarXx (Jul 31, 2009)

You can't take normal sand from the beach. You need finer sand. But wait? If sand get's in the core it will strip it? But finer sand has a better chance of getting in the core! So you'll probably ruin your cube either way. In the long-term I mean.


----------



## waffle=ijm (Jul 31, 2009)

i sprinkle magic dust into my cube. Then solve 2 twice. dance randomly for about 5 minutes. and then do exactly 5 moves on the cube. Undo the 5 moves and then twirl twice counter-clockwise. If done correctly you should have a well broken in cube.

and if you're going to ask were to get magic dust, I get them from fairies...seriously.

If you can't get any fairies to give you magic dust, then just solve the cube until you feel that it can't get any smoother that way. then you lube it.


----------



## xXdaveXsuperstarXx (Jul 31, 2009)

Right ...... And my brother hit's the cube until it's "broken-in".


----------



## oneofthosedudes (Aug 12, 2009)

> Step 9) ???
> 
> Step 10) Profit.


 rofl 4chan reference! XD


anyway... i might try this with a new cube, because it seems like theres something missing from my cubes... except my DIY new type a, the 1 thats "unpoppable" cuz its awesome.


----------



## Me (Aug 12, 2009)

RampageCuber said:


> Step 2) Lubricate your cube with Vaseline (this will be cleaned out later)



Never considered this but if really want to destroy the cube put some sand in with the vaseline. It would be like releasing and atom-bomb to the internals. 



spdcbr said:


> It's purely psychological. You have sand in your cube and eventually you forget how hard your cube is to turn, because your hands are no longer used to it...


Have you actually tried this? I don't think a cube can be psychologically taken from a ~40 second average to just over 20 seconds.

I go into depth with the whole sand concept here, I recommend a couple of you take a look at it. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTDblHV-NMU


----------



## Shazbut (Aug 12, 2009)

I found out that the best way to break in a storebought cube, is to paint the inside red, then throw some glitter in there while it is still drying. When it is dry, tap the cube onto the ground 2 times, and repeat "there is no place like home."

Then you go and buy a new cube and use it insane amounts until it feels pretty good, then use some lube and you are good to go.


----------



## how-to-solve-a-rubix (Aug 15, 2009)

i never break it. i fear it will not fit properly


----------



## arud45 (Aug 15, 2009)

The sand thing works.


----------



## Logan (Aug 15, 2009)

Me said:


> RampageCuber said:
> 
> 
> > Step 2) Lubricate your cube with Vaseline (this will be cleaned out later)
> ...



Ive tried that! It worked great but it was a ***** to clean out.


----------



## Dubslow (Sep 22, 2012)

RampageCuber said:


> Step 1) Assemble, tension, and sticker your cube.


Dumb question, incoming!

Using the guides in the hardware forum here, I recently bought an Alpha 3-f cube from iCubeMart. I got it Wednesday, fully assembled; I read that it will take some breaking in, and more importantly, that the tension should be tighter than average. The thing is, I just took apart the cube, and I have no idea how to adjust the tension. The core is yellow, and I'm not sure if/how to remove the centers, or if that's necessary to adjust the tension. So... what do?


----------



## Owen (Sep 22, 2012)

Dubslow said:


> Dumb question, incoming!
> 
> Using the guides in the hardware forum here, I recently bought an Alpha 3-f cube from iCubeMart. I got it Wednesday, fully assembled; I read that it will take some breaking in, and more importantly, that the tension should be tighter than average. The thing is, I just took apart the cube, and I have no idea how to adjust the tension. The core is yellow, and I'm not sure if/how to remove the centers, or if that's necessary to adjust the tension. So... what do?



Just remove the center caps and adjust the screws to a good tension. No need to disassemble the cube.


----------



## LNZ (Sep 22, 2012)

On big cubes, do emulation solving for smaller NxNXN cubes or solve cuboids you may or may not actually have. For example on a 7x7x7 cube, 
you can emulate a 3x3x7 cuboid. On a 4x4x4 cube, you can solve a 2x2x4 cuboid.


----------



## Dubslow (Sep 22, 2012)

Owen said:


> Just remove the center caps and adjust the screws to a good tension. No need to disassemble the cube.



Oooohhhh!!! That's why there's notches in the center pieces 

Thanks. Now, the problem is that the caps are really hard to get off... but I can figure that out on my own.


----------



## Cuberrism (Jan 10, 2017)

Well, I break in 3x3s by solving it until the stock lube is not visible anymore, which means it has dried up. After that, I clean out the leftover residue, and solve 100 times, or one day for me. After that, lube with anything EXCEPT Maru lube and solve until it becomes smoother and a bit quieter, then you choose whether you want to soften the plastic with Maru or not.


----------



## Dom (Jan 10, 2017)

Cuberrism said:


> Well, I break in 3x3s by solving it until the stock lube is not visible anymore, which means it has dried up. After that, I clean out the leftover residue, and solve 100 times, or one day for me. After that, lube with anything EXCEPT Maru lube and solve until it becomes smoother and a bit quieter, then you choose whether you want to soften the plastic with Maru or not.


That's kinda what I do, except, first:
I take it apart and feel each piece for sharp parts, then I carefully sand off that flash.
then I put it all back together on a little bit tight tensions and solve it constantly for a week.
After that, I take it all apart again, then clean everything with a paper towel damp with alcohol.
Next, I put it all back together with a normal lubing procedure, and loosen the tensions to what I like, then it's done.


----------



## Smiles (Jan 10, 2017)

Guys this is from 2009 everything changeddddd


----------



## Dom (Jan 10, 2017)

Smiles said:


> Guys this is from 2009 everything changeddddd


yes, but it's still a pertinent topic, I think.


----------



## Cuberrism (Jan 11, 2017)

Dom said:


> That's kinda what I do, except, first:
> I take it apart and feel each piece for sharp parts, then I carefully sand off that flash.
> then I put it all back together on a little bit tight tensions and solve it constantly for a week.
> After that, I take it all apart again, then clean everything with a paper towel damp with alcohol.
> Next, I put it all back together with a normal lubing procedure, and loosen the tensions to what I like, then it's done.


Well, I don't get flash, so I skip that part. I don't have rubbing alcohol too, so I can't reliably clean all the lube out, but it still works fine for me


----------

