# Rubik's Wood Cube



## Bryan (Feb 10, 2010)

Just saw on Winning Moves' Facebook page that they're going to release a wooden Rubik's Cube.


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## PHPJaguar (Feb 10, 2010)

Linkie? To the Facebook profile anyway. I couldn't find it through a search.


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## Stefan (Feb 10, 2010)

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Winning+Moves'+Facebook

But I agree, when you have the link already, please include it.


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## Muesli (Feb 10, 2010)

Hmmm... Gimmick much?


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## cincyaviation (Feb 11, 2010)

Musli4brekkies said:


> Hmmm... Gimmick much?


nope


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## fundash (Feb 11, 2010)

Ya, i made a thread about this awhile ago, my dad met them at the toy fair in Canada.


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## pelley (Mar 8, 2010)

*Video*

The video demo of this looks nice. The stickers are actually clear stickers, so in theory they could be replaced, or you could paint the cube. It looks like it turns fairly well too.

Watch it in HD; there are very good close-ups:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o99Ju15tE7w

Chris


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## ceptimus (Mar 8, 2010)

The original prototype made by Rubik himself was wooden.

And it wasn't a cube! It had the corner pieces truncated.


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## Erik (Mar 8, 2010)

*predicts a flop*


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## Edward (Mar 8, 2010)

Lol, in the video he says, "You can do all your speedcubing with it..."
That doesn't sound like a great idea to me...


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## Erik (Mar 8, 2010)

Also shows how Rubik's thinks about speedcubing... 'you can do all your speedcubing with it' sounds kinda like they think of us as a very small group of weirdos... like 'IF you would come to the crazy idea to solve your cube on speed which is unheard off you could also use it for this but I hate telling you this'...


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## pelley (Mar 8, 2010)

Actually the guy in the video is Joe Sequino of Winning Moves (not "Rubik's") and he has been to several competitions, both world and national level. So he knows our demographic fairly well.

I don't think this cube will be a "flop" because it's a limited edition first off. I've wanted a wooden cube for a long time, mainly as a curiosity. It occurred to me once that there is really no reason the cube couldn't have been invented hundreds of years ago (obviously wood carved). My guess is this one still has a plastic core, but it still looks nice. And if the mech is good enough to do finger tricks, I'll try a speedsolve or two on it. The weight might make it tough to get your best times though.


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## JL58 (Mar 8, 2010)

And of course we are not a very small group of weirdos


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## masterofthebass (Mar 8, 2010)

pelley said:


> Actually the guy in the video is Joe Sequino of Winning Moves (not "Rubik's") and he has been to several competitions, both world and national level. So he knows our demographic fairly well.



At US Open 07 I distinctly remember the other representative of Winning Moves saying that the ice cube is a much better for speedcubing, completely ignore the fact that it was both illegal to use in competition, and that it failed to compare to the east sheen. 

That being said, I definitely think this is a cool collectors item and not a bad idea to make.


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## Sakarie (Mar 8, 2010)

It's their 30 years anniversary, and the cube costs 29.95 ... Fail!


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## lorki3 (Mar 8, 2010)

Sakarie said:


> It's their 30 years anniversary, and the cube costs 29.95 ... Fail!


 lolz


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## stinkocheeze (Mar 8, 2010)

JL58 said:


> And of course we are not a very small group of weirdos



We are a LARGE group (of weirdos)


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## Alex DiTuro (Mar 8, 2010)

Sakarie said:


> It's their 30 years anniversary, and the cube costs 29.95 ... Fail!



It costs 30.95 now. o.o


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## crazymanjimbo46 (Mar 8, 2010)

I'm afraid of splinters.


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## FrankMorris (Mar 8, 2010)

I tried it out in New York, just before they kicked me out of the booth. It didn't turn very well.

Frank


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## pelley (Mar 8, 2010)

FrankMorris said:


> I tried it out in New York, just before they kicked me out of the booth. It didn't turn very well.



Could you see if the internals were plastic? Did it at least turn as well as a typical store-bought? Why did they kick you out?!

Chris


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## FrankMorris (Mar 8, 2010)

I didn't have a chance to check the internals. It was no better than a store bought. I was afraid to be rough with it. They kicked me out because I am a was "a competitor". 

It was funny. When I walked in they looked at me funny, and then called this giant guy from their staff room and had him come out and tell me to leave. As if they anticipated trouble or something. Pretty ridiculous.


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## pelley (Mar 8, 2010)

FrankMorris said:


> They kicked me out because I am a was "a competitor".



At first I thought you meant speedcubing competitor (like most of their customers would be). But I guess it was your V-Cubes endorsement? Did they think you were doing recon on their new mech designs or something?


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## qqwref (Mar 8, 2010)

Haha, maybe they thought you were officially affiliated with V-cubes, and didn't want you stealing their designs XD


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## Bryan (Mar 9, 2010)

pelley said:


> FrankMorris said:
> 
> 
> > They kicked me out because I am a was "a competitor".
> ...



Were you wearing your V-Cube shirt perhaps? I'm wondering if that might have been the reason.


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## masterofthebass (Mar 9, 2010)

qqwref said:


> Haha, maybe they thought you were officially affiliated with V-cubes, and didn't want you stealing their designs XD



he is officially affiliated with V-cubes. That trade show wasn't for the public to be at.


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## pelley (Mar 10, 2010)

*Photo of mechanism*

The cube has a plastic core and plastic feet on the pieces. Each foot is fastened with a small Phillips screw, which means you could use your own wood pieces. Not sure if the center caps are glued on.

This one feels tight out of the box. The wood probably has more friction. I'll break it in and see what happens. VERY heavy! Nice item in my opinion.


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## prostx23 (May 14, 2010)

pelley said:


> The cube has a plastic core and plastic feet on the pieces. Each foot is fastened with a small Phillips screw, which means you could use your own wood pieces. Not sure if the center caps are glued on.
> 
> This one feels tight out of the box. The wood probably has more friction. I'll break it in and see what happens. VERY heavy! Nice item in my opinion.



I plan on buying one of these next week, but I could see where these could be problematic years down the road if used heavily and the screws loosen and possible strip the wood. That said, it won't stop me from enjoying mine.

Mike

BTW, I enjoyed your vid for solving this cube... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUBwSVx2S4c&feature=related


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## Samania (May 14, 2010)

How are you supposed to lube it?


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## Athefre (May 14, 2010)

Polyurethane


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## cuberkid10 (May 15, 2010)

Honestly, this cube turns worse than a new store-bought. I don't see how you could cube with it. My usual time is sub 20. My time with that was sub 2 min.


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## crazymanjimbo46 (May 15, 2010)

If I was anyone here I wouldn't even take them out of the box much less turn them.


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## James Ludlow (May 17, 2010)

Samania said:


> How are you supposed to lube it?



Silcon spray.



cuberkid10 said:


> Honestly, this cube turns worse than a new store-bought. I don't see how you could cube with it. My usual time is sub 20. My time with that was sub 2 min.



Have you lubed yours? I couldn't really 2 either, but I lubed and it just feels like a really heavy storebought. I'm still easily sub30 on it.


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## Ton (May 17, 2010)

cuberkid10 said:


> Honestly, this cube turns worse than a new store-bought. I don't see how you could cube with it. My usual time is sub 20. My time with that was sub 2 min.




Needless to say, a must for the collector, needless to say I have it!!! I used paraffin-candle- for the cubies as they are wood and silicone for the center. It turns quite good after this treatment


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## Toquinha1977 (May 19, 2010)

I bought a couple of these bad boys, one for collector's sake (sits on the shelf and in the hex-packaging), one to play around with. I haven't gotten around to lubing it yet, which is why it's hella-tight, although it seems to get a little bit better (either it's gotten looser or I've just gotten used to it). I do prefer cubes to have a little more heft to them, although this is ridiculous. 

The thing is a piece of art, though.


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## BrunoAD (May 22, 2010)

The wooden cubes are VERY hard to turn out of the box, even harder than my Studio cubes (which are the harder than any store bought I have). Corner cutting is almost non existent out of the box. It almost feels as if it did not even have springs. I will try paraffin on one and bar soap, bees wax and Slipit sliding compound on others, as I get them. 

The stickers are put on very badly. They are hard, almost tile like, so the edges that stick out feel uncomfortably sharp against my fingers.
Also, the transparent yellow is very hard to see, especially in dimmer light.
I am not sure how comfortable I feel re-stickering these. I wonder if it will be possible to purchase see-through replacement stickers.


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## MichaelErskine (May 22, 2010)

BrunoAD said:


> The wooden cubes are VERY hard to turn out of the box, even harder than my Studio cubes (which are the harder than any store bought I have). Corner cutting is almost non existent out of the box. It almost feels as if it did not even have springs. I will try paraffin on one and bar soap, bees wax and Slipit sliding compound on others, as I get them.


Silicone was fine for mine. Also I retained my other cubes for speedcubing - you should have done the same 


BrunoAD said:


> The stickers are put on very badly. They are hard, almost tile like, so the edges that stick out feel uncomfortably sharp against my fingers.
> Also, the transparent yellow is very hard to see, especially in dimmer light.
> I am not sure how comfortable I feel re-stickering these. I wonder if it will be possible to purchase see-through replacement stickers.


I'm sure you could find some good replacement tile material with a bit of effort. Personally, I'm leaving mine in the box -- I have dozens of cubes to choose from that are actually designed for speed. It's an ornament dude!


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## BrunoAD (May 23, 2010)

I used paraffin wax on my first wood cube and only got a VERY slight improvement. It is horrible and not even good to slow solve. I ordered more in hope that I get a better one.
I got one of the center caps off (which are glued on), only to find out that there are no adjustable screws. That is really too bad, as this cube could have had much more potential. I was unable to tell if it had any springs, the core was THAT tight.
I think it is odd and a shame that the pioneer twisty cube company makes some of the worst products on the market...


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## DavidWoner (May 23, 2010)

I guess you could say it's odd. I think of it as shameful.


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## Toquinha1977 (May 23, 2010)

Despite my reluctance, I went ahead and used Jig-A-Loo (have another one that sits on the shelf) and it turns significantly better, although it does have a solvent effect on the plastic guts. M2 slices are actually possible and U2 and R2 doesn't involve the entire wrist.


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## riffz (May 23, 2010)

If I bought one I probably wouldn't take it out of the box. Hoping that it'll be any good for solving is somewhat silly in my opinion. It's a collectors item.


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## BrunoAD (May 24, 2010)

After waxing it, I dripped some 50wt shock oil into it and this improved its turning greatly.


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## Skullush (May 25, 2010)

riffz said:


> If I bought one I probably wouldn't take it out of the box. Hoping that it'll be any good for solving is somewhat silly in my opinion. It's a collectors item.



Yeah. It is interesting but I don't see it being used for solves very much at all.


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## advincubing (Nov 1, 2012)

I'm thinking of getting a wood 30th anniversary cube and dyeing (not painting) the faces. Anyone with experience with wood and dyes know whether it could work and have any suggestions on how? I feel like it would be hard to mask the corners for three colors and edges for two.


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