From nichael@sover.net  Wed May  1 23:23:03 1996
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Date: Wed, 1 May 1996 23:24:16 -0400
To: DNewfield@virginia.edu, cube-lovers@ai.mit.edu
From: nichael@sover.net (Nichael Lynn Cramer)
Subject: Re: building a Rubik's Revenge

At 9:39 PM 5/1/96, Dale Newfield wrote:
>I know that I have at least some of the parts from at least one broken
>Rubik's Revenge lying around somewhere.  I would suspect that I am not
>alone.  I was wondering if we could satisfy a small portion of the people
>that do not have such a beast merely by pooling our resources, and
>building whole puzzles out of the remains of old ones?  So--I'll check to
>see what I can find, and anyone that likewise has RR carcasses that they
>wouldn't mind donating to such a purpose, mail me.  Let's see what we can
>pull off!

An excellent suggestion.

For those who aren't aware of the problem that Dale mentions, the issue is
that --unlike the odd-order cubes that have a central piece which can be
used to anchor its neighbors-- the structural integrity of the RR depends
on a central (internal) plate held in place by a screw whose adjustment is
quite critical.  Of the four RRs that I own, one is very good.  Of the
others, two are so tight as to be almost impossible to turn.  The fourth is
so loose that it simply cannot be made to stay together (I discovered this
for the first time as I was sitting in a movie theater playing with my new
toy; as the lights lowered for the movie to start I felt the sickening
sensation of a cube slowly dissolving in my hands...).

The last time I saw it, it was in a sack in a drawer in my other office.
I'll be glad to contribute that one.

Nichael Cramer
work: ncramer@bbn.com
http://www.sover.net/~nichael