Rube Cube

Rubik's Cube for the rest of us.

• 1/8 inch Baltic birch plywood
• laser cutter
• 2 inch length of 4 inch outside diameter ABS plastic pipe
• four #8 3/4 inch wood screws
• two #10-24 bolts and acorn nuts
• wood glue
• paint: red, blue, green, orange, yellow, white, black
• varithane wood sealant
• small clamps for gluing wood pieces
• stubby screwdriver
• pliers
• saw
• electric drill and bits

Glue the pieces for the upper and lower half cube sections together so that you will have the two halves of the cube. After the glue has dried, spray the inside of each half with varithane to seal the wood.

Cut out the locking notch plate pieces. Apply glue to the three pieces with the round notches.The finger joint piece should be the top piece. To align the pieces, place them onto one of the cube halves and put the clamps in place. Carefully remove the clamped pieces and allow the glue to dry. This is removed so that any glue that squishes out when the clamps are put on doesn't glue this in place. That will come later.

Saw a two inch length of tube from the length of tube you have. Place the plywood piece with rectangular notches onto the tube followed by one of the other pieces such that the last piece on is flush with the end of the tube. These notches will be used as pilot holes for screws that will hold the tube to the mounting plate. Draw a line around the perimeter of the tube. Using the notches, mark the location of each on the tube to indicate the drill location for each hole. Take a straight edge and make a mark extending vertically to the other end of the tube. This will be used for determining the locking pin locations in another step.

Glue the tube mounting plate pieces together such that the piece with the rectangular pilot hole notches is the center piece. Place the glued pieces together on one of the cube halves as in Step 2 to help align the pieces. DO NOT glue this to the cube half yet. While the glue is drying, drill the screw holes in the plastic tube as marked in the previous step. When the glue has dried use the stubby screw driver to screw the tube onto the mounting plate.

Place the two cube plates together face to face such that the finger joints are aligned with each other. One of the notches will be aligned with one of the vertical marks from Step 3. The other notch is offset asymmetrically as shown in the second photo so that the cube can only be opened in the correct position. Carefully draw a vertical line on the tube in the center of this notch. Place an acorn nut against the tube surface with a flat edge against the plate and use the corner point of the nut to mark across the vertical line indicating the drill hole location for the #10-24 bolt. Do this for the other notch as well. Drill the holes and and mount the bolts.

Place the two plates on the half cubes and align them so that they will allow the cube to be opened when the correct color faces are aligned. If aligned correctly, glue the plates to the cube halves. Finish painting the rest of the cube faces as shown.

"Very hard to solve, but I paid a tutor 329 cents and it was wonderful. I have never impressed my friends at the mental institute more."