--- In [email protected], "keefdcuber" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: [snip] > > > Hey guys, > > I've been wanting to get my hands on an original Deluxe tiled cube > (or 2) for ages and haven't been able to find any apart from the odd > sealed ones that come up on ebay an sell for $300 plus! How rare are > these cubes and what are the centre caps like? > > I've got 2 Game Cubes that are pretty good, the only problem is that > the centre caps are a pain to take off to adjust the screws. I've > actually drilled out the peg holes in the caps of one to make for > quick adjustment (I don't if that would break any competition rules) > and the screws have a wider thread which makes adjustment a bit > tedious, but apart from that they are good cubes. > > What are the crews in the Deluxe Cubes like David? > > > Keith.
Hi Keith, How rare are Deluxes? I have no idea how many were made. They turn up regularly on ebay. It is only recently that sealed Deluxes have gone for that much (two years ago one went for $250 but that was an anomaly then). In the last 2 years about 5 sealed Deluxe cubes have sold for less than $70. Recently bidders who nibble have been raising the prices (by prompting others to bid against them). Earlier this year three times I almost won a sealed Deluxe under $70 but warring bidders drove the price way up. Nibbling costs the bidders a whole lot of money - in England a terrible cube that retails here for $1.00 went for over $180. Some of the used Deluxe cubes I've gotten have no wear on them. They cost me between a high of $39 and a low of $6. Several recent auctions contained a Deluxe among other things and the seller didn't know what he had, and few people recognized it. The Rubik's Game cubes are Deluxe cubes, so the screws are the same - there are no caps, the screws are beneath the center tiles. However, there is way you can use different screws. About 15 years ago I broke the spindle of a Deluxe and substituted the spindle of another cube with no problem. To remove the tiles and get at the screws I use a very sharp 5/8 inch wood chisel which requires wearing work gloves. I push the edge of the chisel under the tile as far as it can go, which really isn't very far but is important, before I begin gently rocking the tile back and forth. I find I need to be patient, and gradually the glue lets go. :) If you can determine which is the correct side to try to lever up then you won't be working against the structure of the tile and the trough it sits in. The underside of the tile has two straight edges across from each other, and two sloped edges across from each other. These edges are twice the depth of the visible tile thickness, and fit neatly in the trough. The straight edges lay flat against the trough in the cubie, and if you try to lever that way you would need to bend or break the plastic of the tile to free it. The sloped edges are where the glue is and the right place to pry up because in that direction the tile will move like on a rocker, with no resistance. You may see slight indentations on the top of the tile, those are the slanted edges. Examine the center cubie that the tile fits in and you may see an additional way to determine which edges are slanted. I hope this helps. Cheers, David J ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Get fast access to your favorite Yahoo! Groups. Make Yahoo! your home page http://us.click.yahoo.com/dpRU5A/wUILAA/yQLSAA/MXMplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
