I recently put a half hearted ebay bid on a Globe ball http://twistypuzzles.com/cgi-bin/puzzle.cgi?pid=571 and happened to win it for about $12 with shipping. I already have one, but I figured, what the heck.

It showed up and I didn't have it out of the postal package more than 10 seconds before I handed it to my 3 year old son (he asked nicely, and plays with the cube sometimes). He thought it was a ball, and promptly threw it on the floor, where it shattered.

To make a good thing out of this situation, here are some pictures of its internals. I was surprised at the lack of screws.

The reason these turn so poorly is the very strong springs. Way stronger than they need to be. My Zodiac Magic Ball is so tight I can barely move it.

I was amazed at how thin the plastic was holding the piece against the spring. I have real doubts that I can glue it strong enough to hold against that pressure.

Note the wedge that holds the spring down. Interesting.

The center axes are two pieces put together by a piece of metal crushed on one end to hold fast.

Oh well. The same day I received another package of puzzles, but chose to open the globe first. It's a good thing I didn't hand him one of these:


Dave

very nice! That globe ball doesn't look very customizable either.

I like that Thomas ball. You know where I can find one of those???

Thanks for the pictures Dave and thanks to your son for helping you with it.
I was always wondering why I couldn't take it apart easily!
Vadim

A four color (like the one I just received) just sold on ebay a few days ago for $78, but that is the only one I've seen so far.

As for customizable, I suppose you could build out from the ball. But the pieces hold together near the outside, so you can't cut in much.

Dave

So the glue seemed to hold, I re-assembled the puzzle and lubed it a bit, and it moved pretty well. I put it up on the shelf, and a few minutes later...

...Pop, it exploded into pieces again.

Sigh.

I'll re-build it again, perhaps if I can find some weaker springs, but I think I've hit the limit of 20 year old plastic durability.

To further compound my failure with this particular mechanism, I decided to clean my zodiac ball (same mechanism), now that I know the internal workings.

It was a bear to get apart, but once I did I figured I'd clean it up, reassemble and lube it. It barely moved before, so I figured, how much worse can it turn?


Sigh.

Now I can't reassemble it. Either it was already breaking, or the stress of getting it apart caused the plastic to fail.

Word to the wise: If you have one of these puzzles, leave it on the shelf

Dave

You've got it!

I'll buy one and never touch it :p

Congrats to your son b/c he is a beast and congrats to you b/c ur son is awesome lol!

Hide your puzzles! It's the 21 pound puzzle destroying beast:



Dave

A good source for all things "springy" is http://www.smallparts.com They have a very wide selection of springs in the size range for puzzles. I have ordered form them several times, and have been very pleased with their products.

He's cute!

Way to bump a thread.

Sorry