Hello, I was thinking about the high order 2x2xNs (or 1x2xN) and I have a question. Instead of having the cubies which are farthest from the core having long legs, could the cubies simply be connected to the one below it? Something like-

and-

and then just get a ton of these pieces and attach to a 2x2x2-

I know the ends might spread, but you could just turn the ends 45 degrees to hold it together.
So, wouldn't this mech work or is there something I'm missing?
-Joe

If you turn the entire thing on the longer sides, then the pieces would slide out and it will fall apart, you need to get them really close to the center of the puzzle to get it to work. I can't really explain much, because I have never built one, but I do know the concept of building one.

The ShengShou Crazy 2x2x2 and Super 2x2x4 use this type of mechanism. It is somewhat delicate, as the pieces can easily slip out of the rails if the outer part of the puzzle is not perfectly aligned. I have my Super 2x2x4 sitting in pieces here on my desk after someone was playing with it at my office. These are great puzzles and they turn well; they just require a bit of care when the circle pieces are turned.

It's certainly not a good idea since as stated the parts will simply fall out. You can get round this with magnets or even ball bearing as I did on my 2x2x7- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCM-5i-6-ns . However on my puzzle there was only a tiny percentage of the time that a few parts were not secure. Basically, having the kind of mechanism you describe would be of no benefit.