Over the course of 3 nights I spent an average of about 5 solid hours a night making a 2x2x3. I must say it's not as difficult as I thought it would be. It also helps that I'm working 12 hour graveyard shifts so there is lots of quiet Time to work (at least when things are going wrong like a couple of nights ago).

My first one is a bit rough, but I only had epoxy to work with. I would have preferred to work with Milliput as well but I'm waiting on a shipment of the new Black stuff from the UK. I also left significant gaps between the cubies so I could see the mechanism in action. (I shouldn't have bothered and kept it nice and tight)

I must say I enjoyed the work tremendously. Quite satisfying to hold when I placed the final stickers on it. I certainly find it easier to work on than my aborted Mental Block. I'm not sure if I want to scramble it though.

Why don't you want to scramble it! That's the fun, it's not a difficult puzzle.

Max ;)

Tell us more about the "black stuff from the UK".

Black Milliput can only be purchased directly from the Milliput company in the UK. I recently bought some and am waiting for my shipment.

I used black Milliput to build my 2x2x4. I have never used any other colour, but anyway here are some of my thoughts on the stuff.

Strength: Not as strong as a cast Epoxy resin, but still very strong. Strength is improved if a good mixing technique is used. Mix very well; roll the two parts together like a sausage, fold and repeat. Keep doing this until the putty gets very warm and soft in your hands (ie >5 mins!). If you don't mix it really well, it will be weaker. If it breaks when set look closely at the broken surfaces, if you can see fold lines this means it wasn't mixed well enough. It helps to wear latex gloves, this stops grease from your skin contaminating it. I got a harder end result if I allowed it to set slowly by putting it in cool dry place. Although hard when left over night, pieces become very hard after about a week. This is when they will polish up well.

Mouldability: It is lovely to work, you can fill areas and smooth the surface with a wet creditcard. Requires minimal sanding to finish!! Quite complicated arcs and shapes can be cut with wire clay modelling tools whilst it is soft. It machines very well with a dremil when hard.

Finish: Will polish up to a high gloss (looks as good as commercial cast pieces) but doesn't hold the shine for as long. Pieces become dull when the puzzle is played for any reasonable amount of time.

Cost: At about £5 for a 4oz pack it is not cheap, but for certain situations it is not unreasonable.

Like I said, I've not used other colours or different brands. The added pigment may have affected the strength and durability of the finish. Although with any other product the finish would probably be paint! Anyone wish to comment?

Max

I've just purchased 3 4oz packs of the super fine white Milliput. Since there wasn't a store close by I had to mail order. I would have preferred black, but it's not available in Canada. Since I'm stuck with mail ordering anyway, I may as well try to get black! Do either of you guys know of any place that sells the black stuff online?

Sandy

Order directly from Milliput, but you have to contact them requesting it directly. You can email them at info@milliput.com and they'll give you a price list. Tell them you're in Canada for appropriate shipping. Unfortunately they only take Pounds, so that can be a bit inconvenient.

Is there an american equivelent to milliput? I could use some and havent heard of it anywhere. I checked out major craft stores and hardware stores but no one knows what the stuff is. I'd rather not have to send out for it by mail. But I may have too...

...I also left significant gaps between the cubies so I could see the mechanism in action. (I shouldn't have bothered and kept it nice and tight)...

If you use some tape to align and tight the cubies together before the milliput is hard the result is a tight cube. So I do not recommend fast harden epoxy but milliput. Since it will be tight you can use white milliput and not see the mechanisme(use some permanent marker to paint)! please look at my home pages for more instructions.

Success!

Before you give up on Milliput, try filling out their "Problems getting hold of milliput" form at http://www.milliput.com/prod.htm.

I gave up my search after calling a dozen crafts stores in downtown Toronto with no luck. I filled out that form, and was given the name of a few stores and the main distributor in my area. As it turned out, the stores were still a helluva long way away for a person limited to the local transit system.

So, unless you live in downtown Toronto, it's worth a try! Good luck.

Sandy

In response to Cubecrazy's question of an equivalent to Milliput... I have found a moldable epoxy type product from "PC" it is called "Marine" 'hand moldable all pourpose epoxy putty stick'

Unfortunately I do not have the packaging that it cam in as I bought it some time ago but they have a large variety of epoxy products, one of the most popular is PC-7

I purchased PC Marine at "Do it best" Hardware stores

I hope this helps.
_pink

Actually my measurements were quite good. I could have easily made a cube with the epoxy with no gaps, but I added extra little shims to create the gaps.

As for using Milliput instead of epoxy, actually I got a real itch to make a 2x2x3 and I didn't have any Milliput handy, but I DID have lots of epoxy at work... You get the idea.

I found something called Sculpey that I've messed around with a little bit. I'm not sure if I'm cooking it right or not, but... The pieces I've made so far aren't nearly hard enough for permanent pieces--you can make dents in it with your fingernail and I'm sure they'd break easily and wear out right away. But it seems good for making into rough outlines that can easily be carved into prototype pieces for making molds out of if you want to do casting.

cubecrazy wrote:
> Is there an american equivelent to milliput?
> I could use some and havent heard of
> it anywhere. I checked out major craft
> stores and hardware stores but no one
> knows what the stuff is. I'd rather not
> have to send out for it by mail. But I
> may have too...

found it.....

http://www.pcepoxy.com

Milliput is great. Magic Sculp or Magic Sculpt is very similar and about 1/4 the cost.