I am making a Diamond Cube from a 3x3x3 using a hack saw and Milliput. It is turning out well enough.

My next project is going to be a Rhombic Dodecahedron cut down from a Rubik's Pocket cube and built up with Milliput. Would anyone like to give me advice on how to take the Pocket Cube apart without breaking it?

As far as I can tell you could also make it from a skewb mechanism. Sort of like the ultimate skewb from Mefferts. Maybe you could make one of these too?

Take a look at my web site as it will show you the two possible mechanism inside of the Pocket Cube.

http://www.virtualpuzzlemuseum.com

AT YOUR OWN RISK, do one of the following.

If it is the BALL mechanism you should be able to see a screw at the intersection of the 4 corner cubes (where they all touch each other - which is the dead center of a cube face). If you see no screw (use a bright light) then you have the other mechanism.

Unscrew completely any ONE screw with a Phillips Jewelers screwdriver and you should have no problem getting the rest apart.

If the other mechanism is in use the trick is to turn the front face about 1/8 - 1/4 inch clockwise (which is not much) and then turn the right side clockwise slowly. This will forcibly derail the mechanism that holds the corner on and you should then be able to get the rest of them off.

I actually drew up some plans for making the same puzzles about 3 years ago, but haven't had the time or a good method to them. Let us know how your Milliput rhombic dodecahedron puzzles turn out. If you get stuck on some of the angles, let me know. I might be able to help you.

I would be very interested in your drawings! My plan was to build the pieces up with Milliput to be too big and sand them down until they looked right. A risky, error-prone approach, no doubt. A little help from your plans would be most appreciated!

I made a Skewb rhombic dodecahedron using a keychain puzzle ball and milliput. It is actually not as difficult as it seems to get the angles right.

What you can do is sand it down a bit, mix up the puzzle, and then you can easily see that some pieces are thicker or at different angles than the ones next to it. You can then sand it down some more, since you have a better idea what the angles should be. By repeatedly sanding and mixing, it comes out just fine.

Jaap

Thanks for the tip. As you say, sanding Milliput is a breeze. I like the idea of turning the puzzle to mix it up and get all the pieces uniform.

I would love to see a photo of your skewb keychain rhombic dodecahedron.