How to make your own Rubik's Octagon Barrel

I have finally (almost) completed my first Rubik's modification (I have two others in the making). This is a very simple modification that is a good proof-of-concept. It is actually already on the mass market (or at least was) but it's a lot cheaper to make one yourself. All you need is a single Rubik's cube, a band saw or belt sander, and some Spackle or other drywall putty.


The idea behind this mod is simple: fill the pieces up with the filler (spackle) then cut. Easy. To start, fill up the pieces to be cut with the filler (in the photo below, the ones with lines on or through them). This is not always possible as with certain brands, the inside cavity of the corner pieces is capped off by plastic, sealing it off. If this is the case, you will simply have to cut and then fill the pieces, then sand down to perfection. Once you have filled (or not), make the indicated lines on the cube.

Repeat ONLY ON THE BOTTOM!! Once you have done this, simply saw along the lines that you have made (while looking from above) (saw all the way through with the cube assembled). The result will be the barrel shape. If you have not filled already, fill the cut pieces with spackle. The result will be this:

What you see in the picture is milliput, a substance that I was experimenting with as a filler. I have since switched to PolyInstafill, a spackling putty. You will likely have to seal up the spackled surfaces with glue so that you can paint the "dirty" areas black for neatness purposes and to give a better surface for th stickers to attach to. It's easy enough to cut your own stickers from there. Label/sticker paper is available at your local office supply store.