Nice! And it's great to see you're still hard at it Chad.
madsamurai wrote:..... but in the mean time are there any tips/tricks I should know going in? Or is it pretty much the same procedure as a 3-wheel just with lotsa more spinning?.....
Can't say I've tackled an insane amount of 4-wheelers... so I don't know as though I have any huge tips necessarily.
I
will say the binding order you encountered is certainly not uncommon. One might even dare say,
expected. Without getting into a technical discussion... the mechanics and construction of the 6731 encourage a 4321 binding order. All that said, it must also be said... being mindful of possibilities and probabilities is advantageous -
assumptions, on the other hand, can be dangerous. You might even gear your initial approach based on the thought of 4321 being likely - just be willing to jump ship quickly if the lock's telling you otherwise.
Also well known, but still worthy of mention, is the fact that plenty of 4-wheel locks in this world have been set to 3# combos. (
given the frustration that a 3-wheel dialing sequence presents to many users, it's no surprise really). Now, the
proper way to set 4 wheels to 3#'s is to set wheels 1&2 to the same #. But that doesn't mean someone along the way didn't double-up wheels 3&4
instead to achieve the same thing. Hell, I've even seen one where they removed the outer ring of w1 and left the inner hub on the wheel post. I suppose that works, lol... unfortunately when someone wants to utilize the
entire lock years later - that outer ring has been lost to the sands of time, lol. Another thing I've seen is the fence cut short
A real tragedy.
Point is, we just never know. Ultimately, I think we're forced to treat and approach it for what it is; a 4-wheel lock. But other possibilities should be kept in the forefront of our minds as we go along. It may be set to 3, or even just 2 numbers. This seems simple enough, but failing to recognize this possibility
throughout the manipulation can end in disaster. Or at the very least, add mountains of time to the session. Running multiple wheels together whenever possible can be one way to help catch this. Running wheels in iso is fine too(!) - but when a gate is found, be sure to run some tests to explore doubles before moving on.
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Other than that, it's just great to see you tackling something new and different. Personally, I've always noticed
some benefit from doing this. Some expected, others
unexpected. Sometimes I'd notice a more general improvement to my manipulation game overall. Other times I'd notice very specific aspects of my game were improved. It's all good.
Several people have mentioned how taxing a 4 wheel lock can be. No argument there. Undoubtedly though, we're building both mental and physical endurance (
which can be enormous factors in this game). And navigating your way throughout the wheel pack should become more fluent requiring less thought. If you don't notice that yet, you will when reverting back to a 3-wheel lock. Also, probably just an overall confidence-booster. Not cocky, lol... but feeling capable and confident is usually a good thing. It's a positive attitude to have on the approach.
My only question now is.... when they gonna bring back some 5-wheelers for us? Help make the 4's easier. lol