Problem With 1x1 Bricks

[Collector245]

I have recently noticed a problem with 1x1 bricks. They tend to crack and loose clutch power! Even if they have only been used once! Has anybody else experienced this problem or a problem like this? I am curious to know!

[Driver Brandon Grumman]

I have not experienced this problem before. That is because I don't use them too often except for small builds such as minifig scale televisions, electronics, machines or weaponry. Otherwise I use the round ones for doorknobs. 

[Gonkius]

Oh Yes, seen this many times.

[RoddyMac]

Some colours are more prone to it than others I believe. 

[Collector245]

@RoddyMac I have experienced it most with the color tan. What colors have you heard are more prone to it?

Edited March 26, 2020 by Collector245

[Driver Brandon Grumman]

@Collector245 That's understandable. I refuse bricks all the time and some of them end up getting that way. The 4x2s are the ones I use the most. 

Edited March 26, 2020 by Brandon Pea

[MAB]

I haven't experienced them cracking, but they can lose clutch over time. I imagine this is partly down to them only having one point of attachment.

[AmperZand]

17 hours ago, RoddyMac said:

Some colours are more prone to it than others I believe. 

Indeed. Dark red was one of the problem colours. I had a bunch of dark red pieces crack the moment they were used. LEGO is aware of the issue and has since changed the  composition of certain colours including dark red.

[Collector245]

@MAB You rarely see them crack unless you look. Loosing clutch power is a result of cracking. The bricks you have that loose clutch power may be cracked. 

[MAB]

4 hours ago, Collector245 said:

@MAB You rarely see them crack unless you look. Loosing clutch power is a result of cracking. The bricks you have that loose clutch power may be cracked. 

None of my weaker ones are cracked.

1x1 cheese slopes, on the other hand, all my weak ones are cracked.

[dr_spock]

The sides of the bricks are under strain from the studs they are connected too.  That strain can deform the brick over time thus a lost of clutch power without visible sign of a fracture failure.  Being 1x1, there isn't as much material to resist the forces of the hunky stud.

 

 

[TeriXeri]

While it hasn't happened recently, technically the feet of a minifig are similar to a 1x1 antistud.

The figures I have used on the year 2000 Soccer sets won't grip on regular studs anymore after having them on the soccer field stands for a long time.

The legs aren't cracked however.

I assume the studs on this part are slightly bigger then regular studs to keep them from flying off when playing the game.

 

 

Edited March 27, 2020 by TeriXeri

[Collector245]

45 minutes ago, dr_spock said:

The sides of the bricks are under strain from the studs they are connected too.  That strain can deform the brick over time thus a lost of clutch power without visible sign of a fracture failure.  Being 1x1, there isn't as much material to resist the forces of the hunky stud.

That would make sense. 

 

50 minutes ago, MAB said:

None of my weaker ones are cracked.

1x1 cheese slopes, on the other hand, all my weak ones are cracked.

I have also had 1x1 plates crack. I assume that is because if the same reason @dr_spock mentioned.

[MAB]

3 hours ago, TeriXeri said:

 

 

Plus those studs are taller than normal, and the centre piece pushes the legs outwards slightly to help grip the legs.

[ShaydDeGrai]

On March 26, 2020 at 11:53 AM, RoddyMac said:

Some colours are more prone to it than others I believe. 

I've kept (for artistic accents) every Lego piece I broken in the past twenty years.  I have one black plate, one gray gear, two black axles, two red bricks, one yellow brick technic beam, and a couple zip lock baggies full of dark red and reddish brown of all different shapes, so YES some colours do seem far more prone to cracking than others.

[MAB]

On 4/2/2020 at 3:05 PM, ShaydDeGrai said:

I've kept (for artistic accents) every Lego piece I broken in the past twenty years.  I have one black plate, one gray gear, two black axles, two red bricks, one yellow brick technic beam, and a couple zip lock baggies full of dark red and reddish brown of all different shapes, so YES some colours do seem far more prone to cracking than others.

I've broken a good few black axles in my time. Although that is probably more down to me abusing them with large torques, rather than their colour!

 

[ShaydDeGrai]

1 hour ago, MAB said:

I've broken a good few black axles in my time. Although that is probably more down to me abusing them with large torques, rather than their colour!

The coolest "axle issue' I've ever seen was a 6L axle that was over-torqued into a ~5L screw with a good 15-20 or so full twists turning the lengthwise ridges of the axle into 4 spiral inclined planes; all very uniform.  Shockingly, the thing never snapped and remained dead straight even as the winding shortened the length.

The application that caused the damage was a very large GBC that was pushed to run faster than designed.