I made a collapsible dice tower. I used traditional machining for it though. I used a bedmill (2 axis CNC) to cut the Acrylic to size and drill the holes for the magnets. Then I had some vinyl patterns made and sandblasted the patterns onto the Acrylic.
The entire time I was making this, I kept thinking this would be so much easier with a Laser Cutter.
Iām thinking of going to a slotted design instead of the magnets. I donāt have access to a free bedmill anymore, I donāt think Iāll be able to cut the holes on the side of the Acrylic with the Glowforge.
I really like the dragon head on yours, and I also like the look of the acrylic.
Does it just snap together with magnets? If so, thatās cool.
I made one with slots, that is collapsible. I cut the prototype it in MDF.
Iād like to find some way to make some leather bands that snaps together and keeps the whole collapsed dice tower together in one stack for easy transport. It would also be nice to line parts of it with leather or felt to make the dice rolling less noisy.
The double side walls are strictly for aesthetics. Iām planning on designing several different ones, with different themes. By having a base tower, and just changing the side walls, I can quickly design a whole bunch of different ones.
Thanks for the tip on the cheap felt. Iāll see if can order some.
Great design! Felt- or foam-lined dice towers are high on my project list, too. We game after the kids have gone to sleep and clattering dice are loud as heck.
Whatās awesome is with Glowforge you can cut two different materials separately in the same pass. The candle I cut Mark Frauenfelder is a good example of that - I did the padauk hardwood frame and frosted acrylic shades in one pass.
I like Deanās posts, they often cover āmakerā type things.
I actually credit Mark Frauenfelderās āMade by Handā book for getting me back into making things. I listened to an audiobook version of it, and it reminded me how much I used to like making things before I had kids and all my time got āreroutedā to something else. I highly recommend it.
Before kids, my hobby was painting, and I got good enough to be in galleries (see www.bengatien.com for examples of my work). After our 3rd and 4th child arrived, I simply no longer had the time to paint. Now, any time I take out paints, half my time is spent showing my kids how to do things, and cleaning up paint mishaps. So Iām not too productive with that hobby.
At the same time that I listened to Markās book, the library opened a maker space with a laser-cutter. I decided to try it out, and now Iām hooked on making new things. Itās much easier than painting, since I do all the design on computer, and there is very little cleanup to do afterwards.
Iām also looking forward to showing my kids how to design and cut things with the Glowforge.
I have plans to make a series of dice towers and terrain sets for tabletop rpgs, amongst many other geek and gaming accessories. I might potentially move into making gaming dice also. Iām practically ready to start producing when the glowforge and when a particular 3d printer arrives.
