Hi there! Great video and always nice to see people get into dice making (dice maker here)! Well done on your first sets! Definitely takes a bit of practice to get going on dice making. One suggestion when it comes to color/swirls/sparkles is, get a bottle of Brea Reese Liquid Glitter. What you can do is mix that into the resin with your alcohol ink and you'll get that sparkle from the glitter, but the transparency that you don't get with the mica powders. Can't wait to see what else you come up with!
As someone who designs heating systems for a living, the lightbulb is both brilliant and dangerous haha. I'd recommend wiring in a cheap high temperature safety acting as a switch to kill power to the light, house fires are no joke! Great video though
I got into making dice a few years ago. A pressure pot really does make all the difference. Even with 30-50lbs of pressure you will end up with crystal clear dice with no bubbles. I cant recommend one enough and honestly with how much I have used it its easily a sound investment. Also, making your own dice molds is great but you generally have to have a 3d printer to do that so more investment. A couple of tips however, make sure you are following the resin mixing instructions thoroughly. If it says by weight, it means grab a scale and get exact. By volume, make sure those two cups are filled to the same line. If you are off on this your dice either wont cure or will be soft. Honestly, the worst part of the entire thing is sanding. I have started ultra sanding my master dice off the printer to a mirror shine, then I carefully make a mold of them (i use jewelers wax to mount them to the mold box). Afterwards, my cap molds only have one slightly raised face that can easily be polished away. I put the finished dice into a bullet casing tumbler with v34 car polish and ceramic polishing media and run them for 24+ hours. The dice come out a mirror shine and beautiful. Now if I can only trick my colorblind eyes into coming up with a good color combination :) Don't get into dice to make money though, do it for fun. I give my players custom character themed dice for each campaign as a gift for putting up with me as a DM
@@powerwordspill We made a pressure pot for my wife out of the Harbor Freight Air Pressure Paint Tank. It worked for everything she needed it for (mostly dice) for over 2 years and only just had a project that didn't fit. I would recommend upgrading the wing screws to bolts and using a cordless driver (careful not to over-torque)
Great video, I've been making dice for myself for a couple of years now. And finally decided to jump into making my own molds last summer... I cant express with words how much more complicated it is to start making good molds of your own design, but the satisfaction at the end is just incredible.
Same journey we are on and it is a totally different beast! May I ask if you are also creating your own master sets? We have been successful at creating molds with dice we have bought, but we are now working through 3D resin printing master sets, and then making molds from them. That is whole other level for sure!
I started making dice about 6 months ago and I really like your point about how imperfect dice are still really good dice. I’m definitely my own harshest critic, everyone I’ve shown my dice too have all said that the dice look great and they don’t seem the defects until I point them out.
Hey! I recently saw a video of a guy making his own "pressure pot" for under $10, using only a 3.5 gallon pickle container, tire stem, and bike pump with pressure gage. Might be a cool build to see recreated on this channel!
This has given me the inspiration to make my own dice! I've watched so many videos on how to do it but they involve equipment I simply don't have access to. I like the way you showed that fantastic dice don't need to be 100% but that 90% is still amazing (& even matches the quality of mass produced dice!)
heh, that's great! I already have some dice mold... but plan to try making dice set close to the summer (because of the temperature things which you mentioned). Thanks for the cool video and motivation! Great results, btw
Awesome video! I just recently started my journey into making D&D content on TH-cam and a lot of the inspiration came from you and yours! Much of the way you run your campaigns was similar to mine, such as using owlbear rodeo, utilizing dungeon alchemist, and making a digital DM screen, so I figured I could try my hand at introducing new ideas to the community too! Thanks for all the great videos - and hopefully I can reach the point you're at too!
Looks good man! When you're ready to chase that last 10% of perfection let me know and i can help you! Most of your large voids on the cap faces is from the need of having to shimmy this lids design into place. The smaller bubbles can easily be eliminated with a cheap gas station torch and a pressure pot. The excess resin is causing way too thick of flashing too. I also don't see the need to heat anything with my techniques. In fact, i stir like a mad man because the bubbles don't scare me anymore. You'll reach that point too :)
Yeah, bubbles are the bane of my dice making existence... Still working on it but I managed to make some great shapes so far and even gifted some to my friends for birthdays. They love the dice. Will try making my own molds next... But first, I am still researching how to get rid of these last bubbles. Somehow, i managed to help one of my pupils to make a set with some perfect dice lmao. Hope i can repeat that with my own 🙂
I have in fact made my own dice before, but the catch is that they were 3D printed dice. I'd always love to get a resin printer to try that for that sweeet sweeeeet detail density, but that's far off from where I am now. lol I know peeps who've done resin mold dice beforee.
I don't make dice. I've never mixed resin in my life. With that said, a thought popped in my head when you were mixing the resin. Since a well blended mixture is incredibly important and you want to limit bubbles, shouldn't you add each liquid in 10mL increments? Fill the cup to 10mL with bottle A. Fill to 20mL with bottle B. Fill to 30mL with A Finally fill to 40mL with B The solution would be already partially mixed so the amount of stirring should lessened.
Looks cool but my question is how balanced those dice are? I can imagine, with all the bubbles and sanding by hand there's pretty high potential for them to be weighted, especially those with powder dye. Have you given them the old salt bath test?
If I have big bubles on top, I just prepare another resin, fill the bubbles carefully (using a pin helps to fill small spaces), let it cure again and I use the rest for different project. It does not help with microbubbles, but it helps with the others.
I have been into this hobby for a while and have tons of fun. I recommend getting a pressure pot if you keep going past the first several sets a it really did make a difference in making bubble free dice. I still notice imperfections but try to ignore them, and I’ve even made some for my friends at the dnd table
Making dice molds from ground zero (designing and printing masters) adds few more levels of complexity. I have pressure pot and all that is needed from my usual work (making custom pens) but man just figuring out how to print perfectly is hard, then there is a problem of silicone reacting with resin masters... On first try used tin cure silicone, it works with 3d printed masters, but died after third pour. It's not an easy technique to learn, buying high quality silicone mold is definitely a way to start making dice. Also making silicone molds pretty much requires use of pressure pot or a vacuum.
Acetone is a great thinner, I use approximately .5ml for an ounce of resin, then I vacuum chamber the resin to degas, it can be a bit of work degasing but you will be bubble free. A heat gun/butane lighter is the best for surface popping, and a tooth pick can be used to physically remove trapped bubbles in the mold. Lubricating the key/registration marks with a little Vaseline keeps the mold lid secured!
Definitely making dice for my characters! So far I’ve tried several times, but only 2 came out successfully. I plan to add insertions into the dice for my first 2 characters, so that makes reducing bubbles even trickier, not to mention suspending stuff in them correctly and not letting it sink
For sanding, I would suggest using figure 8 instead of vertical and horizontal strokes. It makes the motion smoother (so you can go longer) and more even all around.
i think for the numbers you may (i have no idea) be able to put some gold (or really any other color) uv resin in a needle and from there carefully inject it into the number (PS: do this before you do any polishing)
Hello, I really liked your video. We have a very creative 2-in-1 D&D dice and fidget spinner. This product is expected to generate a lot of interest for your video. I would like to send you a sample. Could you please let me know how I can contact you?
Using a low watt dhp bulb and a reptile thermostat with a kill switch would be far safer. The thermostat can be set to the temp range you want and it kills the power when to hotturning it back if it gets low. Great vid.
The ending of your videos make me smile every time. Excellent dice making tutorial. It's always something I've wanted to do, but have always been cautious\worries that it would turn out a mess. This is a LOT of awesome tips, thank you! I still don't know if I will step into dice making, but it does make me want to consider it more :)
So excited about the Patreon and merch! If you have more (imperfect) dice than you know what to do with you can always throw them in with merch orders as a fun surprise! Can’t wait for my hat to arrive and watch all the cool BTS on the Patreon
just the video I needed! I've been thinking about making dice for a while now. Looks like I'll be trying this summer when it's warm enough! (still dropping to -15°C here)
Been making dice for almost a year now and absolutely love it! Getting to experiment with colors and different pours is a fun creative outlet and I even am getting ready to sell some online :) Also have that same set of alcohol ink and am still using it today, is fantastic!
Hey, great vid. One thing I was told about resin pours is not to take a flame to the resin to pop the bubbles. You run the risk of flash curing the resin, trapping in any bottom bubbles. In most cases you can lightly blow on the top of the resin to pop the top bubbles.
No I haven't, but most of the dice masters that you can buy are 3d printed with clear resin. They definitely require some sanding and polishing off the printer. But you could probably get some really cool designs that aren't possible with casting
Hi there! Great video and always nice to see people get into dice making (dice maker here)! Well done on your first sets! Definitely takes a bit of practice to get going on dice making. One suggestion when it comes to color/swirls/sparkles is, get a bottle of Brea Reese Liquid Glitter. What you can do is mix that into the resin with your alcohol ink and you'll get that sparkle from the glitter, but the transparency that you don't get with the mica powders. Can't wait to see what else you come up with!
That's a great tip, I'll have to get some! Thank you!
As someone who designs heating systems for a living, the lightbulb is both brilliant and dangerous haha. I'd recommend wiring in a cheap high temperature safety acting as a switch to kill power to the light, house fires are no joke! Great video though
I got into making dice a few years ago. A pressure pot really does make all the difference. Even with 30-50lbs of pressure you will end up with crystal clear dice with no bubbles. I cant recommend one enough and honestly with how much I have used it its easily a sound investment. Also, making your own dice molds is great but you generally have to have a 3d printer to do that so more investment. A couple of tips however, make sure you are following the resin mixing instructions thoroughly. If it says by weight, it means grab a scale and get exact. By volume, make sure those two cups are filled to the same line. If you are off on this your dice either wont cure or will be soft. Honestly, the worst part of the entire thing is sanding. I have started ultra sanding my master dice off the printer to a mirror shine, then I carefully make a mold of them (i use jewelers wax to mount them to the mold box). Afterwards, my cap molds only have one slightly raised face that can easily be polished away. I put the finished dice into a bullet casing tumbler with v34 car polish and ceramic polishing media and run them for 24+ hours. The dice come out a mirror shine and beautiful. Now if I can only trick my colorblind eyes into coming up with a good color combination :)
Don't get into dice to make money though, do it for fun. I give my players custom character themed dice for each campaign as a gift for putting up with me as a DM
That's great advice, thank you! I was thinking about making some dice for my players, that would be a really fun gift
@@powerwordspill We made a pressure pot for my wife out of the Harbor Freight Air Pressure Paint Tank. It worked for everything she needed it for (mostly dice) for over 2 years and only just had a project that didn't fit. I would recommend upgrading the wing screws to bolts and using a cordless driver (careful not to over-torque)
Great video, I've been making dice for myself for a couple of years now. And finally decided to jump into making my own molds last summer... I cant express with words how much more complicated it is to start making good molds of your own design, but the satisfaction at the end is just incredible.
Same journey we are on and it is a totally different beast! May I ask if you are also creating your own master sets? We have been successful at creating molds with dice we have bought, but we are now working through 3D resin printing master sets, and then making molds from them. That is whole other level for sure!
Every time I hear about creating one's own dice, I always think of that old, cozy industrial chimney, I always think of Neha.
I started making dice about 6 months ago and I really like your point about how imperfect dice are still really good dice. I’m definitely my own harshest critic, everyone I’ve shown my dice too have all said that the dice look great and they don’t seem the defects until I point them out.
Hey! I recently saw a video of a guy making his own "pressure pot" for under $10, using only a 3.5 gallon pickle container, tire stem, and bike pump with pressure gage. Might be a cool build to see recreated on this channel!
This has given me the inspiration to make my own dice! I've watched so many videos on how to do it but they involve equipment I simply don't have access to. I like the way you showed that fantastic dice don't need to be 100% but that 90% is still amazing (& even matches the quality of mass produced dice!)
Yeah if it's for your own use then it's still exciting even if they aren't perfect! I'm very glad I tried it
heh, that's great! I already have some dice mold... but plan to try making dice set close to the summer (because of the temperature things which you mentioned). Thanks for the cool video and motivation!
Great results, btw
Awesome video! I just recently started my journey into making D&D content on TH-cam and a lot of the inspiration came from you and yours! Much of the way you run your campaigns was similar to mine, such as using owlbear rodeo, utilizing dungeon alchemist, and making a digital DM screen, so I figured I could try my hand at introducing new ideas to the community too! Thanks for all the great videos - and hopefully I can reach the point you're at too!
That's awesome, welcome to the community! Your setup is very cool!
Thank you so much! 😊 Now I just gotta figure out how to improve the video setup/quality like what you've got going on!
Looks good man! When you're ready to chase that last 10% of perfection let me know and i can help you! Most of your large voids on the cap faces is from the need of having to shimmy this lids design into place. The smaller bubbles can easily be eliminated with a cheap gas station torch and a pressure pot. The excess resin is causing way too thick of flashing too. I also don't see the need to heat anything with my techniques. In fact, i stir like a mad man because the bubbles don't scare me anymore. You'll reach that point too :)
Yeah, bubbles are the bane of my dice making existence... Still working on it but I managed to make some great shapes so far and even gifted some to my friends for birthdays. They love the dice. Will try making my own molds next... But first, I am still researching how to get rid of these last bubbles. Somehow, i managed to help one of my pupils to make a set with some perfect dice lmao. Hope i can repeat that with my own 🙂
I have in fact made my own dice before, but the catch is that they were 3D printed dice. I'd always love to get a resin printer to try that for that sweeet sweeeeet detail density, but that's far off from where I am now. lol
I know peeps who've done resin mold dice beforee.
Please don't use an incandescent bulb to heat your resin workspace xD Use a reptile heating mat or something :P
I don't make dice.
I've never mixed resin in my life.
With that said, a thought popped in my head when you were mixing the resin. Since a well blended mixture is incredibly important and you want to limit bubbles, shouldn't you add each liquid in 10mL increments?
Fill the cup to 10mL with bottle A.
Fill to 20mL with bottle B.
Fill to 30mL with A
Finally fill to 40mL with B
The solution would be already partially mixed so the amount of stirring should lessened.
Yeah that would be a good idea to try!
I never got a notification for this!?! Did you try it? How did it go?
Looks cool but my question is how balanced those dice are? I can imagine, with all the bubbles and sanding by hand there's pretty high potential for them to be weighted, especially those with powder dye. Have you given them the old salt bath test?
If I have big bubles on top, I just prepare another resin, fill the bubbles carefully (using a pin helps to fill small spaces), let it cure again and I use the rest for different project. It does not help with microbubbles, but it helps with the others.
I have been into this hobby for a while and have tons of fun. I recommend getting a pressure pot if you keep going past the first several sets a it really did make a difference in making bubble free dice. I still notice imperfections but try to ignore them, and I’ve even made some for my friends at the dnd table
Hi
Power Word Spill, I love your videos and was wondering if you would like to do a collab?
Aint gonna lie i only clicked on the video cause of that epic mustache lol
You had to heat your shed?
*laughs in Texan*
Making dice molds from ground zero (designing and printing masters) adds few more levels of complexity. I have pressure pot and all that is needed from my usual work (making custom pens) but man just figuring out how to print perfectly is hard, then there is a problem of silicone reacting with resin masters... On first try used tin cure silicone, it works with 3d printed masters, but died after third pour. It's not an easy technique to learn, buying high quality silicone mold is definitely a way to start making dice. Also making silicone molds pretty much requires use of pressure pot or a vacuum.
Acetone is a great thinner, I use approximately .5ml for an ounce of resin, then I vacuum chamber the resin to degas, it can be a bit of work degasing but you will be bubble free. A heat gun/butane lighter is the best for surface popping, and a tooth pick can be used to physically remove trapped bubbles in the mold. Lubricating the key/registration marks with a little Vaseline keeps the mold lid secured!
Thanks Im now good to go , wish me luck
Definitely making dice for my characters! So far I’ve tried several times, but only 2 came out successfully. I plan to add insertions into the dice for my first 2 characters, so that makes reducing bubbles even trickier, not to mention suspending stuff in them correctly and not letting it sink
I’ll never complain about buying dice again. Way to much fuss!
For sanding, I would suggest using figure 8 instead of vertical and horizontal strokes. It makes the motion smoother (so you can go longer) and more even all around.
i think for the numbers you may (i have no idea) be able to put some gold (or really any other color) uv resin in a needle and from there carefully inject it into the number (PS: do this before you do any polishing)
Hello, I really liked your video. We have a very creative 2-in-1 D&D dice and fidget spinner. This product is expected to generate a lot of interest for your video. I would like to send you a sample. Could you please let me know how I can contact you?
Using a low watt dhp bulb and a reptile thermostat with a kill switch would be far safer. The thermostat can be set to the temp range you want and it kills the power when to hotturning it back if it gets low. Great vid.
I've had all the stuff gathered up to start my own dice making adventure for ages now. as soon as the weather allows it I'm hopping on the bandwagon!
The ending of your videos make me smile every time.
Excellent dice making tutorial. It's always something I've wanted to do, but have always been cautious\worries that it would turn out a mess. This is a LOT of awesome tips, thank you! I still don't know if I will step into dice making, but it does make me want to consider it more :)
So excited about the Patreon and merch! If you have more (imperfect) dice than you know what to do with you can always throw them in with merch orders as a fun surprise! Can’t wait for my hat to arrive and watch all the cool BTS on the Patreon
Very cool! Never thought of making my own dice, but still enjoyed seeing the process.
That hat looks sweet, can't go wrong with blue and gold, instant buy!🧢
This is so cool and inspiring ! I would have loved to see a price & time run down tho to determine if it is worth trying :)
What a great video, i was searching for this video two months ago but i couldn't find one
Dang, I was all set to go and try this and now- you kinda scared me off!
😞 "Promo SM"
Wow. Very Coo
just the video I needed! I've been thinking about making dice for a while now. Looks like I'll be trying this summer when it's warm enough! (still dropping to -15°C here)
Yeah that might be outside of the capability of a light bulb haha
Been making dice for almost a year now and absolutely love it! Getting to experiment with colors and different pours is a fun creative outlet and I even am getting ready to sell some online :) Also have that same set of alcohol ink and am still using it today, is fantastic!
That's so awesome!
This is a very thorough video! Very well done!
Hey you have mearch now! You are really growing man
What about one of those boxes used for keeping your filament dry and warm for 3d printing??
That's a great idea!
Hey, great vid. One thing I was told about resin pours is not to take a flame to the resin to pop the bubbles. You run the risk of flash curing the resin, trapping in any bottom bubbles. In most cases you can lightly blow on the top of the resin to pop the top bubbles.
I make dice and do use a lighter but never run into this problem.
And I appreciate you, Mr. Spill.
It would be interesting to see results using glass beakers with a magnetic stirring device.
Yeah that would be interesting to test, I might have to try that!
Have you tried 3d printing with transparent resin?
No I haven't, but most of the dice masters that you can buy are 3d printed with clear resin. They definitely require some sanding and polishing off the printer. But you could probably get some really cool designs that aren't possible with casting
Love the Dice!
Why not just use a pressure pot
Expent
yooo i'm first for once