Xel
Member
Haven't been around much lately: I'm a new mother now, so time is short! That said, it was nice to get back into the shop for a wonky experiment that's… hmm, technically a small wood-turning. 
I needed some dice for a tabletop RPG my family was wanting to play, so I thought why not make them? I'm putting so much effort into my character anyway! Naturally I thought of pen blanks first, but there's a surprising lack of info on the net about the process. Most would recommend just buying blank wooden dice and painting the sides or casting them out of resin; both options didn't seem that interesting. I went through my stash and remembered this beautiful olivewood hybrid from George:
… which I squared up and did finish cuts on a scrollsaw I found at Goodwill for $9.
I didn't want to spend the rest of the night sanding if I'm being honest. That's when I saw my rock tumbler out of the corner of my eye and thought… science is an excellent complement to laziness and inebriation. I thought it might work at least to knock down the sides and edges, yeah? Tossed the dice inside along with some polishing substrate from prior tumbling sessions, along with a dash of water.
Set it on the lowest speed and tumbled them for a day, totally forgetting to set the machine in the foam enclosure to dampen the sound.
Here's the difference between a fresh cut die and a still wet tumbled one.
Mounted a diamond ball bit on the drill press, flooded the pips with paint then promptly removed it in favor of the bare look, rubbed 'em down with Aussie Oil, and voila!
In conclusion… Are they accurate? Lol, you bet your sweet bippy they're not. Nor would I recommend using a rock tumbler for anything besides tumbling rocks, in hindsight. But the rule in our house is "we share our experiments: win, lose, or draw". And hey, sometimes you care for things even when they're obviously just a little messed up.
May your 2023 be full of curiosity!
I needed some dice for a tabletop RPG my family was wanting to play, so I thought why not make them? I'm putting so much effort into my character anyway! Naturally I thought of pen blanks first, but there's a surprising lack of info on the net about the process. Most would recommend just buying blank wooden dice and painting the sides or casting them out of resin; both options didn't seem that interesting. I went through my stash and remembered this beautiful olivewood hybrid from George:
… which I squared up and did finish cuts on a scrollsaw I found at Goodwill for $9.
I didn't want to spend the rest of the night sanding if I'm being honest. That's when I saw my rock tumbler out of the corner of my eye and thought… science is an excellent complement to laziness and inebriation. I thought it might work at least to knock down the sides and edges, yeah? Tossed the dice inside along with some polishing substrate from prior tumbling sessions, along with a dash of water.
Set it on the lowest speed and tumbled them for a day, totally forgetting to set the machine in the foam enclosure to dampen the sound.
Here's the difference between a fresh cut die and a still wet tumbled one.
Mounted a diamond ball bit on the drill press, flooded the pips with paint then promptly removed it in favor of the bare look, rubbed 'em down with Aussie Oil, and voila!
In conclusion… Are they accurate? Lol, you bet your sweet bippy they're not. Nor would I recommend using a rock tumbler for anything besides tumbling rocks, in hindsight. But the rule in our house is "we share our experiments: win, lose, or draw". And hey, sometimes you care for things even when they're obviously just a little messed up.
May your 2023 be full of curiosity!
I do love the idea of using the tumbler to soften the edges, I wonder if that would work with polishing some turnings. I also love the use of the diamond bit.
They look really cool!
), putting the wood inside and taping the lids to make sure they stayed on. Then toss them into the dryer with a towel or two and run it on Air Fluff for a while. All the corners were sanded off when you opened the lid. No liquids needed.