I see a lot of posts that are generally the same asking how to get into dice making, and was wondering why there isn't a post pinned. If the Mods want to pin this post, I think it could be helpful to new members and useful in decreasing redundant posts. If anyone has any additions/corrections/etc they can comment and I will edit them into the main post!
So you want to start making dice, but you aren't exactly sure where to start? Hopefully this guide will give you some direction to help you start making beautiful dice of your own!
Obviously, like any hobby, there will be tools you need to buy. Some are required, and some are helpful.
- Safety equipment - Silicone and resin are fairly safe, but depending on the type you buy there may be dangers associated. It is better to be safe than sorry, so it is advisable to always wear gloves, safety glasses, and a respirator. Working in a well ventilated area is always a good idea.
- Mixing cups - Silicone mixing cups are great. Epoxy doesn't stick to silicone, so you can just peel the leftover out when it is dry. Make sure you get some with measuring gradients to accurately measure your resin. Remember to pick up some disposable wax paper cups for mixing silicone, because silicone WILL stick to silicone.
- Stir sticks - Many people use popsicle sticks for stirring their resin. There have been some mentions that wood breaths air into the resin, contributing to more bubbles. Additionally, it can be costly to keep buying wooden stir sticks. Again, silicone sticks are relatively cheap, reusable, and can possibly help cutting down on bubbles. As above, don't use them when mixing silicone for molds!
- Pipettes/syringe - Many people use pipettes or a syringe without a needle to inject resin into their molds. These are especially helpful if you are making certain designs within the resin.
- Silicone - If you are making your own molds, you are going to want to look for a low viscosity 1:1 ratio silicone. A low viscosity means that it is a little runnier, so that it can get into the number crevasses on the dice and allow for a better final product.
- Dice Masters - If you are making your own molds, you will need something as your template. These can be store bought dice or 3D printed dice. Be aware though, if you intend to sell your dice you will need original masters.
- Pressure Pot - While not exactly necessary, I can't stress how useful it is. A pressure pot creates a pressured chamber that causes air bubbles to contract smaller than the eye can see. Once the resin or silicon cures, it is strong enough that the bubbles can expand back out again. This leaves you with much clearer dice with less chance of voids.
- Epoxy Resin - There are hundreds of brands of epoxy. The biggest piece of advice is to make sure you follow the directions. Verify if the mixture is based on weight or volume and follow the mixing instructions (undermixing will cause improper curing).
- Pigments/Additives - The only limit here is your imagination. There are hundreds of resin marketed pigments, powders, inks, ect... for colouring your resin. You can add glitter, mylar flakes, objects, or pretty much anything else you can think of to make cool dice.
- Sandpaper/Zona/Polishing compound - Once you have dice, there will be imperfections that you will need to sand away. At a minimum, you will need sandpaper of 800, 1000, 1500, 2000, 3000 grits. Zona papers are polishing papers that are very popular and will buff your dice to a brilliant and transparent shine. Using a polishing compound made for plastics will make it even better!
- Mold release - These aerosol sprays provide a coating to the mold that prevents any type of sticking. While resin doesn't stick to silicone, these sprays are not necessary, but they will make your dice come out of the mold easier and lengthen the life of your mold.
- Exacto Knife/Snippers - Useful for doing any trimming of flashing or cutting off sprues before moving on to sanding.
I want to talk about the cheap, thin molds many people start with from Wish/AliExpress/Amazon:
These little cap molds are a very cheap solution to get started into dice making, but they come with their own challenges (and moral dilemmas). The biggest problem with these molds is they have no space for extra resin. When resin cures, it contracts. This is even more so if you use a pressure pot, as the space previously occupied by bubbles needs to be filled. As a result, these molds are VERY prone to leaving small voids at the top. There are a few ways you can fight this:
- Use a hot glue gun to make a "swimming pool" around the hole on the mold. Fill the mold up and then fill the swimming pool. As the resin shrinks, it will pull resin from the pool to back fill voids.
- Cut the tip off a pipette and hot glue it into the hole. This essentially gives you a funnel on top of the mold that you can leave excess resin in to backfill shrinkage.
The moral dilemma: You can Google this for more information, but there is a lot of controversy with these molds as they use the well known Dispel Dice as their template (without permission). Essentially Dispel was going to use a Chinese company to produce their dice, the deal fell through, and the company started making the molds. Just something to be aware of when buying molds.
You can shell out $50 to $200 on Etsy for some premade molds, but most dice makers eventually end up making their own molds. The skill sets are almost exactly the same as casting resin, so it isn't a far jump. There are different styles of molds, but the two most common are:
- Sprue/Hanging - A reservoir (pipette tip/modelling clay/etc...) is attached to the master and hung by a stick across the top of a disposable cup. Fill the cup with silicone. Once cured, peel the cup off, and make an incision on each side with an exacto knife. You can then spread the mold and remove the master. When using the mold, you keep it tight with a little painters tape, and pour your resin down through the reservoir.
- Cap - A cap mold is a two part mold. You create the body of the mold, and once the body is cured you then flip it and pour a cap on top. Before you pour the cap you will want to cut "registration keys" into the body. These are just shapes you carve out of the body that will fill with silicone from the cap, so that you can line up the cap when making dice. You also want to cover the top of the body and the keys with a smooth layer of vaseline. This will stop the silicones from sticking to each other. Cap molds are somewhat more difficult than sprue molds, but if done well and properly they can reduce your sanding and finishing time by a considerable margin.
Ok! You have all your equipment, and whatever style of mold you want to work with. Time to make some dice! The most important advice here is to have everything you need ready before you start. Your resin will have a pot life (that is how long it will remain workable), so you don't want to be fumbling trying to find something while your resin is hardening! Lay down a sheet of parchment paper, get your mixing containers and sticks ready, have your molds open, pipettes ready, and any pigments and additives you want to use as well.
Most resin mixes by volume. Make sure you pour equal parts into separate containers, then pour one into the other to mix. Different liquids have different densities, so if you pour 20ml of resin, and then fill it to 40ml with hardener, that does not necessarily mean you will have 20ml of hardener.
Next, mix the heck out of your resin for the time recommended in the instructions. This will probably be around five minutes. Make sure you have something to watch or listen to, and put on a timer. Stir slowly to avoid creating more bubbles, and make sure you periodically scrape the sides and bottom to get an even mixture.
If you are doing different colours, you can then split your resin into different containers. If you are just doing one colour, you can add your pigment right into your mixing container. Make sure it is mixed thoroughly, and give it a moment to sit. This will let large bubbles rise to the surface, and you can pop them with a lighter or heat gun.
Add your resin to your molds. Try not to pour or squeeze too quickly. A slower pour will help the resin fill all the nooks and crannies. If you are using a cap mold, make sure you pour some resin onto the cap face. If using a sprue or Wish mold, make sure you fill up the reservoir. Put your mold into the pressure pot and pressurize to between 30PSI and 40PSI. That is enough to condense bubbles but not too much that will warp your mold. Employ some self discipline and don't open anything up for the full curing time listed for your resin! Be strong!
You have a set of beautiful dice, but now you have to deal with some of the imperfections left by the mold. When sanding, you want to spend as little time as possible on each grit. Lower grits will remove more material faster, and the more material you remove from one face the more unbalanced your die will be. Cut off any sprues or flashing with a knife or snipper, and get ready to sand. You want to put your sandpaper on top of a flat surface. Most people use a piece of glass from an old cabinet or picture frame, as long as it is flat. Word the face in circular motions until it is flat. Then work a few rotations on each grit until you max out. Make sure you keep applying water! The water removes sediment which would otherwise cause scratches on your die. Once you are done with the sand paper, move on to the Zona paper and polishing to get that crystal clear finish!
I really hope this helps people looking to start dice making with some basic tips and tricks. There is a lot of information on this sub as well throughout the internet that can expand on concepts or provide other techniques.
I really need to shout out u/TFA_Rybonator and his YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiocf36TFwHWWtyfajz6Aqg for taking the time to make great tutorials and doing all the trial and error work for most of us! I highly recommend checking out his channel for how to guides on things like making sprue and cap molds, and all sorts of different casting techniques!
