A Bit of Crafting

 I took some time out between the end of one game and the start of another to craft a home-built dice tower.  

In Process

I retrieved a very good design off of Instructables.com from the user "Whamodyne."  He created a dice tower using materials designed to be quiet, eliminating the constant rattling made by towers made of wood or acrylic. 

I used foamcore for the basic material: easy to work, easy to cut, and good for softening sound.  I deviated from Whamodyne's plan a bit, substituting foam padding (he used felt) to line the dice steps.  I believed foam pad would create more friction when the dice are rolling, eliminating the possibility of "sliders," and my belief was correct.  It also is more effective at quieting the dice as they drop down the steps.  

In Process II: Dice Tower Boogaloo

When I first found the plans I was worried about the finished tower's sturdiness, but as it came together according to instructions I realized just how tough the thing was.  Short of weakening the glue joints by submersion in water, it's not going to come apart without cutting or hammering.  

When it was completely assembled, I spray-primed it and painted it using a partial can of "flek stone" paint I had laying about, the color being Desert Sunrise.  Since I do a lot of naval wargaming I wanted the final product to have a nautical theme, and I believed the flekstone would give a sandy texture to the surface.  It did, even though it came out a little more pink than I intended.  

The Finished Product

I used shells from an old shell lei my wife had laying around, and the pebbles are all from Moonstone Beach on the Central Coast.  The "rope" is cotton line purchased at Hobby Lobby.  Finally, the nautical items are leftover cast lead fixtures from a pair of RC ship/boat models from the mid-1950s made by Sterling Models of Philadelphia (they weren't cannibalized; they are from two boxes left in a garage drawer by the previous owner of our house when he and his wife moved out).  

I am happy with the end result, and I look forward to using it in my next game.