# Dice Tower



## ChadR (Aug 14, 2011)

*The Idea*

I am a big board game geek and because of that I have been trying to think of how to tie my new hobby of woodworking with the joy of playing board games.

I decided to make a simple dice tower. A dice tower helps you roll dice to ensure no cheating as well as keep the dice from falling off the table and away from knocking all the pieces off the board.

I found several ideas online and went from there. I decided for the randomizer inside the tower I would use 2×2 blocks cut into a spiral slide. I put everything together on in Sketchup, as I always do before building.

I then made sure I had all the dimensions and cuts all pre-planed out in the computer before I purchased the materials.


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## RGtools (Feb 18, 2011)

ChadR said:


> *The Idea*
> 
> I am a big board game geek and because of that I have been trying to think of how to tie my new hobby of woodworking with the joy of playing board games.
> 
> ...


This is total geek hardware. But it's awesome.


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## ChadR (Aug 14, 2011)

ChadR said:


> *The Idea*
> 
> I am a big board game geek and because of that I have been trying to think of how to tie my new hobby of woodworking with the joy of playing board games.
> 
> ...


Board Game Geek all the way! Just wait till you see my other projects.


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## ChadR (Aug 14, 2011)

*The Tower*

I drew out all the cuts after I planed them out in Sketchup and then got to use my new bandsaw for the first time. Everything came out perfectly.

I decided I would glue all the pieces together instead of nailing them. I started off by gluing the randomizer and then measuring for the walls.

It did not take too long. I made sure to wait and hour for the glue to dry before I started on the walls but other then that it probably only took one hour.

After I had it all glued together I sanded it down and then got to testing it. The dice tower works great.


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## ArlinEastman (May 22, 2011)

ChadR said:


> *The Tower*
> 
> I drew out all the cuts after I planed them out in Sketchup and then got to use my new bandsaw for the first time. Everything came out perfectly.
> 
> ...


Well that is a really unique way to shake the dice up.
Good job on the work.
Arlin


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## ChadR (Aug 14, 2011)

*Not done yet*

So after making the dice tower, I decided I was not finished. I wanted to build something to stop the dice from rolling too far out of the dice tower. So I started of with the idea of just making a tray but then thought why not make a box to hold the dice tower when not in use.

I went back to the drawing board, i.e. Sketchup, and designed a case to hold my new dice tower.

The best part is the lid could be used as a backboard for throwing the dice down the shoot.


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## ChadR (Aug 14, 2011)

*Building the Box*

I spend about two hours making this box. It came out great. Was super easy to make. Not much trouble at all. I now just have to go and buy the hardware and then thinking about painting it.


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## ChadR (Aug 14, 2011)

*Hardware*

I installed all the hardware and now it's officially a box. The screws were a bit too long so i had to cut the ends off.

I have even put the dice tower to test, I have decided the walls for the catcher are too tall to see into. I am thinking about lining the walls of the tray with mirrors for easy view of the dice. Now I have to think about color.


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## missingname (Feb 15, 2010)

ChadR said:


> *Hardware*
> 
> I installed all the hardware and now it's officially a box. The screws were a bit too long so i had to cut the ends off.
> 
> I have even put the dice tower to test, I have decided the walls for the catcher are too tall to see into. I am thinking about lining the walls of the tray with mirrors for easy view of the dice. Now I have to think about color.


Catan! I play it online, a bit too much perhaps. Looks like someone is going for the longest road…

Nice project, good idea. Much better than the dice rolling on the board and messing up the pieces.


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## ChadR (Aug 14, 2011)

ChadR said:


> *Hardware*
> 
> I installed all the hardware and now it's officially a box. The screws were a bit too long so i had to cut the ends off.
> 
> I have even put the dice tower to test, I have decided the walls for the catcher are too tall to see into. I am thinking about lining the walls of the tray with mirrors for easy view of the dice. Now I have to think about color.


I love this game. I can't wait until i buy the upgrade. Have you played the Cities and Knights upgrade? It's amazing!

Today we played the game with 4 people and I think I am going to have to build another dice roller. It just seems that he had to hand the dice roller around too often. Would be much easier if there was a tower on each end of the table.


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## missingname (Feb 15, 2010)

ChadR said:


> *Hardware*
> 
> I installed all the hardware and now it's officially a box. The screws were a bit too long so i had to cut the ends off.
> 
> I have even put the dice tower to test, I have decided the walls for the catcher are too tall to see into. I am thinking about lining the walls of the tray with mirrors for easy view of the dice. Now I have to think about color.


no, never played any of the expansions. 
the place I play only has the original game for free. I'm too cheap to pay in order to play any of the others
http://www.playcatan.com/


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## ChadR (Aug 14, 2011)

*Painting*

I have decided on painting the case and tower blue and green. I chose a rather bright color because I love bright colors. I did not paint the inside bottom of the tray because I want to purchase some reflective tape and line the walls for easier viewing of the rolled dice.


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