Laser Cutter #008 - Dice Tower 03

My brother in law said he'd be interested in a dice tower so we said we'd make him one with LEDs. I cut one out on the Xtool M1. You can find out more on the LEDs in Humble Electronics post #006 and #007.

 

I had a bit of problem with the living hinge. My first mistake was it didn't cut cleanly and I didn't flip the board over and re-cut the piece. I took it off the sheet in one piece but then I forgot to carefully bend each hinge to make sure the wood was separated. I just went on and bent it and it broke where the cuts didn't quite make it through. Fortunately it was in a spot that doesn't bend much so I carefully glued it back together. 

 

 

I need to space that one section just a bit wider on the pattern, to be stronger, before posting it to Thingiverse. It's slightly thinner than the other cuts.

It held together while my husband took it and primed it. Then he put resin in the windows. He eventually primed both sides because the inside does show quite a bit.

 

I inserted the electronics in it after some partial construction so I could glue in the parts (Humble Electronics #007). I used the jigs I talked about in Laser Cutting #006 and I liked the way they worked. There's a part that goes around the top and it fit together very square with the jigs towards the middle.  I used a rubber band near the bottom. I think I need to cut some more sets to get even pressure along long sides. 

 

Construction proceeded without any problems after inserting the lights. I got the main tower body and catching area glued together. My husband and daughter painted the details. Then I glued the upper part of the tower on and my daughter finished it up. Finally, the frames around the windows were glued on. 

 

The frames added the extra dimension we wanted. The paint job was top notch. It took about a day to paint the details but the results were awesome. We're very happy with the results. There are a couple other styles I'd like to cut out and test. I'd also like to try MDF and basswood/balsa wood to see if they have less warping. I think I might design my own to sell one day. I'm also thinking of card game deck boxes too. So many possibilities, so little time. 

 

Happy Making!

Michelle