where can I purchase dice that has pips all the way through?

allen levine

Member
Messages
12,344
Location
new york city burbs
I want to glue together dice and make them into a pen.
I want the pips to show, and most dice I look at, the pips are shallow and once I turn the dice, they will disappear.
Does anyone know if they make dice for turning?(I figured Id glue some together with either ca or epoxy)
 
I want to glue together dice and make them into a pen.
I want the pips to show, and most dice I look at, the pips are shallow and once I turn the dice, they will disappear.
Does anyone know if they make dice for turning?(I figured Id glue some together with either ca or epoxy)

Sounds like a DIY project to me! Drill the pips deeper and fill with coloured epoxy. Good Luck!
 
I wasn't entirely convinced that this would work depending on the geometry of the pips, but managed to get a "negative image" of what would happen in sketchup and it looks like it should alright.

I think Mack has the right idea as far as getting it done, I think there may be more interesting ways to intersect the dice that what I drew here though, it seems like you might be able to get a sort of "tumbling dice" effect with a number of them set end to end and turned .. somewow.

I'm still not quite sure what the outside looks like, maybe one of the local sketchup gurus can elucidate how you might draw such a thing.. its somewhat beyond my current skills anyway.
negative_dice.jpg

I was able to get it to this stage pretty easily:
negative_dice_outside.jpg

but then got stuck trying to materialize the intersections between the pips and the side walls into so I could remove the protrusions. The push/pull tool doesn't like to push/pull once its at this stage because its a "curved" surface.
 
ya know it bothers me that youre solution is so simple and straight forward, obvious, you are the man mack, thanx.
going to go look online now for some acrylic/plastic dice.

Allen; A couple of things to consider:

When you have turned the dice round they will bear no resemblance to dice and will look like a round piece of plastic with some white dots in it. At least that's how I envisage them when they are turned.

No matter, if you are intent on doing this, predrill for the tube size individually first. This will assist in alignment when you are glueing them together. You might consider a credit card thickness of plastic insert between each die. Don't attempt to glue them individually, glue them to the tube as you go., slightly overlength of the tube so you can press together with a quick clamp.

Can't think of anything else at the present time. Best of luck!
 
Interesting idea Allen, but how will you make to still recognizable as dice? If I try to imagine the final result it will look more like a punch card rolled over the pen, maybe you could do something simulating rounded edges dice that would give the idea of what you want and still be a pen. Some of those dice are almost spheres with flat sides.

I've made a quick sketch to show you what I mean. See it below.
pen.jpg
 
I ordered 20 dice, mostly so when I mess up I have more.

Im using one tube pens, to make life easy.

Cant remember the name of the kit right now.I have some presimo roller balls but I want to use a ball point pen kit I have downstairs.

I realized if I turn them, they will just look like clear acrylic.
My idea is if I drill out the pips like mack mentioned, I would only fill in on the 4 and 3 side of the dice.
When I turn, the white colored pips should still show and Ill have whatever left of the 3 and 4 on each side, alternating the positions on each dice.
I don't know if it will work, but time I have, so when I get back from Indiana, I will start playing around with it. Dice wont be here until Im about ready to leave, and Im working on some boards and a tray to bring with me.(I didn't have time to do any other projects)
If I fail, no harm, no foul, Im just out the money for the dice.

mack, to a dice man, who Im making the pen for, he will recognize them as dice in the round form, the dreaded 7 combination(or the loved 7 combination)
clear pieces of plastic with 3 or 4 pips , hope it comes out ok.

btw, mack, what type of glue do you suggest I glue dice together with? they are some kind of plastic.
 
Last edited:
I ordered 20 dice, mostly so when I mess up I have more.

Im using one tube pens, to make life easy.

Cant remember the name of the kit right now.I have some presimo roller balls but I want to use a ball point pen kit I have downstairs.

I realized if I turn them, they will just look like clear acrylic.
My idea is if I drill out the pips like mack mentioned, I would only fill in on the 4 and 3 side of the dice.
When I turn, the white colored pips should still show and Ill have whatever left of the 3 and 4 on each side, alternating the positions on each dice.
I don't know if it will work, but time I have, so when I get back from Indiana, I will start playing around with it. Dice wont be here until Im about ready to leave, and Im working on some boards and a tray to bring with me.(I didn't have time to do any other projects)
If I fail, no harm, no foul, Im just out the money for the dice.

mack, to a dice man, who Im making the pen for, he will recognize them as dice in the round form, the dreaded 7 combination(or the loved 7 combination)
clear pieces of plastic with 3 or 4 pips , hope it comes out ok.

btw, mack, what type of glue do you suggest I glue dice together with? they are some kind of plastic.
Acetone will dissolve plastic and allow them to meld together. Either med./thick CA or epoxy will also work!
 
If you are working with real dice, the rules are included, but if you are making your own, remember that the opposite sides of a die add up to 7 (6 is opposite 1, 5 opposite 2, 4 opposite 3. There are other rules, I don't remember, about which numbers appear if you look at a corner.
 
Really liking this idea by Toni.

Interesting idea Allen, but how will you make to still recognizable as dice? If I try to imagine the final result it will look more like a punch card rolled over the pen, maybe you could do something simulating rounded edges dice that would give the idea of what you want and still be a pen. Some of those dice are almost spheres with flat sides.

I've made a quick sketch to show you what I mean. See it below.
View attachment 90928
 
Because of the curve the pips will look oval not round, I don't know of a way to reasonably fix that (it would require making the holes oval the other way to start with).

When I turn, the white colored pips should still show and Ill have whatever left of the 3 and 4 on each side, alternating the positions on each dice.

You'll only want to drill a smidge less than 1/2 way through before filling the holes I think.

Just wrapping my head around it still :D You're planning to turn away the pips on the 1 and 6 sides?
 
I figured the pips would be elongated once I drill and turn, which is ok, afterall, they aren't dice, they are part of a pen that Im hoping has a resemblance to what dice would look like once they are turned round. or something like that.
ryan, yep, just going to use the 4/3 sides.
I wont be getting the dice until Im about to leave for jons, so this wont be started till I get back mid july.
 
How about printing the faces of the dice, wrap the print around a tube and cover it with clear acrylic? I've never done it and can't explain the exact process, but I've seen pens done by others using a similar process.
 
Top