Simple Dice Tower and Tray
Instruction
Bring your dice rolling game to a new level with this simple dice tower and dice tray. Fully customizable by adding your own engraving to the tray and tower, you can make this your own. You can use just the tower by itself or remove the leveler piece and hook it onto the trays edge. It is very easy to assemble with the included instructions.
I used 1/4" (6mm) Birch but this can be assembled using any 1/4" wood or acrylic. You will also need adhesive.
Includes both XCS and SVG files.
Tower Dimensions:
4.5" wide
3.75" deep
8" tall
Tray Dimensions
5" wide
9" long
0.5" tall
I used to play a lot of roleplaying games growing up. I played Dungeons and Dragons, Trolls and Caverns, White Wolf, Warhammer… and the list goes on. I loved the different dice that we used and would make a huge show everytime I threw them. Looking back, it was a really fun time.
Recently, I was invited to participate in a Renaissance Faire and wanted to have a few game related goods. I designed this tower and tray individually with the intentions of engraving a picture onto the tray and then providing a finish. As I worked on the tower, I thought, why not have the two work in tandem. Thus this idea of a tower that can hook to the trays edge came about. Yes, the tower or tray can be used seperately. Or, you can remove the leveler piece from the tower and hook it to the edge of the tray.
I used ¼" wood for this project (birch) but you are able to use any ¼" material you desire. Do keep in mind that the settings I provide are for the birch wood. If using any other material, you will most likely need to adjust your settings.
I do not recommend using any other thickness of wood for this as it will not go together very well.
The tray can be engraved with a design or words if you would like. I do plan on including some art that can go on the tray in the future, so keep checking back with these plans to see if any updates are included. If you do engrave the tray, do be aware that you may need to put a filler like epoxy in the engraving to keep the tray level and prevent a misroll with your dice.
All the parts for the tower are labeled in the plans but are set to ignore in XCS. This will enable you to follow the directions for assembly easier.
Using the provided settings, cut out your pieces. You should have 9 pieces for the tower and 5 pieces for the tray.
Tower parts:
2 Side pieces - 1 Back piece - 1 Front top piece - 1 Front bottom piece - 1 “H” Shaped interior ramp piece - 1 Front facing ramp piece - 1 leveler foot - 1 lever leg
Tray parts:
1 Base - 2 Long frame edges - 2 Short frame edges
This part is pretty easy and almost self explanatory. Take the one of the long frame edges, apply adhesive to one side, and then line it up along the longer edge of the base. Make sure the 45 degree cuts on either end are facing towards the center of the tray. Take one of the shorter frame pieces and, after applying adhesive to one side, line it up along one of the shorter edges. Make sure the 45 angles of both the short piece and the long piece you already put down fit snug to each other. Do the same with the other short frame piece. If done correctly, the final long frame piece will fit right in.
IMPORTANT: DRY FIT EVERYTHING PRIOR TO ASSEMBLY!!! This will help to ensure you have all the parts going into their correct spots.
The first step here is to put in the “H” Interior Ramp into the angled holes of the back piece. Use adhesive on the tabs and slide them into the cut out slots as shown in picture 2. To help the adhesive set faster, use activator spray.
Next, take one side of the tower. Line it up so that you have the back tabs in the correct locations. Put adhesive on the tabs of the back and then slide that piece into the one side.
Before putting on the other side, you want to put on the front facing ramp. This step is very easy to mess up as there are two pieces almost identical in appearance. However, one of those pieces is actually the front bottom of the dice tower. That part will have one side smaller than the other side. (See picture 5) Make sure you are not using that part here. You want the other piece. Take that piece and put adhesive on the tab on one side. Insert this into the side you already attached to the back
NOTE: I reuploaded the plans to include a star scored on one of the tabs of the front facing ramp so this part will not be as easy to mess up. This is not shown in the photo above.
Now it is time to attach the other side. Put adhesive on the other tab of the front facing ramp and on the tabs of the back. Put the tower on its side already attached and place the other side on, sliding the tabs of the back and the front facing ramp into place. When completed you should have what is shown in the final photo of this step.
IMPORTANT: DRY FIT EVERYTHING PRIOR TO ASSEMBLY!!! This will help to ensure you have all the parts going into their correct spots.
First put on the Bottom Front piece. Do this by putting adhesive on the tabs of the Bottom Front piece and then sliding it into the bottom two slots of the sides. One item of note is that you will want to ensure the shorter edges of this piece are facing up. This is a major reason to dry fit, to make sure you are placing it correctly.
The second step is the top piece. Again, dry fit to ensure you have parts facing correctly. Apply adhseive to the tabs of the top Front piece and to the tabs of the “H” Shaped interior ramp. Attach the Top Front piece. If done correctly, you should have your tower looking like the final picture of this step.
The leveler is only used if you are planning on using the tower independent of the tray. Assembly of this is pretty simple.
Put the leveler foot and leg side by side. Run a bead of adhesive on each tab and then join together. When done correctly, you will have an “L” shaped piece as shown in the 2nd photo of this step.
This piece slides into the opening at the bottom front of the tower to help keep the tower stable when not attached to the tray. Should you decide to use this permanently, you can always glue this piece on.
Again, pretty self explanatory.
Remove the leveler from the tower and then hook the bottom of the tower over the edge of the tray along one of the short sides. It should fit in easily and not be at all snug. If you desire and want to keep this a permanent attachment, you could always glue the two together at this point.