Dice Making Guide

Assembled by Haley Tucker for the Dice Making Discoveries Facebook Group

Intro
So I hear you wanna make some dice?! Well good news, you’ve found a like minded community
of incredibly helpful and creative people to help you on your journey to making the most
awesome dice possible.

Given the number of times we get asked the same questions by new members, I wanted to
make a guide that covered some of the basics. I’ve been collecting this information from around
the web and from various Dice Making Discoveries (DMD) members since the group was
founded. While I haven’t personally vetted and/or tested all the information accumulated here, it
should function as a good jumping-off point. If you have questions not covered here, please feel
free to ask in the discussion section of the DMD group. Before starting any project, I’d strongly
encourage you to do your own research on the products/techniques listed here to see if they’re
right for you.

And as a final note, do keep in mind that dice making (and resin casting in general) has a fairly
steep learning curve, and you’re probably not going to produce usable or likeable creations right
away. Also, it’s ​not​ a cheap hobby. Be prepared to sink a couple hundred bucks into start out
with the right materials. I don’t say this to discourage you, but to make sure you go into this with
your eyes open.

Table of Contents
Intro
Table of Contents
Recommended Materials
Tools
Materials
Molds
Purchasing Molds to Make Your Dice
Making Your Own Dice Molds
Mold Making Video Tutorials
Mold Making Further Reading
Resin & Casting
Resin Casting Video Tutorials
Resin Casting Further Reading
Techniques & Recommendations from the DMD Group
Finishing
Tutorial by DMD Members
Livestreams of Dice Making
Making Your Own Molds
Inking Your Dice
Pressure Pots and Vacuum Chambers
Dice Making Recommendations
Vendors
Acknowledgements

Recommended Materials
What do you need to get started? I’ve broken it down into two different sections: the tools that
you’ll need to be successful when making your own dice, and the materials that will become
your dice.

Tools
Taking care of your tools: Wipe your containers and stir utensils while they are still wet
with a paper towel and acetone. (Be sure to wear gloves when doing this.) If they have
dried already, try soaking them with a very hot water and Tide laundry detergent. If all
else fails, try freezing your tools and then removing the resin manually.

● Dedicated Workspace
○ A stable, level surface away from pets/children, where your projects can
sit undisturbed while you’re working on them and while they’re curing.
○ For easy cleanup: silicone mat, parchment paper.
○ Do not work in your food preparation areas, or near children/pets!

● Safety Gear: general recommendations, but make sure ​READ YOU SPECIFIC
PRODUCT’S SAFETY RECOMMENDATIONS​!
○ nitrile gloves
○ respirator
○ goggles
○ This bears repeating: not work in your food preparation areas, or near
children/pets!

● Mixing/Pouring Cups
○ plastic solo cups
○ reusable silicone cups
○ Syringes, rubberless syringes (optional, helpful for filling sprue-style
molds)
 ● Mixing Sticks
○ mini metal spatulas
○ disposable mini plastic spoons
○ popsicle sticks

● Sprue Removal
○ X-acto blade
○ Flush side shear cutter/clippers
○ cat nail clippers
○ scissors

● Finishing/Sanding
○ micro-mesh sheets
○ buffing wheel
○ Sandpaper (multiple grits)
○ metal nail file
○ nail buffing cube
○ Dremel tool
○ denim from old jeans

● Heat Gun/Butane Torch (Optional, to remove bubbles from your resin while
pouring. ​DO NOT​ use a flame to remove bubbles if you have added alcohol,
solvents, or other flammable materials to your resin!)

● Pressure Pot (You put the resin-filled molds in to the pressure pot during the
curing process. It crushes the bubbles until they're basically non-existent and the
dice come out super clear. Optional, but yields professional results). ​Difference
between a Pressure Pot and a Vacuum Chamber explained in detail here.

● Vacuum Chamber (Draws air up and out of your mold, removing any bubbles you
might have missed when making the mold. Optional, but yields professional
results).

Materials
Disclaimer: I do not have personal experience with all the materials listed here! Do your
research before beginning your project.

● Resin for Casting (​See section below for full details​)

○ Recommendations by various DMD members
■ Art ’N Glow
■ Resin Ice
■ East Coast Resin Crystal Clear Epoxy Resin
○ See chart here for commonly available resin comparisons
 ○ Further reading on the difference between Doming and Casting Resins
(hint: casting resin is a better choice for making your own dice)

● Colourants/Additives
○ pigments, inks, glitter, decals . . . the limit is your imagination (and funds)!
○ If you’re looking to experiment on the cheap with products you may
already have, break out that eyeshadow or highlighter that you never use.
You can crush them back into powder and add that to your resin to get
some nice shimmery action.

● Dice Molds (​see section below for full details​)

○ Required Reading: ​Caring for your Silicone Molds
○ Limited lifespan. Expensive to buy, cheaper to make your own.
○ Silicone (Platinum Cure) to make your own. Recommendations by various
DMD members:
■ Alumilite High Strength 2 or 3
■ Mold Star 20t or 16 fast
■ SORTA-Clear 40
■ PlatSil Gel-25

● Mold Release

● Paint/Pens for inking numbers (Sakura Gelly Rolls, acrylic paint with a fine brush,
paint pens (Edding, Sharpie, CraftSmart))

● Cleanup (q-tips/cotton swabs with Alcohol, Acetone, Acetone-free nail polish

remover)

Molds
Regardless of whether you choose to make your own or purchase your molds, you should
absolutely read up on the ​care and keeping of your molds​ to extend their lives and the number
of quality casts you can get out of them.

Purchasing Molds to Make Your Dice

While there are dice mold sellers out there, they are by no means cheap, especially
considering that you can probably get 10-15 pristine sets per mold before the quality
begins to degrade. If you definitely want to go the route of purchasing molds to start,
here are the sellers that have been used by
● Alamould
● House of Molds​ (note: DMD members have had various issues with these
molds), also available on the ​Resin Obsession​ site.
● Warcaster Molds
 ● DMD Member: ​Daniel Fisher​ (PM Daniel to purchase dice molds he makes)

Making Your Own Dice Molds

It’s the general consensus in the group that if you really want to get into dice making,
you’re going to want to make your own molds (for the sake of quality, cost-effectiveness,
and personalization). Remember that this too is a process that will take time to learn and
effort to refine your skills.

Mold Making Video Tutorials

● I’ve assembled a playlist of videos that ought to help you get started with mold
making and resin casting
● Basics of Moldmaking Playlist from Smooth-On
● Moldmaking Playlist from Brick in the Yard Mold Supply

Mold Making Further Reading

● Care and Keeping of your molds

● Silicone Hardness Scale Explanation​ for selecting what silicone rubber to use.
● Vacuum Chamber (Draws air up and out of your mold, removing any bubbles you
might have missed when making the mold. Optional, but yields professional
results).​ ​Difference between a Pressure Pot and a Vacuum Chamber explained
in detail here.
● Platinum cure silicone - use instead of tin cure, which exudes alcohol and fogs up
your finish
● Mold Release

DMD member recommended materials for making your own mold

● For making your own mold form: legos for shaping the box
● 2.5 gallon paint sprayer pressure pots from Harbor Freight for both
pressure and vacuum

DMD member ​Colin Fotheringham​ tutorial posts on making molds

● Part 1
● Part 2
● Part 3
● Part 4
Resin & Casting
Time to break out the notebooks, because this is where you get to go full mad-scientist!
Between the combinations of resin, inks, glitter, and whatever else you care to stick in your
mold, the combinations are endless.

Take lots of notes as you go. Timing, temperature, volumes and quantities - record it all, just like
you did in science class! Not only will you thank yourself if you want to reproduce a color/style,
but it’s also invaluable if you’re trying to troubleshoot issues with your process.

Resin Casting Video Tutorials

I’ve assembled a playlist of videos that ought to help you get started with mold making and resin
casting​.
● Additional Resin Casting Playlists from Brick in the Yard Mold Supply:
● Resin Casting Facebook Group

Resin Casting Further Reading

● See chart here for commonly available resin comparisons
● Further reading on the difference between Doming and Casting Resins​ (hint: casting
resin is a better choice for making your own dice)
● Cast in Place - when you cast an object and it comes out of the mold pretty much as the
finished piece.
● Resin Troubleshooting
● Getting rid of resin bubbles (before purchasing a pressure pot)
● Remember, anything you add to the resin cannot include water! That means no fresh
flowers, fruits, water based inks, etc.
● Resin Casting: Pressure vs Vacuum​ (You want vacuum for mold making and pressure
for casting) You put the resin-filled molds in to the pressure pot during the curing
process. It crushes the bubbles until they're basically non-existent and the dice come out
super clear
● Resin Casting tutorial: Pressure Casting Water Clear WC-786 Resin
● How to use/choose a pressure pot
● DMD members & Resin Casting group members have recommended 2.5 gallon paint
sprayer pressure pots from Harbor Freight for both pressure and vacuum

Techniques & Recommendations from the DMD Group

Choosing the resin

 ● Use a low voc resin so it doesn’t stink up your entire house with fumes!

Preparing the resin

● Mix thoroughly, but try not to incorporate bubbles into the mix.
● USE THE CORRECT RATIO. ​Check the package for instructions (some resins
mix by volume, others by weight).
● Also, seen it recommended to mix your colorants/additives to your resin part B
before combining part A and B together.
● Takes approximately 30 ml to make a full set of dice, but depends on what size
molds you’re using. Also take note of the minimum volume required for your resin
to catalyze.
● Heat your resin in warm water (​DON’T microwave the resin itself!!​) and heat
your molds under a heat lamp or with a heat gun to help minimize bubbles.
● When you combine part A & B, mix until the resin ceases to be cloudy so you
know it’s adequately mixed.
● If you saturate your resin with glitter, the texture of it will become powdery (makes it
more fragile). It will still be solid, but there is less links between each molecules of
resin which makes it weaker.
● If you put too much hardener, it gives less flexibility to your mix and might makes it
crack (yes it might dry a bit faster but it's not worth it in the long run)

Filling the Mold

● Make sure your molds are ​DRY​. Make sure anything you want to put in the dice
is ​ALSO DRY.
● Moisture is the enemy of resin!
● Pour Slowly
● Pour from a height, the surface tension helps pop/minimize bubbles (just try not
to miss your mold!)
● If you’re filling your mold with a syringe, here’s a recommendation from ​Paulina
Palacios​: Look for rubberless syringes. Usually dosage syringes work well. Buy
in a large quantity and cycle through 20 at a time. Keep a box of the used ones-
allow to cure with plunger pulled all the way back, and just have a cracking party
later. Because the plastic is flexible-ish you can gently bend and squeeze the
resin to detach from the syringe walls. I get a lot of satisfaction from both
removing the resin and reusing the tools. Without the rubber around the interior
plunger, the syringe lasts and works longer.
● If you’re working with larger objects to be placed in the die (gold leaf, dried
flowers, sprinkles), place them in the mold ​before​ you add your resin.

Setting & Demolding

● Wait the appropriate curing time for your material (should say on the package).
 ● SERIOUSLY. WAIT. It’s hard to be patient when you’re excited, but nobody like
squished or malformed dice from preemptive demolding.
● From​ ​Paulina​ ​ Palacios​: you can trim the demold time by resting your mold on a
heating pad set low. Just enough to get it perceptively warmer to the touch. That
said, don’t think that by increasing the heat you'll be able to demold faster.
Tempting as it is, don't do it. You'll increase aging of your mold and expand the
air bubbles trapped in the resin, revealing a pitted travesty only learned through
many (to many) mistakes motivated by my impatience.
● There has been talk in the group about “cold curing”, but be advised that the
temperature while curing will have an impact on your resin, so if it’s too cold, you
might end up with porous or brittle dice. Proceed at your own risk.
● Heat pads or oven at lowest setting (below 200° F) can help speed up your resin
setting, but use a low temp for longer time else you might end up with brittle,
cracked dice.
● If your dice haven’t set at twice the recommended setting time, the ratio of your A
to B parts was off when you mixed your resin, and now your dice will never set.
Toss those sticky mistakes into the trash, it’s time to start over.
● For help when demolding, gently press the mold then add a drop of soapy water
inside. Press again and push the object out from the bottom of the mold. This
will make resin extraction from the mold easy and quick.

Finishing
Sanding
● Sarah Hankinson​: To finish and remove sprues: Use an X-Acto knife is soon as
you take it out of the mold, then let it harden to full cure before sanding. Use grits
200 through 600 from my dad, and then a pack of micro mesh, then polish!
● Paulina Palacios​: Tape those facets down with a little scotch tape, (before you
sand, that is). Helps keep dust from settling in there. Waaaaay back in the day I
would massage clear nail polish into the holes a few times. Helped for micro
bubbles. But useless for the bigger stuff.

Inking
● Inking tutorial by Paulina
● Gelly Roll pens are widely used with great success, but they are not waterproof.
● Nail polish is generally not recommended because it’s consistency is poorly
suited to filling numbers (and the chemicals you’d use to clean up nailpolish can
eat your dice).
Tutorial by DMD Members

Livestreams of Dice Making

source:​ ​Laura Munley
Here​, ​here​, ​here​, and ​here
More viewable in the DMD video tab

Making Your Own Molds

Source: ​Colin Fotheringham

● Part 1
● Part 2
● Part 3
● Part 4

More Making Your Own Molds

Source: ​Christopher Schmied
● Video 1
● Video 2

Inking your Dice

Inking tutorial by Paulina

Pressure Pots and Vacuum Chambers

Source: ​Emma Kleinworth
Companion video to the post below​.

Who wants to learn about pressure pots!?

Here are some shopping links for the specific equipment I used in this video:
Pressure pot: ​https://www.amazon.com/TCP-Global-Commercial-…/…/ref=sr_1_7…
Air compressor: ​https://www.amazon.com/California-Air-Tools-…/…/ref=sr_1_14…

Now, for the question of "should I get a pressure pot or a vacuum chamber," that answer
100% depends on you and your production rates. A good rule of thumb is vacuum
silicone, pressurize resin. If you want to make your own molds, a vacuum chamber will
be very useful. If you purchase premade molds, a pressure pot will serve you very well.
So if you plan on doing this for the long term, both are great to have. I decided to master
dice casting before getting into mold making, so I went with the pressure pot first.

But a warning: if your molds are pretty bubbly, be aware that curing your resin under
pressure could make them turn out quite wonky. The gas left in your molds could get
compressed in the pressure pot and smoosh them just slightly enough out of wack so
that your dice don't come out accurately shaped! So if you have trouble getting your
molds perfect, it may be wise to hold off on the pressure pot and let your resin cure like
normal and instead focus on the vacuum chamber first.

As a note: I say in the video that this cost way less than the Harbor Freight pot, but I tried
checking just now to get an accurate price and it looks like that might no longer be true! I
know at one point I was looking at comparison tanks that were a few hundred bucks but
if you're looking for a cheaper option, the Central Pneumatic 2.5gal tanks at Harbor
Freight are apparently now only a hundred dollars. I don't really regret the more
expensive purchase though, I feel super safe using it and love it plenty.

Dice Making Recommendations

source:​ ​Jenni Bravo

My roommate has been making dice for a while, and I just started--it's fun and I like it a
lot, but it does require a pretty heavy investment up front and there is a lot of trial and
error because things are so finicky. It took her several attempts before she produced
some that were usable, though each set is better than the last and shes' rapidly
approaching the point where she'd be comfortable selling them.

She and I both use jeweler's resin to make our dice--she has ordered several different
molds and I made my own (which turned out quite well, I think; she asked me to make
her a set as well and we both use them). Using the resin to make dice is pretty much the
same as using it to make anything else, so any tutorials you find about that will
apply--there are a ton on youtube!

As far as molds go, there tend to be two types of silicone dice molds, and the primary
difference is where you pour in the resin. Some are designed so that you pour it into one
face of the die, which means that one side (most sellers offer you the choice of the low
or highest side) will be flat, with no engraved numbers. The other uses a (generally much
smaller) opening onto an edge or point on the die, which is then snapped off and filed
down. I prefer the latter, 1000%, because I have yet to see a flat-face mold where the
hand-lettered number doesn't look sloppy and sad. The downside is that my preferred
molds can require a fair amount of sanding and polishing to make sure the bit where the
resin was poured in is smooth--I'm still getting the hang of that.

Working with the resin itself is a pretty straightforward process. You'll probably want
gloves, and something to cover whatever surface you're working on, plus measuring
cups (small disposable ones of 1oz or so are ideal; you likely won't need more than
about 2oz to cast a 7-die set), mixing cups (roomie and I use flexible silicone measuring
cups; they're easy to clean), something to mix with (most folks use wooden craft sticks),
and the dye/pigment/etc. you're planning on using. Resin usually comes in two parts,
resin and hardener/catalyst, and all the types I've seen/used are mixed at a 1:1 ratio
(carefully, so as not to introduce a lot of air bubbles). Then the color and/or any fine
glitter is added. It'll take some tries to figure out whether what you want to put in the dice
will sink or not in the resin; chunky glitters, small objects (make sure to check whether
they're compatible with resin--some things like foam react chemically and can cause
issues) and the like will sink to the bottom, but I've used microglitters and gilding foil that
have both stayed suspended quite nicely.

Once you've gotten your resin into the molds (I've used pipettes, small funnels, and
syringes; thus far the 10ml disposable pipettes are my favorite), it helps to tap them on
the table/counter/whatever surface you're working on to help dislodge any air bubbles.
Once you're as sure as you can be that the air bubbles are gone, the resin needs to sit
and cure for at least 12 hours before unmolding, and it will continue to harden for
another 12-36 hours or so.

Time, humidity, and the positioning of the friggin' planets seem to be the biggest
contributors to how the dice turn out. That is to say, sometimes I have no idea why one
batch will or won't work. Most resins have a working time of 30-40 minutes, meaning
once the two parts are mixed, you have about 30 minutes before the resin gets too thick
and goopy to pour effectively.
Each brand of resin is different, but overall most seem to dislike humidity and
temperature extremes. Keeping the molds in a location that's too humid or too cold can
prevent them from hardening at all, which is a royal pain to try to clean out of the molds. I
will have glitter everywhere until I die.
The type of coloring you use can also change the curing time. Anything that is too watery
might result in the resin never curing completely. Dry pigments are usually pretty
easygoing, and I've had success with alcohol inks as well. There are a bunch of blog
posts and youtube videos detailing different things you can use to color resin, so I
recommend checking those out. If you really aren't sure, I recommend getting a small
non-dice silicone mold, mixing the tiniest batch of resin you can, and testing out the
coloring method you're considering. This will let you make sure the coloring looks right
and cures properly in the resin.
 Polishing and sanding are bits I'm not really familiar with yet--I will be embarking on that
particular journey soon.

Painting the numbers on the die is super easy if you want them all one color. I think
there's someone who's posted her really gorgeous multi-colored re-inked numbers on
this page before, which requires more skill and patience. Take some acrylic paint
(whatever color you think will pop with the dice), apply to the die face, and then wipe
gently with a damp paper towel or cloth. The paint on the flat part should be removed,
and the only paint left will be in the grooves of the number.
A lot of people like to seal their dice once they've been painted, which helps keep them
shiny. There are a lot of options for this, and I'm planning on trying an acrylic spray
gloss, but again, haven't quite reached that stage yet.

For cleaning up resin, acetone (like nail polish remover) dissolves it nicely. After a batch
refused to cure, I had to straight up fill my molds with acetone and scrub them out to
make them usable again. Uncured resin is hella sticky.

So, now I've rambled on forever. I hope this was at least a little helpful, and good luck
with your dice!

Vendors
Note that I do not have personal experience with all the sellers listed here! Do your research
and purchase your materials from sources that you’re comfortable with.

Also, I know it’s tempting to just go to Amazon for your supplies, but please consider shopping
at your brick and mortar local shops (especially those shops that aren’t part of a national chain)
or at some of the independent businesses listed here. Shop small, shop local, and oppose
monopolies whenever you can! *gets down from soapbox*

Solar Color Dust

A huge variety of pigments and interesting materials: Thermal color changing, solar color
changing, holographic, multichrome . . . the list just goes on and on.
https://solarcolordust.com/

Miniature Sweet
They’ve got resin, inks/colorants, shaped glitter, films, and so much more!
https://www.miniaturesweethk.com/collections/resin-crafts

TKB Trading
These guys have so many options when it comes to mica powders and pigments, which
is a great way to add multidimensional shimmer and color to your resin.
https://tkbtrading.com

Stewart Semple Pigments

Spectacular pigments and glitters, with the added bonus of​ ​giving a giant middle finger to
art elitism​.
https://culturehustle.com/collections/powders

Resin Obsession
Have a line of resin, colourants, mold making materials, and accessories.
https://shop.resinobsession.com/collections/

Smooth-On
Resin, silicone for mold making, mold release, colorants/additives
https://www.smooth-on.com/

East Coast Resin

Resin, only ships to US
https://eastcoastresin.com/products

Ranger Inks
Have a line of resin, inks, glitters, and resin accessories.
https://shop.rangerink.com/

Art ’N Glow
Have a line of resin, as well as various pigments.
https://www.artnglow.com/

Art Resin
Have a line of resin, tints, and resin accessories.
https://www.artresin.com/collections/artresin

Resin 8
Various materials for mold making and resin for casting.
https://www.resin8.co.uk/

House of Resin
wide range of resin products
http://houseofresin.co.uk/
http://www.metalclay.co.uk

Jacquard Products
Their Pearl Ex pigments are artist quality and readily available at many brick-and-mortar
art supply stores as well as numerous online retailers.
https://www.jacquardproducts.com/pearl-ex-pigments.html

Environmental Technology, Inc.

Various materials for mold making and resin for casting.
https://www.eti-usa.com/easy-cast

Sulyn
Wide variety of glitters
http://www.sulyn.com/glitter.html

Glitter Hippo
Wide variety of glitters, sister site to Solar Color Dust.
https://glitterhippo.com/

Bulk Glitters
Wide variety of glitters
https://www.bulkglitters.com

Kit Kraft
Wide variety of glitters
https://kitkraft.com/

Born Pretty
This site is more geared towards nail polish, but there’s a certain amount of carryover
between the materials you can use for both these crafts. Has an impressive selection of
pigments, glitter, etc.
https://www.bornprettystore.com/

Beauty Big Bang

This site is more geared towards nail polish, but there’s a certain amount of carryover
between the materials you can use for both these crafts. Has an impressive selection of
pigments, glitter, etc.
https://www.beautybigbang.com/collections/nail-glitter-sequins

8 Seasons
Resin tools and assorted “filling materials” (glitters, pigments, decals, etc.)
https://www.8seasons.com/wholesale-resin-craft-c-1953_3113.html

Jetpens
Now this is a shop I can personally vouch for! They’ve got an amazing selection of pens,
including the Sakura Gelly Roll pens which are a favorite for inking, as well as other
assorted craft supplies you might find interesting to experiment with.
https://www.jetpens.com/
 House of Molds
Resin, Molds, etc.
https://www.houseofmolds.com/

Alamold
Resin, Molds, etc.
http://alamould.com/

DMD Member: Daniel Fischer

PM Daniel to purchase dice molds

Acknowledgements
Special thanks to
● Emily Schroeder​ and ​Carly Helliesen​, founders of the Dice Making Discoveries group.
● The rest of the DMD admin/moderator team: ​Myra Binnicker​, ​Taija Warbelow​, and
Andréane Laroche​.
● The following DMD members for the particularly thorough and informative contributions
to the DMD group: ​Paulina Palacios​, ​Laura Munley​, ​Sarah Hankinson​, ​Jenni Bravo​, and
Colin Fotheringham​.
● The entire DMD group. It’s only through our sharing, questions, and interactions that this
group has become as successful as it it!