Automatic Dice Shaker

This is a RPG adjacent build.

While participating in a Secret Santa for DIY peoples I drew the name of a lovely human named Niek.

Niek loves boardgames and RPG.
So Niek throws dice.
Throwing dice can result in the following negative side effects:

- dice rolling everywhere except the intended area
- dice mysteriously disappearing under sofas
- risk of tennis elbow while shaking and throwing dice
- making the obscene “jerk off” motion with your hand while shaking said dice

I think therefore that this situation can be modified
Enter the automated dice shaker!
(he also had a new baby, so hence the added public service announcement on the front)

This contraption allows the die or dice to be thrown around with the push of a button, while never leaving the cosy confines of the glass jar.
If everyone pushes the button with the back of a pencil, this also makes for a Covid-19 Safe device, just sayin´….

Supplies

a 20 x 60cm piece of plywood, 15 mm birch plywood in my case

a 20x20cm thinner plywood piece for the top, 5mm in my case

wood glue

3v electric motor The exact kit I used with just motor and bracket: https://amzn.to/3571h0M

Or a 6 Pack of these motors with battery holders (cheaper): https://amzn.to/359zKf2

Just the 3v motor: https://amzn.to/3b7x713

a push button

2 aa batteries and battery connector

1,5mm electrical wiring, about 60 cm will do

a glass or plastic jar with a screw-on lid, I used a peanut butter jar

hot glue

an 8x8 cm piece of plastic or plexiglass

something to add friction to the plexiglass, I used a piece of self adhesive rubber

some kind of wood finish, anything will do here.

tools

I used a bandsaw for the plastic and letters, but you could totally use a handheld metal saw coping saw for example

miter saw table saw to cut the rabbets, but this could be done with chisels and a rasp

soldering iron + solder

wire strippers, these knipex ones are amazing : https://amzn.to/3tM8lda

wire cutters, again, these knipex ones will cut through anything: https://amzn.to/3dyM39b

battery powered drill: https://amzn.to/38fDihV

3mm drill bit

Body Buildin´

Let´s start with the body of the box.
Since a simple square box looks rather boring, we start by cutting 2 strips of plywood that are the same width, about 12 cm´s in this case.
Then you end up with two long pieces

Using my crosscut sled on the table saw ( you could also use a miter saw under an angle)
I cut these into 4 pieces that resemble a triangle with the top cut off, also know as a trapezoid.
In order to have a structure that is not entirely made up of butt-joints, which incidentally sounds like a dirty stoner practice, I added a rabbet to two opposing pieces.
I used one of the pieces, placed on top of the other, to mark how wide I needed to cut out.
then I set my table saw blade at a height that was just a few mm less than the thickness of my material.
This was 15mm birch plywood, so my saw was set at about 11mm height.
Using a crosscut sled I cut away material until the rabbet was done. then using a file and rasp I cleaned up the cut.

This way there are 2 glue surfaces in each corner, which make our boxy-box a lot stronger.
So then you apply wood glue like a Subway employee making you a sandwich, put clamps on it in both directions and wipe away the excess glue, since you do not work at Subway and do care about making a mess.

Sold(i)er!

While the glue is drying, fire up your soldering iron and let us make a simple wiring circuit.

Using wire cutters, cut two 20-ish cm wires and strip the last cm off so we can tin them.
Taking a bit of solder, tin all the tips before permanently attaching them to the components.
I had two separate AA battery holders that needed to be soldered in series to effectively make a 3V battery.
You can also buy these as double holders, which will make life a bit easier.
Then solder one terminal of the battery to your motor, the other side of the battery goes to the push button.

The last wire then goes from the leftover terminal of the push button to the leftover terminal of the electro motor. If the stars align just right, pushing the button will result in a motor that spins, releasing the button will make the motor stop.

Now the glue should have dried a bit, on to step 3.

Put a Lid on It.

Next up is giving our almost-pyramid a top.
If the glue has had a least an hour to dry, you can unclamp it and turn it upside down on the thin sheet of plywood.
Trace the contours en cut that shape out using a bandsaw or handsaw. Using more wood glue, attach the top to the almost-pyramid shape and clamp it down.
When this box has dried I sanded everything flush using a few pieces of 180 grit sandpaper glued to a flat board,
you simple slide your workpiece over it and think of someone you might like to aggressively shake around, then channel that energy into your sanding efforts.

Spinny in the Jar

While that glue dries we can turn our attention to the jar.

Take the lid off, mark the center and then drill a hole through it so the axle of the motor can protrude through it. Now for a tricky bit:
On top of this tiny motor we are going to put a circular piece of plastic or plexiglass.
The diameter of the circle needs to be just smaller than the inside diameter of the opening of the jar.
So that it can spin freely within it and also not leave too much of a gap, so that no smaller dice could fall through or get stuck in it.
First i cut a small square piece out and measured the diameter of the circle. in order to make a circular cut I used a bit of trickery.
You mark the radius (half of the diameter) of your circle from your sawblade out and there you make a mark. Mark and drill a small hole through the middle of your plastic material.
Using a nail you then go through the plastic and into the mark next to your blade.
This way, by slowly rotating the material around the nail you will cut a perfect circle.

Do. THis. SLOWLY.
It is a great way to make circles and also a great way to hurt yourself, because you´re spinning things into spinny sharp things.

I measured the small cogwheel on the axle of the motor and found a similarly sized drill bit.
With that bit you make the tiny hole in the plastic bigger.
Since the hole and the cogwheel are the same size it will create a pressure fit.
Using the plastic bit as a template I marked the same circle on my adhesive rubber, cut it out using scissors and stuck the two together.

Now we have a spinny plate to go onto the motor.

Sexify the Situation.

Wood and glass are cool and can be sexy.
Uggo yellow plastic is not.

So out comes the Gold Paint! I friggin´ love gold paint, it makes many things look a lot cooler.
So I gave the lid of the jar and the lettering a few coats of gold spray paint prior to assembly.

The wood was stained, but you could also clear coat it, varnish or leave it as is.
Personal choice, cause as the French say in their snobby voices "Les goûts et les couleurs, on ne discute pas"
basically "to each his own"

In regards to the text.

I put this text on to be silly and to be topical to the person who received it.
If you want, feel free to add any silliness to the front of this!
I used leftover 5mm plywood and a bandsaw to cut your my letters, spray painted them gold and attached them with superglue to the wood.

Assemble All the Things!

First the motor construction goes in the bottom.

Like any good car, it ain´t going nowhere without a motor, so using the bracket I mounted it on the bottom of the lid, so that the shaft of the motor could protrude through the wooden top.

If the motor you buy does not have a bracket, you can get creative with wood pieces and hot glue, and the bond will be just as good.
Then I hot-glued the plastic jar-lid on top, also going over the axle.
Using superglue I connected the spinny plate to the tiny cog and therefore to the axle of the motor.

In one of the sides i drilled an 8mm hole so the push button could go through, this was then attached using a tiny nut that came with the push button.