Dice Tower Design

After deciding a few weeks ago to replace the redundant cupholders on the two ends of the table with a dice tower, I’ve been rolling the idea around in my mind. I finally sat down at Sketchup and I think I have a plan.

I open a new file to keep everything nice and clean and just started with two boards simulating the back and base (the dark gray parts in the following photos). My design constraints were to keep the top and front edge design the same to match the rest of the table, which limits the dimension to 6” wide and 6” deep, with a 3/4” edge along the top and a 4 1/4” tall face:

I ended up creating two hinged parts to try and maximize the amount of vertical space (for the tower) and horizontal space (for the tray where the dice spill out). The main body first hinges up 90° along the back edge:

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And then what was the front panel flips over 180° exposing the opening to the tower. The other side of that panel is a little felt-lined tray for holding dice when not in use (and you can scoop them forward to fall in the tower):

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Inside the tower are three shelves which randomize the dice, and should give it a really neat sound:

The bottom tray is felt lined and 1” tall to prevent any dice from jumping out.

I did a lot of tweaking of the tolerances to give me as tall and deep a tower as I could. When closed, the two nestle together with no room to spare (color coded to help keep track):

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So that’s the current plan! I’ll sit with this design for a while and let my subconscious see if it comes up with any improvements. I’ll finish the player stations, the drawers and the leaves on the table (and probably put the table in the dining room) before I even think about starting to build these.

My main contact at the hardwood store, Dan, knows I’m always on the lookout for awesome pieces of Sapele, and a couple of weeks ago he set aside a highly figured piece for me. I bought it, not even having a project in mind (this was before I had the dice tower plan), but now I’m definitely using it for these! I’ll have to take it down off the rack and inspect it, but at first glance maybe I can center that dark streak vertically in the tower?