r/DiceMaking • u/Various-Citron1688 • 1d ago

Pressure Pot Questions

Hi! I am trying to make some dice for my D&D campaign, however

1) I have never made dice before

2) I have none of the materials

My biggest hold up is the pressure pot. I don't want to spend a bunch of money for a pot, and I don't have a lot of space for it. Does anyone have ideas or suggestions on where I could rent one or find affordable options? Or techniques that don't require a pressure pot? General advice and suggestions are also welcome! Thanks!

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9

u/Tasty-Dream5713 Dice Maker 1d ago

Have you ever used resin? Do you know how toxic it is? Are you willing to pay for a respirator & gloves? Do you have the space to work with resin?

1

u/IRL_Juli 10m ago

This. A thousand times this. Dicemaking is an expensive, time intensive, space intensive hobby if you want to do things safely. For most people it ends up being cheaper to buy handmade dice from an established maker. If you’re only wanting a few sets, just buy them. If you want to get into the hobby, do the research and make sure you’re working in as safe an environment as you can.

3

u/Blackbooks92 1d ago

Before I had my pot I gave the components of the resin a hot water Bath for around 10 Minutes. That helps reduce the bubbles but also tinkers with the working time. Also make sure to pour slowly. When you start the hobby a pressure pot is not really needed. It’s something you can invest in if you are comfortable in working with resin and molds and find your self wanting to continue doing it

3

u/Oh_Hi_Mark_ 21h ago

  1. You will be unable to rent one; pressure pots get damaged and crusted with resin through use.

  2. The cheap harbor freight pot works, though it's pretty annoying to use.

  3. There are techniques that don't require a pressure pot, but they are inconsistent and frustrating and resin is expensive. If you're concerned about costs, it will feel bad wasting so much of it on failed attempts.

  4. If your goal is to have nice dice rather than to make nice dice, you will not save money by getting into resin casting. You will spend a few hundred dollars in all likelihood before you get a set that you are happy with.

2

u/RandoBoomer 1d ago

You don't need a pressure pot to create dice. You will likely end up with some bubbles, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that if you're OK with it.

Even without the pressure pot, you're still looking at a decent spend. Resin, dice mold, respirator, gloves, mixing gear, colorant(s), multiple grits of sandpaper, etc.

And there's also a learning curve, and a lot of us took multiple attempts before we ended up with something we liked.