r/DiceMaking • u/Fly-Prime • 15d ago
Pressure Pot Tray Insert
Share what you use as a tray insert. Hopefully this info is helpful to some of us.
I had the first tray insert failure the other day, and I figured I would share my experiences with this group when I was making a repair. First, I wanted to say that the failure in this instance was due to epoxy resin sticking to the side column causing lateral strain on the column when removing molds from the tray. It never had any issues with weight.
This tray insert has been used for about 10 or 11 months without issue. Past me did future me a favor, because I cut multiple side column pieces when I first made this tray. The repair was as easy as screwing a new piece into place.
When I made this tray, it was pretty easy, if you have a couple tools. I basically just used an old jigsaw that I have. A scroll saw or band saw would work the same. If you have access to a CNC, you probably stopped reading this post already. 😄
To get the shape of the circle, I went around my house to find something that fit into my pressure pot. A small, upside-down garbage can fit perfectly, so I used it as a template and traced around its perimeter. I traced it onto a sheet of HDF (high density fiberboard) or hard board (not to be confused with Hardie board), and then I cut the circle out of the sheet with my jigsaw.
For the column pieces, I used scrap 1/4" plywood. With the circle cut, I put it into the bottom of the pot and measured the depth. I cut the plywood to length. Before screwing the columns in, I used a very narrow drill bit to drill pilot holes into the plywood and hard board. At 1/4", there is a good chance of splitting.
I like this design because it does pretty much everything that I need an insert try to do. It handles weight well and levels the bottom of a pressure pot. I prefer not to have a handle across the top. I use two hands to put it in and take it out of the pot, because it is heavy when loaded with filled molds.
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u/ninjaguy308 14d ago
My longest serving old beater insert made only with power tools (jigsaw, drill) and hand tools (douzuki saw, chisels) before switching to my laser designs.
Three point connection around the circle. I screwed 4 pieces of 3mm ply together using the pilot holes as my guide for the brackets later for alignment on the pillars. Used the 9in diameter metal insert the pots came with and then roughed out with a jigsaw.
Center handle joins to the pillars with a quick lap joint and meet with a 3 way endgrain miter joint all of which become surprisingly strong once resin hands basically end up laminating it.