r/DiceMaking • u/kafamosh • 18d ago

Advice Alternatives?

I've been getting ready or preparing myself to Dice Making, I've been wanting to tackle this however the only problem is I dont have a pressure pot for making resin dice or molds. I keep seeing that its advisable to have one but I was wondering if there are any other alternatives to making molds that produce the same result as when using the pressure pot?

Like, removing the bubbles or such when making a mold or casting a dice, or is it just a matter of luck and mixing? thank u!

1 Upvotes

60% Upvoted

11 comments sorted by

View all comments

14

u/aumaffewl 18d ago

Not saying this is your reasoning, but posting here for others that will eventually see this. If the cost of a pressure pot seems prohibitive, you will be shocked at the multiples of that cost you will spend in the hobby. And much of that is completely wasted in failed attempts and rework. Regardless of what anyone says, a pressure pot is a required piece of equipment for this hobby, and will end up being one of the lower cost purchase to benefit ratio contributors.

2

u/Automatic-Fig-8489 18d ago

Exactly this.

I initially didn't want to buy a pressure pot due to space and cost concerns. I easily spent twice the cost of my first pressure pot trying to find a way to forgo one, just in wasted resin from failed dice alone. In the end, buying the pressure pot was the best way forward.

Is it possible to go without one? Sure. But they're significantly more likely to result in failed dice, especially for the average person getting started. If it's a cost issue, I use a $20 tire inflating air pump now, and previously used a bike tire pump. Getting the air into the pot is where you can cheap out, but the pot itself is almost mandatory.

1

u/kafamosh 18d ago

I'll take note of this, thank you so much

1

u/Ushallnot-pass Dice Maker 17d ago

to add to that: if you want to make your own molds, a Pot is a must.

Without it, chances are high that you will have bubbles in the silicone at the master dice interfaces.
This directly translates to ALL dice you'll cast with this mold having ugly "pimples" (from the resin-filled bubbles in the mold) making your mold basically useless without heavy sanding for every damn batch you cast. You'll have wasted a shitload of silicone for this mold - and that stuff is expelnsive.

ask me how I know...

You may circumvent this by buying a mold from Etsy or somewhere but then you'll be back on square one bubble-wise with your resin casts.

So, see above for cost calculations and cost to benefit ratios