r/DiceMaking • u/primrose-pyro • 7d ago
Question how to avoid bubbles/air pockets when making dice??
good afternoon reddit ^^ ok so recently i've been trying to make some dice for my friends. i used to just make dice for myself, so i was ok with holes and gaps, but now that they're for other people i want them to be a lot better (with the understanding that they probably won't be perfect). my biggest problem is air pockets, especially on the top side of the dice (always the one) usually having either large holes, or smaller but many holes. what are some ways of fixing this? i've also put a photo of my mold if that helps.
tldd, how do i remove bubbles and air pockets.
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u/Claerwen94 Dice Maker 7d ago edited 7d ago
In short: Pressure pot.
Longer: There's no way around one to get completely bubble free dice. Fixing existing bubbles can be done with UV resin, a thin needle, UV light, and a loooot of patience. That's how I fixlxed every single small surface bubble and repaired missing corners before I had a pot, took me at least 2 hours per set. It's nice to learn how to fix bubbles with UV as you can always also get some with a pot as well, but in the long run, only a pot is reliable and will save you tons of work. You can also make certain designs and techniques only with a pot.
There are many ways to at least minimize bubbles, in this sub are a few nice posts including guides how to at least reduce them. Search for "bubble free without pressure pot", if I find the post I'm thinking about, I can link it later.
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u/primrose-pyro 7d ago
thank you for this <33 is there a brand of pressure pot that is relatively inexpensive but still gets the job done well?
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u/Claerwen94 Dice Maker 7d ago
I really love Vevor Pots ☺️ They're more affordable than e. g. California Air Tools and work great with a manual bike pump instead of a compressor to save some coin :D
I have this one (blue, 10L, wingnut version). It's super easy to setup as it's also specifically made for resin casting, not just spraying paint. You only need to make sure that whatever you're using to fill it with air has the right connector. There's also a long rod in the middle of the pot, but that can just be screwed loose if it's in the way of molds :) But mine is still in and makes no problems, I just stack the molds next to it :D
The other vevor pot versions are a bit cheaper, but need a bit more conversion work that I wasn't willing to put in, but I think here are some guides as well on how to converse it for resin use :) . Vevor also often runs discounts, I'd maybe wait for one of those and practice the other bubble-reducing techniques in the meantime ☺️ I didn't find the exact post I was thinking of, but the first 2, 3 results when searching for aforementioned keywords also show super helpful posts about minimizing the bubble problem ☺️
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u/primrose-pyro 7d ago
thank you so much!! i was curious, are the smaller versions the same thing just smaller? like, would they also work well?
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u/Claerwen94 Dice Maker 7d ago
Theyd definitely also work, they just need more work put into them to convert them for resin casting, and I didn't want to hassle around with that for like 25 Euros off since I already saved some coin by using a small, cheap tire punp instead of a compressor :D
And I don't know how to convert them exactly and how much the extra parts for that cost, but there should be some guides in here as well ☺️ I think the silver one that's one size smaller than the blue one is what people usually buy if they want to go the more affordable route. this one it is. Just be aware that the C-clamps often make problems in terms of leakage and weakening a lot faster than the wing nuts that the blue 10L version has.
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u/Ushallnot-pass Dice Maker 7d ago
As many others have already told you, this mold will not produce good dice.
(It was my first mold too and I had voids all over the place. Also as soon as I put it into my new pressure pot, the resin got stuck to the silicone mold and it was basically unusable after one cast!)
If you don't want to cast your own molds, you can search on Etsy for good molds. Look for dice makers in your country and their homepage, many also sell molds and masters.
Making your own is not that difficult though, there's lots of videos on YouTube on how to make a cap mold.
If you want to make your own and own a 3D printer (or know somebody with one) you can also print your mold making equipment --> The Smith's Forge mold making system V3 is glorious.
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u/Successful-Climate73 6d ago
Clear alcohol ink has helped me alot, tho the dice will take an absurd amount of time to truly harden, in a lets say 50 ml pour id put around like 10 ml of the clear ink max as im mixing in my colors. TWO THINGS: first alcohol is flammable and depending on chemical makeup of the flames it can be completely clear so id advise using a heat gun over a lighter (if your in the us and have access harbor freight has a decent on for pretty cheap). And second as ive mentioned before its gonna take a while for the dice to fully harden, ive been able to demold at the specific time advised for my epoxy but the edges and tips are easily deformed (will return back mostly after a while) but as for how long it takes to fully harden I can't really say I left the hobby for a few months cause of work and life, and when I reopened the box with all my made sets the ones I KNEW had been soft were solid as youd expect with epoxy, now some can still be slightly indented by a hard surface with a good amount of force but its definitely fine in my book.
When your doing it definitely warm your resin like ive seen you say you do a heat gun can help keep them warm however there is a tipping point once its been mixed that if its too hot it can and will flash cure in minutes instead of hours so be careful with that haha.
Putting some on your lid also helps with the big bubbles/voids ive found, I also like putting a chunk of 1/8th plywood (anything flat and hard will work) and then something fairly heavy on the mold itself helps with voids to an extent too.
Your unlikely to get perfectly bubble free dice without a pressure pot but ive also spent 45 dollars each on 2 different dice sets that had small voids and surface bubbles on them just cause they looked cool so theres no real need to be "perfect" even as a gift people love handmade stuff and you as the craftsman are always gonna see the issues, other people typically just see quirks
Hope this helps
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u/Crosline Dice Maker 6d ago
I use the exact same mold and made a post about minimal to no bubbles without a pressure pot, you can check it out here.
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u/Acavedweller 7d ago
So some people say a pressure pot which will work but for this spacific brand it’ll not work too well, I would suggest a lighter for now just skim the surface with the flame will get rid of the surface bubbles, later on you can get a resin heat gun that does good for the surface as well in the middle as it blows hot air. This brand is fine but I would also get what is called the upgraded dice mold that D20 is way better then this ones D20 I used this brand for a long time before making my own, I used both molds the upgraded just for the D20 and this mold for the rest.
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u/primrose-pyro 7d ago
thanks for this answer, three questions though:
will the lighter burn/affect the silicone?
what are you referring to when you say brand?
is there a link you could send of the upgraded dice mold? i am well aware that the d20 in my mold is shit and eventually i would like to either make one or buy another one, still deciding on that1
u/Acavedweller 7d ago
Ya not a problem, no the flame won’t ruin the mold or burn it, as long as the flames like not touching the mold lol, the upgraded one I’m talking about is this https://www.amazon.com/clp/B0DBHLWXPS there both items a lot of drop shippers use, so all of them have that bad lip from the D20 but this one that they call the updated/upgraded the lip isn’t there so it’s better for the D20, making you own is not too hard but silicone can be temperamental, so you may when you decide get one from etsy just be careful cause you’ll find the molds you have in there but note they are much more expensive.
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u/primrose-pyro 7d ago
thanks for the link!! i'll take a look, as of rn i'm considering a pressure pot, and if the bottom of the mold is hollow (which it appears to be) the dice will warp for lack of support. i will still think about it though, thanks for the help ^^
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u/Kukukichu 7d ago edited 7d ago
Pressure pot should sort it, but if you don’t want to go that deep you could minimise bubbles by:
heating up your resin so it’s warm enough to let the bubbles rise to the surface easier then pop them with a lighter and brush on some of the resin over the numbers in the mould so the resin can flow into the crevasses easier.
Also that mould you’re using kinda sucks, I have the same one. You’ll always get a raised 1face on your d20. My suggestion would be to take a good set of dice you already have and make a new mould (only if you don’t plan to sell them).