I made a solid wood D20. Learned I'm not as good at geometry as I thought...
Posted Aug 6, 2019, 1:13 PM UTC
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This is so cool! I wanted to do this, and tried to work out the math and eventually gave up, haha
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This blog was super helpful. https://vonholdt.wordpress.com/2015/02/21/how-to-make-a-solid-twenty-sided-die/
Also, draw out your cuts. You might think you have a grasp on it, until you set it on the saw and make a couple cuts.
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There's a video by Matthias Burger where he makes all the Plutonic Solids (basis for D&D dice) with a miter and table saw. He uses a lot of stock and ends up with a lot of scraps in the process, though.
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That was a really cool video, with easy to understand instructions. He skipped the ten-sided die, dunno why. If I find similar instructions for a ten-sided die I'll post it here. Gotta have a full set!
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The 10-sided die was not a Platonic Solid because it's faces are kite-faced and not regular polygons (where all edges and angles are equal). The 4, 8 and 20-siders use equilateral triangles, 6 sider uses squares, 12-sider uses regular pentagons.
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Thanks for the explanation! This could mean that a ten-sided die would need to be cut in a similar way as the dodecahedron. I'll have to experiment with that.
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I would love to see a test of this to see how evenly it rolls ;)
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There's a big knot in one side that I suspect weighs a little more than the rest of the wood, so it's probably not perfect...
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I feel like I learn something every single time I cut a piece of wood
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Wooden D20's are hard, and a solid wooden D20 is something I haven't thought about trying yet. You did great, and as a fellow nerd I'm envious of your friend.
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A friend is a big DnD player, and for some reason I got it in my head that I'd make a D20 for him on the table saw. I made a small sled specifically for it, but ended up cutting the last 8 sides with a block plane. Pictured is my 3rd attempt with the softest Whitewood I've ever seen before. I ruined two blocks of oak before deciding to waste pine instead, and then got it right with the pine...
Next up is a block of oak to make a nice one.
You should make a rig for it and write the steps down