Cheap dice trays

[Malebolgia]

Okay, here’s a simple tutorial on how to make some cool dice trays. We’ve tried them last week for Warzone Resurrection and King Death Monster and they work well! I can imagine they are less suitable for games where you roll lots of dice together as these might be a bit too small.

What do you need?


1. IKEA Ribba picture frames (I chose 15x10cm) (link)
2. Cheap mouse mat. You want the simple ones with a foam layer and a thin layer of cloth over it. I found these for €2 a piece (link)
3. Metal ruler
4. Sharp knife
5. Superglue

How do you assemble it?
1. Take the shrink wrap from the picture frames and remove the MDF board and clear Perspex. Use pliers to remove the picture stand and the two metal hooks from the board. Be careful to make sure the MDF doesn’t tear a lot.
2. Take the mouse mat and pull off the cloth layer, so you’ll end up with a layer of foam.
3. Place the MDF plate on top of the foam and cut through the foam with the blade around the frame. I used the metal ruler to make sure my cuts were straight. I ended up with a piece of foam that fits the picture frame.
4. Drip some superglue inside the picture frame, on the edges where the MDF plate sits on the frame. Then place the MDF in the frame and let it dry.
5. Take the foam and glue it on top of the MDF plate. Let it dry.

Result



With one mouse mat I could make two dice trays. A nice simple project that took me around 20 minutes to finish. And they work really well for games. I think I will make two more!

[Daeothar]

That's a great idea!

One question; why take the cloth off the mousemat? Wouldn't the end result be nicer with the cloth?

Next time I'm at Ikea, I will remember this and probable take along some of these frames trays!

[has.been]

I use the shallow trays that go under plant pots, but then I use dice cups & do not throw by hand. A simple shake & upturn the cup
onto the tray. They come in different colours & shapes, my favourite is the terracotta square ones (about 8" square). Mine cost about a pound from Wilkinson's. The dice cups are used Pot Noodle type pots (the nice strong blue ones with vertical ribbing. I have some narrow trays (about 2" x 8") from the kitchen section of Sainsbury's. They were on offer at 50p each. The narrow trays are great for laying out the specific dice for what ever game we are playing. Each place setting (one per player) cost £1.50 with no painting or gluing needed.

[Eric the Shed]

Heres another alternative...speaker casings more here

https://shedwars.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/shed-wars-goes-all-blue-peterreally.html

[Grimmnar]

One question; why take the cloth off the mousemat? Wouldn't the end result be nicer with the cloth?

I am assuming the pic on the cloth wouldnt have been  centered after cut or theme appropriate.

Gtimm

[Daeothar]

Don't think that's it: he used a plain black one apparently...

[Malebolgia]

That's a great idea!

One question; why take the cloth off the mousemat? Wouldn't the end result be nicer with the cloth?

Next time I'm at Ikea, I will remember this and probable take along some of these frames trays!

Because the cloth doesn't stick that well to the foam. If you keep it on during cutting, it gets ugly real fast. Don't forget these mouse mats are dead cheap (hema.nl), so don't expect any high quality cloth. It's not like the gaming mouse mats! If it would have been that kind of quality, then I'd keep on the cloth.
And the rubber is way more bouncy this way! Much cooler effect than with cloth.

[Daeothar]

Ah; thanks for the info.

It might be worth it then to up the price a bit and go for a slightly more expensive mouse mat, as I would like that cloth finish...

FYI; I already checked the possibility to have a logo printed on a cloth covered mouse mat. It's perfectly possible, if you go with a minimum of 250 pieces...

[Malebolgia]

It's an option. Personally I don't think it's worth the extra cost. Then I think it's cheaper to get some commercially made dice trays.

[Silent Invader]

Great idea - thanks for posting.

I was in Ikea so I picked up a slightly larger RIBBA  frame. Lined it with 1mm thick EVA foam sheet.

Excellent

[Daeothar]

Well, I went ahead and immediately got me a larger frame at Ikea too. Can't remember what it's called, but its inside dimensions are 23x23cm.

And then I ordered a larger sized mousemat on AliExpress, with my own design on it, for the whopping sum of €2,36. But as you can see from the posting date, it took its time arriving.

The image is very true to the original, and considering the price and medium (cloth mousemat) pretty much perfect!

I simply took the backing plate off the frame, traced it on the mousemat with a technical pencil and then cut the mat using scissors. I then glued the mousemat to the back plate, put that back in the frame and I was done.

And as the (plexi)glass of the frame was removed, the added 2mm thickness of the mat was actually a perfect fit!

[Too Bo Coo]

I use picture frames as well. But I used some faux leather that I wrapped around the frame's backboard and hold down with glue gun. My wife took the original and uses it as a jewelry tray so I had to make another! 😂

[HerbyF]

If you really want to dress them up, get some fantasy print mouse pads & cut them to fit.

[SotF]

Ah; thanks for the info.

It might be worth it then to up the price a bit and go for a slightly more expensive mouse mat, as I would like that cloth finish...

FYI; I already checked the possibility to have a logo printed on a cloth covered mouse mat. It's perfectly possible, if you go with a minimum of 250 pieces...

If you have a decent image of it, a lot of print shops and even some of the ones in places like walmart can put images on mousepads for a relatively decent price...

[Daeothar]

My wife took the original and uses it as a jewelry tray so I had to make another! 😂

Yeah; they tend to do that a lot for some reason... 

If you have a decent image of it, a lot of print shops and even some of the ones in places like walmart can put images on mousepads for a relatively decent price...

As you can see; I already managed, and for a more than reasonable price too...