Building a custom DM Screen challenge!

[Funkmachine7]

basic crude and ugly but well there movable magnetic parts...

[SgtSlag]

Thanks for posting!

Yours is functional (A+ rating!), and easily mobile (platinum A+++ rating!).  After that, it becomes a trade-off:  form versus function; utility may be the same -- or not; portability is usually the biggest casualty of all.

When making a custom GM's/DM's Screen, all of the trade-off's are on the table, and it can get bloody, very quickly, as you slice and dice your options with your favorite Ginsu Knife.   

The jury is still out on mine.  I am now applying a test coating of spray polyurethane over the paint.  I left the magnetic corner decorations on the backside of the main, painted metal panel...  When I removed the magnets after 24 hours, they left marks in the fully cured paint!  Good thing they were on the side which will be glued to the wooden panel!

If the urethane does not work, I will need to try covering it with Clear Contact Paper (vinyl peel-n-stick kitchen shelf liner).  More trade-off's, more Ginsu Knife work.  Now how much will I pay?... But Wait!  There's still more trade-off's to come!   Cheers!

[SgtSlag]

Progress Update:

Nearing the finish line.  All four side panels have been hinged together, as well as being hinged to the central DM panel.  Here are some photos:  DM's side, deployed in game position; partially folded, DM's side.

I employed five (5) hinges on each joint.  Experience with my 1987 DM Screen suggested that a little Over-Kill on hinges, for strength, is a sensible idea.  The hinges get a fair amount of stress when the screen is folded, but moving it is particularly stressful on the hinges.  It does not fold flat, as I had originally hoped it would.  This is likely a good thing, as folding it completely flat would put even more stress on the hinges!

I had Hot Glue'd the metal side panels on the left-hand side, prior to attaching the hinges between them, and the central panel -- this was a mistake.  I managed to insert the screws beneath the edges of the metal panels, but it is much easier to attach the hinges first, then Hot Glue the metal panels over the top.  I did not pay close enough attention to the clearance between the metal plates and the wrapped panel edges.  Hindsight is always 20/20...

I never anticipated the eye magnets, nor did I anticipate the thickness of the corner decorations interfering with the hinge operations of the panels.  Can you tell that I am not a professional engineer?   

I hope to finish the panel either tonight, or tomorrow.  More photos will be posted, along with a final write-up, when it is completed.  Cheers!

[SgtSlag]

"Is it done yet?"

"About an hour."
.
.
.

"Is it done yet?"

"About an hour."

"That's what you said last time."

"About an hour."

"UGHhhh!"


Actually, my custom DM Screen is done -- for now.

I learned plenty in making it.  Things I should have done, things I would do differently, if I made another one.  Yes, folks, it is time for a post-mortem on this project.  Strap in, and let's get started…

Leather covering, or vinyl?

Leather:  requires special leather glue to secure it to the wooden board surfaces; more hassle, more fiddly, more things to go wrong in the application -- I have zero experience working with leather like this; requires periodical conditioning/cleaning with things like leather soap; expensive.

Vinyl:  very durable, waterproof (except when cut, or poked with holes), resists most common chemicals; never dries out; cleans with virtually any mild soap and water; can be stretched taut, without issues; easy to staple into place; relatively inexpensive compared to leather; no need to worry about dyeing, or matching dye lots.

Sheet Metal for magnets to hold paper note sheets:  not the easiest thing to work with, unless you have sheet metal skills and professional tools; can be made to work relatively easy with hand tools; can be costly; paint will rub off more easily than you imagine; coating the paint with something like polyurethane can help make it more durable, but it will still chip and scratch more than you expect it to; you could (and you should!) cover the sheet metal with clear vinyl shelf liner, to protect its paint covering; I will likely add this to mine, within the next week, as the paint continues to scratch off, in spite of several coats of polyurethane.

Attaching Sheet Metal to Wooden Panels:  Hot Glue sounds like a good method, but it has its challenges and its limitations; a better route would be to have used the Construction Adhesive (a strong form of silicone in a tube) would be easier, more effective, and with a cleaner application than the Hot Glue I used.

Hinges:  if you employ small brass hinges, like I did, they are delicate, and easily bent -- use more than you think are necessary, to make the whole more sturdy; plan carefully as to how you want the whole to fold up, make sure you account for any surface decorations you plan to apply to the surfaces which might interfere with the hinges folding.

Overall:  perform multiple dry-fits, to make sure things will work as you hoped when you visualized your design; many subtle changes along the way between mental images in your head, and how it actually all comes together in the making process, can potentially de-rail your entire project!

Now for the photos, some in progress, some after the Screen was finished.

Interior shot #1, everything in place, ready to put to use at the gaming table.

Interior center section, showing how easily the sheet metal surface can be scratched!  Ouch!  This metal sheet was given three coats of aerosol polyurethane, but it did not help as much as I'd hoped…

Interior left panels, fully assembled, ready for charts, maps, or whatever I need to run the game session.  Again, the paint, with polyurethane coatings, cannot withstand much abuse before the paint flakes off.  Yikes!

Interior right panels, same sad situation with the paint on the steel sheet metal.  Some Hot Glue residue is evident, but most of what you see is bare steel where paint + polyurethane scraped away.

So it is finished, but it needs some refinement -- a little fine-tuning, as auto-mechanics used to say when I was a boy.

How does it function, you ask?  Let's take a look at some shots showing it in its full functioning glory (such as it is…).  Here is a view for the DM, with maps and a chart held in place by magnets (I use a Padauk Dice Tower, so I added that to show how I will utilize it at my gaming table).

A close-up of the left side screens.

A close-up of the center screen, with a map on the left hand side of it.

A close-up view of the right hand sides, with a map, and a chart of Priest Spells.

And finally, a view from the Player's side, with a map held in place in the center for their usage.

I really like the burgundy faux leather (vinyl), with the bright brass corner decorations and the brass hinges.  It has its blemishes, but it is something I made myself, and with all of that, I am still proud of it, in spite of the paint scratches.  Cheers!

[fred]

Thats a pretty epic outcome!

What weight is the finished screen - it has far more sections than I was expecting to see?

[SgtSlag]

Post Mortem Part Deux:

How much does it weigh?  10.0 pounds.

How much did it cost in materials?

Here is a parts-cost list of materials used for it:

4 x 26 ga steel sheet metal = $32USD

1 x Tin Snips = $7USD

1 x Plywood 4x4 = $19USD

1 x Yard burg. faux Leather vinyl (mine was free) = $12USD

1 x Brown Spray Paint = $7USD

1 x Spray Urethane = $7USD

1 x box of 50 Hinges = $8USD

1 x pack of Hot Glue = $5USD

1 x Hot Glue Gun = $10USD

1 x Hvy. Duty Stapler = $12USD

1 x box of Staples = $4USD

2 x boxes of brass corner dec. = $26USD

1 x pack of 14 Eyeballs = $4USD

1 x pack of magnets (for the eyes) = $5USD

Total Supplies Cost: $158USD

The cost is higher than I expected, but it was a whole lot of fun to push myself to get this far with it.  And, comparing it to all of the commercially available DM Screens, I don't think it came out too bad.  I am looking forward to using it at my next game. Cheers!

[fred]

I'm not sure I'd include the cost of the tools in the cost of the screen, hot glue gun and stapler are very re-usable. Tin snips a bit more situational.

[SgtSlag]

I'm not sure I'd include the cost of the tools in the cost of the screen, hot glue gun and stapler are very re-usable. Tin snips a bit more situational.

Thank you for the reply.  I wanted to cover all of the materials needed.  I have no idea who has what in their tool kit.  To be honest, I used a table saw to cut up the 4x4 plywood sheet -- I forgot to add that in.

I agree, it was a bit of overkill.  I really don't know how many gamers use a Hot Glue Gun, or a heavy duty stapler, so I added those into the list, just in case.  I had not used a tin snips in 40+ years.  They were actually less expensive than I expected.

I also failed to mention that I used a claw hammer to flatten the cut edges of the sheet metal, as it became wavy after I cut the metal to size.  The hammer flattened the pieces out pretty well.  Once I cover the metal sheets with vinyl shelf liner, the hammered edges should be even more camouflaged.

To be honest, I would like to do it all over again, from scratch.  I know I could do an even better job of it, now that I've learned some things about the whole of the process.  The paint scratching off, after giving it several coats of polyurethane, was really disappointing.  I thought I could forego the vinyl shelf liner -- serious mistake.   Cheers!

[fred]

I think hot glue guns are very common - I'm not sure how many there are in my house, but it could be approaching double figures!

Perhaps showing tools separately might be an approach?

The paint being so delicate is quite surprising, perhaps you needed a different primer, or prep of the steel.

[SgtSlag]

I washed the steel with hand soap and water, dried it fully, then I applied Krylon Paint+Primer (made for metal, but not specifically galvanized steel).  First time I've ever painted galvanized sheet metal before -- the galvanizing coating might require a special primer?  Never thought to check on that...  If there is a "next time", I might go with sandable automotive primer which supposedly etches the metal for better adhesion?  I've primed my miniatures with gray auto primer since around 1995, and I've never had any adhesion issues in the past 30 years (metal, non-LDPE/non-HDPE plastic, and resin figures)!

Yep, looked it up:  should have wiped it down with white vinegar, following that up with a paint made for galvanized steel...  I might need to strip the existing paint, first, prepare it with white vinegar, then apply the correct type of paint (whatever that is...).   

It is surprising how much I have learned in this project.  Things which I took for granted, proved totally false.      I hope my posts on the subject prove useful to others.  Cheers!