I’m sure you’re well aware by now what basic tools are required to make dice, and are on your way to acquiring those items (hello team pressure pot) or have been using them for awhile. But you know what items I’ve really found to be essential, or at the very least incredibly helpful, for making the most professional dice possible? Read on to find out!
(Please note that many of these items contain affiliate links, which means any purchases you make will give a small percentage back to the site at no additional cost to you. All items were purchased by me with no compensation; these are just the products I use that work for me. For more information please see my Privacy Policy.)
UV resin
Have pits, voids, chips, and sprue holes in your freshly poured dice? Whatever will you do? You need a bottle of UV resin on hand! This is perfect for quick patch jobs. It cures quickly and allows you to get back to sanding, so if a void ruins an otherwise perfect set, you don’t need to worry. You can even make full dice with UV resin. It makes encasing inclusions in resin prior to adding them to the molds super quick and easy too.
I’ve had good results with this one, but as always there are a ton of options out there and they probably all work great.
UV lamp
You don’t need a UV lamp to cure UV resin. Technically all you need to do is set the piece out in the sun for about fifteen minutes or so and it’ll cure, but you know what? This lamp has been a huge time saver for me. I wasn’t sure I wanted one at first because how hard is it to stick my dice in the sun for a few minutes and save a few dollars? Well, after having the wind blow my dice all over the backyard more than a few times and realizing I was getting a slow, sometimes uneven cure, I finally broke down and bought the curing lamp. It takes mere minutes to cure now, and I’m back to sanding without even leaving my seat. Amazon and other major retailers have plenty of these to choose from around the same price range, but I like that this one has no bottom so if I needed to cure anything larger than dice I could place it higher up and stick the larger item underneath it to cure. It works great and is very intuitive to use.
Ultrasonic cleaner
I wasn’t entirely sure whether I wanted to splurge on this. I didn’t really want to spend another 25-30 dollars on some vanity item that does what I could just use a little effort and some manual tool to do, but this…this was totally worth it. I wasn’t able to get the dust out of my numbers or pits with just a toothbrush alone (maybe because my numbers are tiny and deep on some dice) so when I got this, I was amazed at the difference it made. It also cut down on the time I was spending cleaning out the dust from my dice significantly. I use this for every single thing I make now, and it’s been easily the best 30 dollars I’ve ever spent.
This is the one that I use and I love it.
Dentek picks
Don’t have an ultrasonic cleaner, but can’t seem to get dust out of the numbers with just a toothbrush? You need these picks. They are fine bristled and way smaller than toothbrush bristles meaning they can get into the tiniest numbers and scrape the dust out. Having these around has been a lifesaver, and they might be the cheapest way to get around not having an ultrasonic cleaner on hand. Even with my ultrasonic cleaner for the big jobs, I am always using these for quick cleans in tight spaces.
Silicone mixing cups
I love these. I used to use disposable Dixie cups when doing resin projects which created a lot of unnecessary waste. Now I just use these, and they come with a convenient measuring gauge so you know how much resin you’re pouring. I also love the little 10ml cups these sets sometimes come with, which helps with small inclusions or weighing out colors before adding them in.
A trick that I use with two part resin to help with cleanup later is this: Put Part A in one cup and Part B in another cup, measured by volume or weight according to the instructions for your resin. (I use Art N Glow and measure 20ml of each part.) Pour Part A into the cup with Part B, stir vigorously (scraping the sides and bottom), and then pour the mixture into the other cup. Repeat the process until both cups have been thoroughly exposed to both parts, and by the time your pieces have cured, the excess resin will pop right out of the bottom of both cups with no sticky mess after. (If you do have some tackiness in the cups, wipe with rubbing alcohol.)
Pipettes aren’t on my list because while I have them, I honestly don’t use them much. I find them harder to use than just pouring in the resin and they don’t work well for me. Other people swear by them and they do make precision work easier, so I hear, but I’ve never had an issue using the pouring spout from the silicone cups to direct the resin into my molds.
Silicone mat
My work space gets messy pretty quickly with resin drips, and you know what helps with clean-up a ton? A giant silicone mat. It’s so easy to clean when I spill paint or resin on it. When the resin cures, you just peel it off. It helps keep the surface of the workspace itself free from mess. This is another item that kept me from having to waste sheets of parchment paper every time I wanted to make something.
These come in a ton of styles too. There are some that are smaller and come in two packs if that works better for your space, but I liked having a giant one to cover the most area.
Rubber-tipped tweezers
You probably have tweezers on hand, right? But are you tired of nicking the sides of your silicone molds trying to jam inclusions inside? You need these rubber tipped tweezers! They make it so easy to get items inside your molds without worrying about scratching the sides, and they have a good grip. They don’t, however, work well when trying to get thin foil leaf inside because the foil tends to stick to the rubber instead of going into the resin. I use plain metal tipped tweezers for that.
On that note, you may find (as I did) that hobby seed bead tweezers will be good to have on hand too for precision work. I use both and they are a great help.
Toothpicks
Easy to find and incredibly versatile, these are just important to keep on hand. If you need to pick a stray piece of paint out of a number, move something in your mold, carefully place a drop of UV resin on a face or swirl in some alcohol ink, toothpicks are great to have around. It’s one of those tools you might not think about but if you need it, you need it, so be sure to have some!
Hobby clippers
These have a flat side allowing you to get close to your face when clipping a sprue or any flashing, and the sharpness allows you to cut through the resin easily. Another tool that you pretty much have to have on hand, and that can be found cheaply at any craft store.
X-acto blade
It’s good to have an X-acto blade for more precision in removing stray resin from your freshly pulled dice. I also find it helpful to have a sharp blade around for various tasks that require a fine point. If you make your own silicone molds, these are necessary to cut your master dice out of the molds when you’ve created them. Like the hobby clippers these can be found at any craft store, along with a fresh change of blades to keep them sharp.
I liked that this set included hobby clippers, an X-acto blade, and several other very helpful tools for a reasonable price.
Zona papers
Ah yes, the infamous Zona papers. If you don’t yet know why these papers are so heavily recommended by the dice-making community, here’s why! It gives you the best non-chemical polish! Yeah, it’s a bit of elbow grease (less than the micromesh pads/sheets out there) but it gives consistently good results. Using them is easy enough, and they last awhile. I cut mine into 6 squared sections and discard them when the fibers turn white and lose their grit. Also, remember to use these on a flat surface like a piece of glass or a mirror to keep your sharp edged faces consistent!
Pottery wheel
At the time of this writing, I have mixed feelings about the pottery wheel. The benefits are obvious right out of the gate: less wrist work in sanding and polishing. I have found it to not be much of a time saver however, because I end up spending more time trying to get all the sides of the face polished evenly. It’s quite easy to accidentally put inconsistent pressure when holding the die and having to start over. That being said, if you’re going to use a pottery wheel, this is a great one. It takes up almost no space and works perfectly for dice making. I’d also recommend getting an acrylic round to glue down on the wheel to give you more working room. I got this one.
Macro lens
Wondering how people are taking those epic close up shots of their dice? By spending just a few bucks for a clip on macro lens for their phone, that’s how! Easy to use, easy to set up, and cost friendly! Plus the images are fantastic! I got a good deal with this package because it also included a wide angle lens, and both are great.
Look at this:
I’d recommend having a tripod or stabilizer of some kind when using a macro lens because you might get a shaky shot otherwise.
Label printer
Okay, this one may or may not apply to you, but it’s been a game changer for me. Having a resin craft business means lots of little orders going out, and I don’t want to have to spend any more time at the post office than necessary. Being able to buy and print shipping labels right at home has really made things easier for me. After battling with my traditional printer and having so many issues with running out of ink, I just went ahead and bought this thermal printer.
Pros: Prints perfect 4×6 shipping labels, is thermal and never runs out of ink, takes up very little space on the desk. Perfect for craft businesses!
Cons: Is only a label printer, does not print other types of items. Which is fine if that’s what you need.
Keep checking back
These are the tools that have taken my dice-making from good to the best it can be.
(You may be wondering why certain items like pressure pots, coloring additives, and the like are missing from the list. The reason I didn’t include them is because much of that is a matter of personal taste and I don’t feel that my preferences for, say, acrylic paint or mica powder are better or worse than what someone else might prefer.)
As I said, I will most certainly add to this list as time goes on so keep checking back!
Leave a Reply