Custom chip case

[UnluckyKyle]

Has anyone tried to make/build their own chip cases?

I was thinking of getting a locking briefcase, gutting it, and putting new lining and making some sort of chip rack to put inside.

Also, i was eyeballing this case, pretty slick if you ask me:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=8106500599&ssPageName=STRK:MEBI:IT

[supa-t]

That's a cool case! I wouldn't want to carry my work docs in it, but it's awesome for chips.

Anybody with a case, can you give us the dimensions on the inside? I'm sure it would be pretty easy to make a chipcase interior. One option is to route a block of wood and finish it, preferably with a lighter type of wood. It would be heavy.

Wood exterior and interior would be pretty slick.

[UnluckyKyle]

yeah, i'd feel a bit light in the loafers carrying that to work.

My idea (since i dont have woodworking tools) was to just use small strips of wood about 1/8" thick (balsa most likely) to make the ridges for the rows of chips. Then, cover the wood with a thin felt (or something similar, maybe silk) and letting the fabric hang to the base of the 'case (resembling all other chip racks) and use glue to hold the fabric to the wooden seperators.

I think a black silk material would look pretty sweet inside of that case, but i'm no martha stuart, so i've got no idea how to make it look nice.

[UnluckyKyle]

oh, and fyi... they only made 100 of those cases.

[Always_Bored]

Its nice for chips. I would carry that thing to work either.

[supa-t]

I think the wood and hanging cloth might end up being pretty flimsy.

The best best would be to take a solid peice of wood and lathe the semi-cylinder chip rows out of it.

There is another option. Get a solid block of wood. Take a Spade Bit (flat wood bit) the size of the chip rows and drill parallell holes through the block - use a drill press for accuracy. Then cut the block nearly in half. The holes now cut in half will form the chip holding rows. You could make 2 trays this way.

Or do it by hand with a circular rasp then sand (much more tedious!).

Be sure to sand and finish to make it pretty.

If you don't have a woodworking shop, it would be a 10 minute job for someone who does. But the final result would look like something you'd buy not something you made

[UnluckyKyle]

I think the wood and hanging cloth might end up being pretty flimsy.

The best best would be to take a solid peice of wood and lathe the semi-cylinder chip rows out of it.

There is another option. Get a solid block of wood. Take a Spade Bit (flat wood bit) the size of the chip rows and drill parallell holes through the block - use a drill press for accuracy. Then cut the block nearly in half. The holes now cut in half will form the chip holding rows. You could make 2 trays this way.

Or do it by hand with a circular rasp then sand (much more tedious!).

Ok, i've been mulling this stuff over. For the case mentioned above, i'd need a bit that could drill 12"... do they even make those? From what i've seen they only come in 6" length. (i'm guessing i'd just need to drill from both sides.)

As to the lathe idea... i was under the impression that a lathe was used for turning and carving the wood in cylindrical(sp?) shapes, like a chair leg.

The inner dimensions for the case are 16.5" x 11.4" x 2.2". So, fitting a single custom chip tray inside of the case would allow for around 750 chips. (my diamond chips measure approximately 3.33mm x 33mm).

I love projects like this, but i dont know where to start when looking for tools. Does anyone know how much a sufficient drill press would cost for a task like this? If i make a good run at the first case or two, i may see about making a few more to recoup the cost of the equipment (gotta love hobbies that pay for themselves).

[Jonniedough]

just thought of this......you don tneed a drill bit to drill through the whole piece of wood, get a router that cuts a semi circle, I know I have a few not sure of thr name of the bit. but it would be easier then drilling a 12" hole.Ill get back to yall on it this..........if I remember to!!

[supa-t]

Kyle, your right about the lathe. I was thinking of putting a bit on the lathe and passing the wood over (don't have a lathe) but i don't think that's possible.

The easiest maneuver would be to bore the holes with a drill press. If you can't find a bit that is long enough you may have to drill from both sides. Not a problem anyway. You're good with a ruler right

There's another way too. You could make cove cuts with a table saw. It involves making multiples passes with the saw, adjusting the saw 1/8" or 1/16" on each pass. You can even download a program to help calculate the cove cut here (CoveCutter):

http://www.woodcentral.com/bparticles/bpindex2.shtml#downloads

You would have to make multiple passes with a router too. Only the government has super stealth routers that can make a 1"w x 5/8"d pass at once. Don't think you'd find a router bit of that size or a router that would turn it.

[supa-t]

BTW, drillpresses are relatively cheap. Anywhere from 39.99 to around 500 at Harbor Freight. I wouldn't necessarily go for the cheapest though.

[mindgame]

Decent drill presses are not cheap. You buy one for under $500 and it's going to have two severe limitations. First it won't have the umph to turn a large diameter bit through any depth of wood at all, and second, it won't have more than 2 1/2" or 3" of "throw." (That's what you call the depth of the stroke, which is determined by the length of the "quill." The quill is the part that travels up and down. The longer it is, the greater the lateral stresses and the more expensive the bearings become.)

I have one drill press which has an 8" throw and it's big enough to drill up to 2 1/2" in diameter through a 6X6 timber, but that sucker cost me 5 grand without the motor. The motor is a 25 horse 3 phase job and just getting three phase power to your garage...well you're going to have to sell your car to pay for it unless you live next to a bowling alley or something.

But since we are on the subject of cases, am I the only person in the world who is sick and tired of cases with wasted space inside for cards and dice? Damn that ticks me off! I just bought a pretty nice alum. case on ebay for $15 bucks that holds 700 chips. There were only 3 minutes left when I bid on it, so I didn't take the time to scroll down and check out the inside. I figured they just pulled out that crap in the center and dropped in two more rows for chips, then stretched the outside enough to add two more rows to get 14. Well, it just serves me right for bidding blind. Then to make things worse I got wacked for $15 bucks shipping and handling--a total rip! That was way, way down on the listing....

And as for he wood...did someone actually say balsa???? Come on, that's not going to last 2 minutes with the weight of the chips you are trying to contain. I think, unless you are a dedicated woodworker, you are better off to buy your nice outer case and take it to a first rate cabinet shop to have them finish off the inside.

[supa-t]

I agree that it would be easier to take it to a woodworker.

But for the stubborn, use the tablesaw and make cove cuts.

[UnluckyKyle]

i wanted balsa only for the dividers, not the entire rack itself. I've decided that if i'm going to do it, i'll use the router method. From the short research i've done the router looks like it can do just about everything i'd need to build a whole case myself. Well, less of a case and more of a box.

I'm not doing it to be cheap, i just like do-it-yourself projects and this one seems like something within my range of possibilities. Plus, i like to have a few things lying around that i can say i built myself. I've got a $1000 paintball gun that (more or less) i put together with parts that i picked up here and there (Autocockers are like the small block V8 of paintball, for those that are wondering).

[Teekan]

I hope you get that briefcase, it looks super pimp. Since only 100 were made though, I think it's goin to get up there in price. be sure to post some pics of your finished poker chip case

This is the one I have I got it for around 20$ on ebay. It's pretty kewl, plus you can also lock it. I have a black case with a handle for my 300 suited set right now. the case I posted is for my custom set which should be coming in a couple weeks.

[UnluckyKyle]

That looks pretty nice! I've heard bad things about those plastic corners, though. Its looking like i may forgo buying the case, and just make one myself. I have a grandfather who does quite a bit of wood working, and another grandfather who does carving. So, i'd like to make a big enough chest to hold around 2000 chips for my father who hosts games 2 nights a week.

I'm thinking of something along the lines of how a tackle-box opens up with removable trays of 100 chips each.

The case idea isnt out the window totally, but the person selling those cases has the reserve too high, plus another $15 for shipping... I'm not about to pay $100+ for a 700 chip case.