Has anyone attempted to make some DIY clay chips? (6 Viewers)

[3ofspades]

Hello everyone!

This is my first post so please advice if this is not the correct place

I'm about to receive my first set of Outlaws chips, I know everyone says thay we should get samples but here in Mexico is a little dificult to find any kind of chips that are not Dice and the ones that you can find are a little expensive, I had to buy in discount poker shop and pay a forwarder to send them to me. Anyway, when I was researching for chips and which I wanted to buy a thought ran into my head... "Can I make my own clay poker chips?" like, creating a 3D printed mold, working with clay and using custom stickers on them, but then I realized it was a lot of work and I decided to put the experiment on hold

I think some day I'll try to make some but in the meantime...

Has anyone attempted this? How did it went?

Thanks in advance for your knowledge and sorry if something is not that clearly written, my main language is spanish lol.

 

[Phoe9x]

@SwissChip Has a thread where he DIY’s a clay(?) dealer button and they come out really nice.

https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/dealer-button-diy.118123/

 

[Phoe9x]

clay(?)

I double checked, yeah it’s made of clay

 

[upNdown]

There are only two companies in the entire world that make compressed clay poker chips and their processes are carefully guarded trade secrets. So it seems unlikely anybody can do this for themselves.

 

[allforcharity]

Modern chips are not made of clay, even though that's what we call them.

 

[wootaki]

There are only two companies in the entire world that make compressed clay poker chips and their processes are carefully guarded trade secrets. So it seems unlikely anybody can do this for themselves.

this kinda what puzzles me still. seems monopolistic.

 

[NotRealNameNoSir]

It can be attempted and might be a cool keepsake, but it would be very challenging to mass produce them yourself and have them sit flat, I'd worry about warping and size differences. Work hard and make a few as souvenirs.

If it works, good for you and we'll be lining up at your door! But its all about consistency, and I think my time and money is better spent acquiring the professional version.

As a quicker version of that I bought cheap beatup roulette chips, cleaned them and added my own label. Not as intensive as making my own but still saved some money and had fun doing it.

 

[Himewad]

this kinda what puzzles me still. seems monopolistic.

If there were billions of dollars to be made from producing poker chips, there would be more companies making them

 

[wootaki]

If there were billions of dollars to be made from producing poker chips, there would be more companies making them

but if one of those companies doesnt even sell to the public, business must be okay

 

[Himewad]

but if one of those companies doesnt even sell to the public, business must be okay

They don't sell to the public because the casinos want it that way. To ensure their chips are secure. One tiny clay disc can be worth a lot of money, and could be a huge liability if they weren't secure.

Also, there are signs out there that business might be "okay" but certainly not lucrative. Going the wrong way, it seems.

 

[wootaki]

They don't sell to the public because the casinos want it that way. To ensure their chips are secure. One tiny clay disc can be worth a lot of money, and could be a huge liability if they weren't secure.

thats great. what puzzles me is that no ones tried to break into that market. look at how many casinos around the world use those chips. and only one company serves them all? hard to believe no one with some money has thought about trying to find out how to get. apiece of it. unless its just impossible cause of some good ol boys system

 

[Himewad]

thats great. what puzzles me is that no ones tried to break into that market. look at how many casinos around the world use those chips. and only one company serves them all? hard to believe no one with some money has thought about trying to find out how to get. apiece of it. unless its just impossible cause of some good ol boys system

It's not a conspiracy. It's just that there are many other options out there for casinos now. Ceramics, for example, are much cheaper to produce than pretty clay chips. Some casinos are even experimenting with a chip-free system. Sad for people that are on this forum, but really not a big deal for people who just want to gamble a bit.

 

[upNdown]

thats great. what puzzles me is that no ones tried to break into that market. look at how many casinos around the world use those chips. and only one company serves them all? hard to believe no one with some money has thought about trying to find out how to get. apiece of it. unless its just impossible cause of some good ol boys system

It’s such a limited market - not even global. From what I can tell, clay chips are only preferred in casinos in the western hemisphere, mostly USA, and even that market is shrinking as technology allows for security to be built into plastic chips, and for cheaper.

 

[demonnic]

this kinda what puzzles me still. seems monopolistic.

There's several companies making poker chips. Only two making them in that particular way. So far as I know the limited number of companies doing it that way is due more to it being more difficult, time consuming, and expensive which means a lower margin.

but if one of those companies doesnt even sell to the public, business must be okay

Or the market to the public isn't worth the extra effort for them, when they've got casino customers ordering thousands and thousands of chips at a time. Volume is one of the only ways to overcome low profit margins.

I know the compressed clay chips are "better" in most of our estimations, but from a casino's perspective if the cheaper plastic or ceramic options can also be made as secure as clay chips why wouldn't they go with the cheaper more durable option? I think the cachet of clay may be one of the only things keeping them in circulation at this point. Especially in the poker world, where non-casino card houses can't even get the clay ones and the ceramic ones start getting more play and stream time.

 

[wootaki]

okay, well unless the profit margins are extremely thin, we can leave it at that. i just think if theres money in something people will look into how to get a piece of it. at least more than 2 companies. i cant really think of anything at the moment where theres little competition like that

 

[BGinGA]

i just think if theres money in something people will look into how to get a piece of it. at least more than 2 companies. i cant really think of anything at the moment where theres little competition like that

There used to be five* companies that made compression-molded clay chips, but now down to just two. That should tell you something.

• Burt Co. + USPC -> ASM -> CPC
• T.R.King (closed)
• Paulson/GPI
• Hispania (closed)
• Blue Chip Co. (closed)

Matsui also very briefly gave it a shot.

 

[wootaki]

There used to be five, now down to just two. That should tell you something.

sure, i was surprised to see the thread from Spragg about not having enough orders in the pipeline.

now all i can think bout is how much their equipment and labor costs are vs profits.

I'm not gonna say a company making identical clay chips could survive just off PCF classifieds, but when i see people pay $10/chip its hard to believe there isnt money in it like that.

 

[demonnic]

Yeah but they're paying $10/chip for rare, hard to find chips that aren't made any more. Not chips being turned out to market still.

 

[NotRealNameNoSir]

okay, well unless the profit margins are extremely thin, we can leave it at that. i just think if theres money in something people will look into how to get a piece of it. at least more than 2 companies. i cant really think of anything at the moment where theres little competition like that

Eh, why produce in clay when only a tiny market share cares what they look like? Dice chips, mass produced plastic crap with metal inside, are by far the most sold, recognizable poker chip. You've got people using them in movies, music videos, home games, incredibly successful and cheap, so when you say you can't think of a market with such little competition you're disregarding the cheapest most practical option. You have to start a new business with new machinery and processes, and convince people (outside of losers like us) that they should pay $2 a chip instead of 20 cents. Tough sell. The $10 chip you mention is bought and sold here, not to normal people.


Sure there's money to be made but most small business owners I know don't go out picking fights with huge established companies, pandering to a tiny share of the market. CPC is wonderful but has been reaching out for business and just had some costly equipment failure, its not easy.

 

[wootaki]

Yeah but they're paying $10/chip for rare, hard to find chips that aren't made any more. Not chips being turned out to market still.

true, so why not find out a way to make them again or better? wont cost $10 but people will still buy

 

[wootaki]

Eh, why produce in clay when only a tiny market share cares what they look like?

maybe i am overvaluing clay chips to the overall population then

 

[Himewad]

Eh, why produce in clay when only a tiny market share cares what they look like? Dice chips, mass produced plastic crap with metal inside, are by far the most sold, recognizable poker chip. You've got people using them in movies, music videos, home games, incredibly successful and cheap, so when you say you can't think of a market with such little competition you're disregarding the cheapest most practical option. You have to start a new business with new machinery and processes, and convince people (outside of losers like us) that they should pay $2 a chip instead of 20 cents. Tough sell. The $10 chip you mention is bought and sold here, not to normal people.


Sure there's money to be made but most small business owners I know don't go out picking fights with huge established companies, pandering to a tiny share of the market. CPC is wonderful but has been reaching out for business and just had some costly equipment failure, its not easy.

I like how you wrote this, and I didn't even flinch. I have just accepted that we are not normal people.

 

[NotRealNameNoSir]

I like how you wrote this, and I didn't even flinch. I have just accepted that we are not normal people.

Its so stupid, man. I made a custom no-mold set, loved it, then bought a shuffle stack of Flamingo $1s. Idiotic. Should've just buried a few hundred bucks in the yard instead.

 

[Himewad]

true, so why not find out a way to make them again or better? wont cost $10 but people will still buy

It's not the quality, necessarilly. It's the rarity.

 

[demonnic]

no avid collectors are, really

 

[wootaki]

It's not the quality, necessarilly. It's the rarity.

which is why i said it wont be $10...but if you can sell for $5 and you still make profit, its still a business

 

[Himewad]

which is why i said it wont be $10...but if you can sell for $5 and you still make profit, its still a business

Agreed. Which is why I said before, it there were a ton of profits to be made in the clay poker chip manufacturing business, there would be more companies out there. There just aren't many people who want a set (or multiple sets) of poker chips. Outside of myself and PCFers, I don't know a single person who owns a clay poker chip set. My friends probably think I'm crazy for spending so much money on clay poker chips (or ceramics). And they are probably right.

 

[SwissChip]

Hello everyone!

This is my first post so please advice if this is not the correct place

I'm about to receive my first set of Outlaws chips, I know everyone says thay we should get samples but here in Mexico is a little dificult to find any kind of chips that are not Dice and the ones that you can find are a little expensive, I had to buy in discount poker shop and pay a forwarder to send them to me. Anyway, when I was researching for chips and which I wanted to buy a thought ran into my head... "Can I make my own clay poker chips?" like, creating a 3D printed mold, working with clay and using custom stickers on them, but then I realized it was a lot of work and I decided to put the experiment on hold

I think some day I'll try to make some but in the meantime...

Has anyone attempted this? How did it went?

Thanks in advance for your knowledge and sorry if something is not that clearly written, my main language is spanish lol.

Yes you can DIY a chip out of polymer clay!
It needs some sort of passion and two left hands don‘t help, but it‘s doable.
If you have any questions, just ask.

 

[Phoe9x]

Yes you can DIY a chip out of polymer clay!
It needs some sort of passion and two left hands don‘t help, but it‘s doable.
If you have any questions, just ask.

View attachment 1387499View attachment 1387500

Man, these are beautiful. It makes me want to try and make one. I love arts and crafts

 

[demonnic]

Yes you can DIY a chip out of polymer clay!
It needs some sort of passion and two left hands don‘t help, but it‘s doable.
If you have any questions, just ask.

View attachment 1387499View attachment 1387500

Uuuugh I really need to do this but I've been too lazy to model and print a mold to try it with. Loved these since I first saw the thread. Probably use it mostly for dealer buttons but out of curiosity... how do they shuffle? heh