Has anyone attempted to make some DIY clay chips? (8 Viewers)

[SwissChip]

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

Thank you!
If you want to try - go for it!
There are some tricky steps in the process, but it was always fun to find out new techniques ; )

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

I would at least give a try.
Not a fan of shuffling.
It just applies HJ to the chips ; )
But everybody is allowed to shuffle if they want to.

 

[Beakertwang]

Wasn't there another guy making his own clay chips other than @SwissChip (those are amazing, BTW)?

 

[SwissChip]

Wasn't there another guy making his own clay chips other than @SwissChip (those are amazing, BTW)?

Yes there is an european guy who made or still make real clay chips with a steel press/mold.

 

[allforcharity]

A few members have indeed expressed their interest in manufacturing their own (non-injection-mold) chips at home using their own materials and elbow grease. They were sure enthusiastic when they started out.

The fact that none of them have ever produced a finished set or returned to laud their successes is somewhat telling.

 

[SwissChip]

Pokerchips are a niche in a niche.

To produce real clay chips in quantities requires a lot more than just fun.
Wich no one can get as simple as that.
DIY is the goal - not to make profit out of it.

 

[Colquhoun]

The other issue is trust.
If I'm a casino looking to buy chips, I'm going to GPI for many reasons, including security, reputation, quality, etc.
Even if you were to somehow make compression-molded chips and be able to sell them at 25c each, I dont think there would be too many casinos willing to risk it.

 

[Huskerchipper]

I hesitate to let the cat out of the bag... but I know you guys can keep a secret. I am getting really fu kin close...

 

[3ofspades]

@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/

I'll definitely will reach out to @SwissChip for some tips!

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.

That's a nice option to have a custom set with real casino chips! I'll consider doing it, I was thinking on the DIY for a custom set, as a business it sounds like a lot of work

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.

Here we have only 3 casinos and only one has a roulette and a blackjack table, that's the only place that you can use chips

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.

Sad but true, and in a lot of countries spending $2 per chip is much more difficult, so it reduces the market for them.

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.

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I'll definitely reach out to you once I get some materials! How much time did it take to create them?

Pokerchips are a niche in a niche.

To produce real clay chips in quantities requires a lot more than just fun.
Wich no one can get as simple as that.
DIY is the goal - not to make profit out of it.

This!! Is not about competing with a big company or selling, it's about having a great DIY set you can feel proud of

I really have to thank everyone for taking their time to answer this post, and thanks in advance to everyone that does in the future, I never thought this would have so much attention and it has been great reading and learning from all of you!!

You guys are amazing!

 

[SwissChip]

How much time did it take to create them?

It was a step-by-step approach.
Lots of failed attemps but good results too.

Now it takes me a couple hours to do 10pc.

 

[TX_Golf_N_Poker]

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

David at CPC would adamantly disagree with you.

 

[3ofspades]

It was a step-by-step approach.
Lots of failed attemps but good results too.

Now it takes me a couple hours to do 10pc.

I'll start by designing some models on my CAD software, do you think that when I have the STL files you can give them a look and give me some advice on them?

Seeing what you have done (It really looks amazing) I really want to start my own set from scratch

 

[SwissChip]

Sure!
You are enthusiastic - how big you think your set gonna be?
Try to design a block with 5 molds at once.

 

[JerSaint22]

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.

Where did you find the roulette chips?

 

[NotRealNameNoSir]

Where did you find the roulette chips?

Right on here! They go up for sale occasionally. It took a while but I find it rewarding and it saves a bunch of money.

First I scraped the label out, then cleaned, then put my own labels on. You can see how gross they were when they first showed up. Green $5s because thats what I had to work with and I liked the colors.

 

[JerSaint22]

Right on here! They go up for sale occasionally. It took a while but I find it rewarding and it saves a bunch of money.

First I scraped the label out, then cleaned, then put my own labels on. You can see how gross they were when they first showed up. Green $5s because thats what I had to work with and I liked the colors.
View attachment 1390368
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Amazing result!

 

[NotRealNameNoSir]

Amazing result!

I appreciate you! Stick around, my work is the definition of amateur hour. You'll see lots better examples, but I'm very proud of my relatively cheap set.