Wooden Chip Racks and Trays (2 Viewers)

[alecnetwoodworks]

Thank you so much for the fantastic pics and the thorough review @JMC9389. I really appreciate it! I have a few ideas to alleviate the "Sticking barrels" that you mentioned for the next batch I put out. I think a slight chamfer or roundover along the inside of those sides should go a long way to preventing that. I will make a note to update my process with this.

 

[alecnetwoodworks]

Today ended up being a mostly design day. In addition to working on the stand for the 4000 chip display case, I also got some time in on a (not so little) little box designed to hold 10 of my wooden 100-chip racks. I have a feeling that I may need to make a couple iterations on this one when building to make sure that the racks are fairly easily removed from the box, while still be secure. I also had the thought that with a wooden lid I could put some thin foam and cover that in a soft fabric or poker table material and that would help to secure the chips when the lid is closed and the box is in transport. A glass insert in the lid is certainly a feasible option as well, though the chips would end up a little less secure. Small price for being able to admire your chips with the lid closed and locked. To keep the racks in place and allow some space for picking them out of the box when full, I decided on a small lattice that will fit into the box and attach to the bottom panel.

As always, would love to hear your thoughts.

Price on these will likely be between about $150-300+ depending on materials (wood choice, glass insert, fabric hold-down, etc) and construction (butt joints, box joints (shown), or dovetails). I'll work on building one when I get a little spare time here an there and share.

Also, my laser engraver has arrived and I'm beginning to get comfortable with some simple engraving. I even engraved a rock that is going into a small epoxy "river" table I was commissioned to make.

Check it out!

 

[markleteenie]

Maybe it would be feasible to design a rack shaped object that is actually a tray, to hold a few buttons (DB, Hi/Lo, etc), bounties, or seating tokens, etc, with an easy way to remove it. Then it would be easy to remove the next rack once that one is gone, like those 8 square in a 9 grid puzzles.

 

[alecnetwoodworks]

Maybe it would be feasible to design a rack shaped object that is actually a tray, to hold a few buttons (DB, Hi/Lo, etc), bounties, or seating tokens, etc, with an easy way to remove it. Then it would be easy to remove the next rack once that one is gone, like those 8 square in a 9 grid puzzles.

That is certainly a good idea. Maybe a shallow tray that spans the whole width for in the front or back that has a small handle for easy removal. Pull that out and then slide the racks forward for removal.

It's not obvious in the renders, but there is a decently large chamfer along the sides that should make pulling up on a rack from the short sides fairly easy. I'll just have to play around with the prototypes to understand if this is a reasonable method or not.

 

[abby99]

A glass insert in the lid is certainly a feasible option as well, . . .

In case of poker, break glass.

 

[TX_Golf_N_Poker]

In case of poker emergency, break glass.

fyp

 

[Eriks]

Amazing work in the thread! I would be interested in something like this since the big tray wouldn't fit inside the cabinet I have in mind. Any chance that'll happen? The pictured one holds 500 chips in total.

 

[alecnetwoodworks]

@Eriks What dimensions are you working with? I could very easily modify my existing tray design to accommodate 6 chip racks. That would shave about 6-6.5in off the depth. That would make overall dimensions in the neighborhood of ~18x11x3. A solid wood tray with built in chip holders, like that pictured above, is certainly a feasible option though. Shoot me a message and we can discuss what your needs are and your space limitations.

 

[Kakeesh]

Great work so far, following along closely.

 

[Taghkanic]

Here's what I for my drawer that has 3D printed racks in it. They were sliding around every time I opened the drawer, so I lay down some tool chest drawer liner that I had on hand. I pushed the 3 rows in the rear all the way to the back, then left two gaps between the 1st, 2nd and 3rd rows. Just the right amount of space to pick up the 2nd row racks, and once they are out, I can get to any other row. I definitely would not make the racks thicker so they fill the drawer. That would make removing a rack extremely difficult.

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I bought an old printer’s (?) cabinet to store chips. Each tray holds six racks, but there are gaps. So like you, I lined them to reduce sliding, but I also cut and painted square dowels to fill out space.

The dowels run along the sides. They are a little hard to see in the attached pics but if you look closely they’re there. (I got dumb lucky that a standard size of square dowel from a big box store fit perfectly, one on each side.)

The other great thing about this cabinet is not just that the drawers are easily removed, but that they can be tipped out to about 95% without falling (which is how I took these pics).

 

[Taghkanic]

Beautiful work. Might have interest in a custom job... But may I ask a possibly thorny question—is there any concern about oils or other materials in the wood, in in the stains, transferring to chips during long-term storage?

 

[JustDave]

Today ended up being a mostly design day. In addition to working on the stand for the 4000 chip display case, I also got some time in on a (not so little) little box designed to hold 10 of my wooden 100-chip racks. I have a feeling that I may need to make a couple iterations on this one when building to make sure that the racks are fairly easily removed from the box, while still be secure. I also had the thought that with a wooden lid I could put some thin foam and cover that in a soft fabric or poker table material and that would help to secure the chips when the lid is closed and the box is in transport. A glass insert in the lid is certainly a feasible option as well, though the chips would end up a little less secure. Small price for being able to admire your chips with the lid closed and locked. To keep the racks in place and allow some space for picking them out of the box when full, I decided on a small lattice that will fit into the box and attach to the bottom panel.

As always, would love to hear your thoughts.

View attachment 538395View attachment 538396View attachment 538397View attachment 538398View attachment 538399


Price on these will likely be between about $150-300+ depending on materials (wood choice, glass insert, fabric hold-down, etc) and construction (butt joints, box joints (shown), or dovetails). I'll work on building one when I get a little spare time here an there and share.

Also, my laser engraver has arrived and I'm beginning to get comfortable with some simple engraving. I even engraved a rock that is going into a small epoxy "river" table I was commissioned to make.

Check it out!
View attachment 538404

Would something like this tray be prohibitively heavy to carry when loaded down with chips? Or is it only useful for storage on a counter/display?

 

[alecnetwoodworks]

Beautiful work. Might have interest in a custom job... But may I ask a possibly thorny question—is there any concern about oils or other materials in the wood, in in the stains, transferring to chips during long-term storage?

Thanks for the interest @Taghkanic! Looks like you've found a nice unique cabinet for storage. As to any finish from the racks transferring to chips, I use primarily hard wax finishes on the vast majority of my woodworks (Odies Oil, Osmo PolyX, and Rubio Monocoat). These are finishes that absorb into the wood and then harden, reaching full cure in a few days. These are low- to no- VOC compounds that primarily fill the pores in the wood and don't leave a plasticky film finish. I think as long as the finish has fully cured, then there is little to no risk of any kind of transfer from the wood to the chips. On a side note, all 3 of those finishes were originally designed for hardwood flooring applications, so they are incredibly durable, as well as being easily spot-repaired if scratched. Odies is all natural and contains no VOC. I don't even wear gloves when applying it. This does mean it takes about 2 weeks to reach full cure, though items can be handled in a few hours.

 

[alecnetwoodworks]

Would something like this tray be prohibitively heavy to carry when loaded down with chips? Or is it only useful for storage on a counter/display?

@JustDave I've yet to build one of these cases, but my design software estimates the weight at around 7# if made in cherry. That's for a 1000 chip case. So total weight when full will be around 29-30#, with the vast majority of the weight being the chips themselves (I think I saw somewhere that on average 1000 chips weighs around 22#?) I do think that 600 chip capacity would be a good bit more manageable as that would shave about 6in off the depth.

 

[JustDave]

I think at 1k chips it would just be awkward to hold. I'm not sure I'd trust the clasps and what not so I'd want to keep it horizontal all of the time. One thing I've noticed with bigger chip carriers like bird cages is that the center of gravity for them is relatively far away from you. Like holding 20 lbs at your side vs 20 lbs 12 inches away from you is a really big difference.

Don't get me wrong, it looks awesome, but I think 600 chips might be more manageable.

 

[TX_Golf_N_Poker]

I think at 1k chips it would just be awkward to hold. I'm not sure I'd trust the clasps and what not so I'd want to keep it horizontal all of the time. One thing I've noticed with bigger chip carriers like bird cages is that the center of gravity for them is relatively far away from you. Like holding 20 lbs at your side vs 20 lbs 12 inches away from you is a really big difference.

Don't get me wrong, it looks awesome, but I think 600 chips might be more manageable.

I can't speak to the boxes, but the open trays are quite manageable to carry to the table with 1000 chips. Heavy, for sure, but very secure feeling due to the strong handles.

 

[JustDave]

I keep several racks of chips on my desk pretty much all of the time. Either stuff I'm working on, stuff I use for reference, or just chips I like to handle. I thought I'd class it up and get some wooden racks.

Let me be the first to say, these are great and I'll be interested in getting some more of them. They are not flawless, but, let's be honest, they are hand made out of wood, how could they be? Want something perfect, buy plastic. I wanted something natural and that I can eventually use around craps where you are used to playing with chips in wooden racks in front of you so these are perfect. Some minor knots in the wood, but I like that kinda thing. I'm very tactile and the finish on these is very nicely smoothed. Also, you can tell the quality of the builder, they fit those barrels of Matsuis like a glove.

If I had any notes at all it would be that when stacked there is a more play the long way between where the upper racks sit than I'd like. You may want to find a way to 'grip' the rack beneath either with just a small triangle of wood on the underside or a smaller upsidedown 'U' beneath each edge barrel. Not a deal breaker, but just a suggestion.

Super happy with how they came out, how they look and feel, and will be for sure getting more.

 

[alecnetwoodworks]

I'm so glad you're happy with these @JustDave! I have thought about adding some small pieces of wood on the underside to act as stops when chips are stacked. I may do that on the next batch I build.

Thanks again for the feedback!

 

[alecnetwoodworks]

Been busy building lately and decided to batch out a bunch of racks today! Ended up with about 25 39mm racks. 10 of them are spoken for but the other 15 will be up for sale soon. About 8-10 of the extra 15 will be made with some nicely figured walnut burl/crotch grain that I found in my offcuts rack. Can't wait to get some finish on those ones and see how they look. I also made a slight change to my process and stated putting a shallow groove on the underside to help with stability when stacking racks. Hoping it works out well. I haven't put sides on the extra 15 racks, but they're currently cut to 67.7mm barrel length. Let me know in the next day or two if you're interested and would prefer a different width. The 10 with sides already are at 66.7mm and will be going out with a super nice walnut cabinet that should be getting shipped off next week.



Also working on some standalone trays that I'm pretty excited about. Should have a prototype done tomorrow in ash. This one is a bit smaller and holds 640 chips. Will be similar to the trays used in my display cabinet, but the racks will be secured in place. I've also got a decent plan for making these stackable if anyone is interested in that.

 

[JMC9389]

The new stuff looks good Alec.

I'm only posting this here and not PM'ing because maybe someone else would be curious, but how much do you think that the matching wooden stands for your custom chip cabinets would run for? As a corollary, how much do you think a similar piece would run, but instead of empty space between the table and the legs, I have a cabinet below the table that would support the main piece with a single shelf made with a glass door covering it to store playing cards, for example?

Additionally, would a piece without a top storage compartment and just the three pull out shelves/chip trays be any cheaper than your base models? I'm in no rush to know this, but I'm trying to plan ahead to my projects for 2021

 

[alecnetwoodworks]

@JMC9389 Sorry for the delay in responding here. Been busy out in the shop all week. This post should probably be over in the other thread I have going, but no worries.

Base stand starts around $400, depending on wood choice and other options. Turning the base into a cabinet with a glass door instead of a freestanding table, is certainly an option. I'd have to sit down and design something in order to come up with a price on that, but probably looking in the 4-800 range, depending on how complex it gets. Also eliminating the top compartment and reducing the number of trays would certainly reduce cost a good bit. Probably end up knocking about 2-250 off the top.

 

[alecnetwoodworks]

Wanted to share some of my recent builds.

Here are some custom drawer inserts for a member here. Designed to hold as many 39mm chips as possible for the space. Ended up with 12 across and 4 rows of 20 chip barrels and a 10 chip barrel across the back, for 1080 chips per drawer.



And for my very first international order, check out these sweet ash (hehe) trays heading to Sweden! These hold 640 chips per tray and are designed to be displayed in a glass enclosed bookshelf. With this layout (and a tiny bit of massaging dimensions) these trays will stack on each other by rotating 90deg.



Also got to do some laser engraving and build a custom box for my second international order heading to Norway. More details on the box in my other thread here



I've also got 10 of these walnut 39mm 100-chip racks that are complete and ready to ship off. These incorporate some grooves on the bottom to help with stacking. I'm 90% sure these are a 67.7mm barrel length, but I'll verify that when I get back into town in a few days. These are made with a nicely figured walnut. I I am willing to split up the set, but the more you buy the cheaper they get. Reach out if you're interested. I will also get some better pics that show off this beautiful walnut better soon.




With the holidays fast approaching please get any orders in as soon as possible. I'm a one man shop and there are only so many hours in the day and my backlog is pretty steadily building lately.

Thanks!

 

[Eriks]

Received these awesome trays today. Alec does incredible work and he is such a pleasure to deal with! Complete with absolute bomb proof packaging for the long trip to Sweden. Thank you so much @alecnetwoodworks !! I’ll let the pictures do the rest of the talking:

And here they all are in their new Ikea cabinett home. Got some space left for my CPC-set. Realized I need to get some cabinett lighting:

 

[alecnetwoodworks]

The trays look incredible full of chips and in that display case!

 

[TX_Golf_N_Poker]

One of these is NOT like the others!

 

[Eriks]

The trays look incredible full of chips and in that display case!

Indeed! I could not be happier with how this turned out

 

[JMC9389]

Received these awesome trays today. Alec does incredible work and he is such a pleasure to deal with! Complete with absolute bomb proof packaging for the long trip to Sweden. Thank you so much @alecnetwoodworks !! I’ll let the pictures do the rest of the talking:

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And here they all are in their new Ikea cabinett home. Got some space left for my CPC-set. Realized I need to get some cabinett lighting:

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Is the black display case made by Ikea? I'm considering picking one up as well...

 

[Eriks]

Is the black display case made by Ikea? I'm considering picking one up as well...

Yepp: https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/malsjoe-glass-door-cabinet-black-stained-black-stained-60303481/

 

[alecnetwoodworks]

One of these is NOT like the others!

Good eye! One rack has a single row of 43mm chip holders.

 

[T_Chan]

Great stuff, you do some very nice work. I'll have to reach out to you if I ever get hit with a big order of trays.