[schimmel]

how hard would it to make your own poker chips from polymer clay?

i guess if you had a mold and lots of spare time and a pretty big oven it wouldnt be that hard would it?

[Vince]

Don't forget about the compression

[Ligarius]

That's one of the little side projects I'm working on right now. Whether polymer clays mixed with organics or white clay mixed with acrylic powders and other components. Right now I have the mold made, but I'm waiting on the electrode to be made that will etch the design onto the mold surface.

The compression mold is of stainless steel and consists of two removable cups that possess an outer housing that is equipped with thermal-resistance elements which can heat the mold, if needed (depending on the clay), using a Variac (variable transformer) and a thermocouple to measure the temp.

For the experimental stage with this single chip mold, I will purchase a 20 ton hydraulic shop press to provide more than enough pressure for the chips. For the edge spots, small perforation tools for each edge spot type will have to be made.

For inlays, you would need a printer, a small office/school laminator suitable for polycarbonate lamination and a small office die cutting machine to later cut out your inlays.

I'm guessing the cost would be around $3000 USD, but much, much more if you have multiple molds, seeing as making one chip at a time would be a slow, painstaking process, especially since polymer clay like FIMO needs to be heated to 230 ºF for 30 mins to set.

Anyways.. No promises on anything. We'll just see what happens, little by little, whenever I get spare time.

[Felix]

Originally Posted by Ligarius

That's one of the little side projects I'm working on right now. Whether polymer clays mixed with organics or white clay mixed with acrylic powders and other components. Right now I have the mold made, but I'am waiting on the electrode to be made that will put the design onto the mold surface.

The compression mold is made from two removable cups that has an outer housing that is equipped with thermal-resistance elements which can heat the mold, if needed (depending on the clay), using a Variac (variable transformer) and a thermocouple to measure the temp.

For the experimental stage with this single chip mold, I will purchase a 20 ton hydraulic shop press to provide more than enough pressure for the chips. For the edge spots, small perforation tools for each edge spot type will have to be made.

For inlays, you would need a printer, a small office/school laminator suitable for polycarbonate lamination and a small office die cutting machine to later cut out your inlays.

I'm guessing the cost would be around $3000 USD, but much, much more if you have multiple molds, seeing as making one chip at a time would be a slow, painstaking process, especially since polymer clay like FIMO needs to be heated to 230 ºF for 30 mins to set.

Anyways.. No promises on anything. We'll just see what happens, little by little, whenever I get spare time.

I wish you a nice succes with your "little" project!
If you really manage to produce realy clay chips, i hope you open a prebuy for you alhambra chips, i really love the design!

[Garyon]

I made some chps with home made Salt-dough with my daughter ... I wouldn't call them "casino-quality" though LMAO!! ... (will post pics later)

[ipgyst]

This would be time-consuming, but you could also use some RTV silicone to make a "mold" then use high-grade dental plaster to make your "chips". It would be very similar to what this guy does HERE.

[schimmel]

hah ! i really started something here!

so it would be impossible without pressure heat combined?

i guess at the pace of 30 per chip you need at leat like 30 of the same molds to make it a little worthwile

[Ligarius]

For those interested, I picked up the finished moulds today with the image etched onto the surface. I think they turned out pretty cool IMHO. I'll start testing some clays in August when I get back from vacation.

Cheers

[EmptyPocs]

Good Luck!

[luckychick]

I'm sure there is an old thread on this somewhere - someone tried with some polymer or another, but I can't remember what. Uhhh... that's not very helpful, I know - sorry - but if you want to search maybe you can get some tips? Your mould looks more "advanced" than what he used though. I seem to remember that it worked better than most people expected, but he decided it was not quite good enough for the work involved... blech, maybe I'll try and dig it up.

Any oldtimers have a clue about what I'm talking about.

I always suspected something like Fimo might work well, although it's kind of expensive and maybe a little too soft, even after baking.

Good luck!

P.S. Every time I see your avatar, I hear
"Doot da doot doot doooo.....
Doot da doot da do do-doooooo......
Doot da doot da doo
Doo doo da doo!
Doo do da doo!"
etc.

I'm so conditioned, and I don't even really watch hockey.