[_Z_]

Originally Posted by Matthew

How about ripping the coin tubes in half? I would need to be a very thin band saw blade so as not to remove too much material. Then fasten together for 5X20 configuration - use 2 halves to make a box or indivudual racks.

Seems to me just buying plastic chip racks and fitting them to a box would achieve the same purpose, and would be easier to construct- no?

I think BubiBear is interested in the aesthetics of having a wood case, with wood racks. (BB- correct me if I'm wrong here...). That's my interest for building one, anyway.

[Matthew]

Originally Posted by _Z_

Seems to me just buying plastic chip racks and fitting them to a box would achieve the same purpose, and would be easier to construct- no?

I think BubiBear is interested in the aesthetics of having a wood case, with wood racks. (BB- correct me if I'm wrong here...). That's my interest for building one, anyway.

Agreed - just throwing out an idea - I would prefer wood as well.

[PocketRocket]

You don't want to use a router. If you're going to make a form fitted tray, you would start with a block of wood that is thick enough to form two trays (if it's good wood, it's going to be expensive, so you'll want to be careful.) To form the recesses for the chips, you'd use a hole saw to go through the block of wood to form the channels (best done with a drill press.) After the channels have been cut for each row of chips, you'll want to cut the block exactly in half horizontally; you'll have two identical trays. You'll probably also want to use a hole saw that may be just a little bigger than the 39 or 40 mm, just to allow for a little wiggle room for the chips.

Alternatively, if you can do without the fitted recess, simple dividers using strips of wood should be relatively easy, but you'll want to make sure that each row is square, otherwise you'll end up with something looking like some of the cases from China.

Originally Posted by BubiBear

I'm looking into making a wood poker chip case. My odd chip count (900) plus my lack of faith in the web products I've seen have led me in this direction.

My first hurdle is to build the trays for the case. I was going to get a 40mm round nose router bit and start going to town... The trouble is, 40mm router bits seem to be ... rather rare and may need a bench router (more than your average router) for proper use.

I was wondering if anyone may have some suggestions before I start down this expensive road.?.

[Kalimba]

Originally Posted by PocketRocket

You don't want to use a router. If you're going to make a form fitted tray, you would start with a block of wood that is thick enough to form two trays (if it's good wood, it's going to be expensive, so you'll want to be careful.) To form the recesses for the chips, you'd use a hole saw to go through the block of wood to form the channels (best done with a drill press.) After the channels have been cut for each row of chips, you'll want to cut the block exactly in half horizontally; you'll have two identical trays. You'll probably also want to use a hole saw that may be just a little bigger than the 39 or 40 mm, just to allow for a little wiggle room for the chips.

Alternatively, if you can do without the fitted recess, simple dividers using strips of wood should be relatively easy, but you'll want to make sure that each row is square, otherwise you'll end up with something looking like some of the cases from China.

You'll want to use the Forstner style bit that _Z_ mentions earlier. A hole saw is good for maybe 1 to 2 inches of depth, at most. A Forstner bit is limited only by the throw of your drill press (you will want to use a drill press -- don't even think of doing this by hand).

[_Z_]

If you're really handy with a table saw, you could build-up a coving jig, and cut it that way... never tried it though.

[PocketRocket]

Absolutely right! What was I thinking?

Must have been tee many martoonies

Originally Posted by Kalimba

You'll want to use the Forstner style bit that _Z_ mentions earlier. A hole saw is good for maybe 1 to 2 inches of depth, at most. A Forstner bit is limited only by the throw of your drill press (you will want to use a drill press -- don't even think of doing this by hand).

[_Z_]

Originally Posted by PocketRocket

You'll probably also want to use a hole saw that may be just a little bigger than the 39 or 40 mm, just to allow for a little wiggle room for the chips.

The 40mm forstner I have will fit a nextGen type chip easily, albeit just a tad snug. Finish sanding the recesses will open up the radius a bit more, and should comfortably fit any current regular-sized chip that's out there.

Boring depth for a 20-chip deep recess is about 2-11/16". Most forstner bits have shanks long enough for this, providing the drill press throw is long enough. If not, just raise the table. The keying boss for a 1/2" chuck is thinner than the bit, so you can bury the chuck into it a little if you have to. Another approach would be to drill a small pilot through the stock, and drill from both sides. A bit extender will also work, but but be careful of the size. Most metric bits have metric shanks (10mm in my case), so a 3/8" shank extender will be too small.

hth-

[Kalimba]

Originally Posted by _Z_

If you're really handy with a table saw, you could build-up a coving jig, and cut it that way... never tried it though.

I think I know what you're suggesting here, but would the resulting cove be parabolic rather than circular?

[CaptLego]

Originally Posted by Kalimba

I think I know what you're suggesting here, but would the resulting cove be parabolic rather than circular?

I think it would be elliptical, but it might work well enough anyhow.

[_Z_]

Seems to me a parabola and an ellipse are both possible, depending on the angle of attack on the blade. If this is true, than a radial cut should be possible too- yes?

It might take some geometry and test cuts to get it right, but once the angle is set, cutting would be more staightforward and probably easier and faster than doing it with a forstner. I think kickout would be your biggest worry. (?)

Like I said, I haven't tried anything quite like this. I've done a shallow cove (parabolic) for a simple crown molding. I didn't have a big enough panel cutter for the router, and neither my surface planer nor table saw is really good enough (imo) for a molding head. ops: