Hex Chonk Box

    Andrew Crawford December 29, 2024
    Cherry Hex Chonk Box with a silver Celtic knotwork medallion in the lid, open with a silver and copper 20-sided Jesmonite die inside.
    Cherry Hex Chonk Box with a silver Celtic knotwork medallion in the lid, open with a silver and copper 20-sided Jesmonite die inside.
    Cherry Hex Chonk Box with a silver Celtic knotwork medallion in the lid, open with a silver and copper 20-sided Jesmonite die inside.
    Cherry Hex Chonk Box with a silver Celtic knotwork medallion in the lid, open with a silver and copper 20-sided Jesmonite die inside.
    Cherry Hex Chonk Box with the Evermore ambigram engraved on the bottom, in front of a walnut stand with a silver and copper 20-sided Jesmonite die.
    Cherry Hex Chonk Box with the Evermore ambigram engraved on the bottom, in front of a walnut stand with a silver and copper 20-sided Jesmonite die.
    Cherry Hex Chonk Box with a silver Celtic knotwork medallion in the lid, in front of a walnut stand with a silver and copper 20-sided Jesmonite die.
    Cherry Hex Chonk Box with a silver Celtic knotwork medallion in the lid, in front of a walnut stand with a silver and copper 20-sided Jesmonite die.
    Walnut Hex Chonk Box with a silver Celtic knotwork medallion in the lid, open with a pink and brown 20-sided Jesmonite die inside.
    Walnut Hex Chonk Box with a silver Celtic knotwork medallion in the lid, open with a pink and brown 20-sided Jesmonite die inside.
    Walnut Hex Chonk Box with a silver Celtic knotwork medallion in the lid, in front of a walnut stand with a pink and brown 20-sided Jesmonite die.
    Walnut Hex Chonk Box with a silver Celtic knotwork medallion in the lid, in front of a walnut stand with a pink and brown 20-sided Jesmonite die.
    Oak Hex Chonk Box with a silver Celtic knotwork medallion in the lid, open and empty.
    Oak Hex Chonk Box with a silver Celtic knotwork medallion in the lid, open and empty.
    Oak Hex Chonk Box with a silver Celtic knotwork medallion in the lid, in front of an oak stand with a pink and orange 20-sided Jesmonite die, and a purple twist-top box.
    Oak Hex Chonk Box with a silver Celtic knotwork medallion in the lid, in front of an oak stand with a pink and orange 20-sided Jesmonite die, and a purple twist-top box.
    Padauk hardwood hexagonal box with a silver Celtic knotwork medallion in the lid, open with a blue and copper 42mm Jesmonite 20-sided die inside.
    Padauk hardwood hexagonal box with a silver Celtic knotwork medallion in the lid, open with a blue and copper 42mm Jesmonite 20-sided die inside.
    Padauk hardwood hexagonal box with a silver Celtic knotwork medallion in the lid sitting in front of a purpleheart wood stand bearing a blue and copper 42mm Jesmonite 20-sided die, and a purple twist-top box with matching knots engraved in the sides.
    Padauk hardwood hexagonal box with a silver Celtic knotwork medallion in the lid sitting in front of a purpleheart wood stand bearing a blue and copper 42mm Jesmonite 20-sided die, and a purple twist-top box with matching knots engraved in the sides.
    Small silver medallions with 3D Celtic knotwork.
    Small silver medallions with 3D Celtic knotwork, made from silver metal clay for the lids of the Hex Chonk Boxes.

    I have been making some 42mm Jesmonite 20-sided dice (D20s) this year to give as gifts to friends and family. Early on, I had an idea for making gift boxes for them. I have been wanting to do an actual full project on the desktop CNC machine [previous CNC experimenting], and this was a good opportunity.

    I spent a lot of time thinking and planning, but the actual project came together pretty quickly over the course of a week or so.

    In addition to working with the CNC, I dug out some silver metal clay (PMC) I have had, and intended to do more with, for about 20 years. Using new skills gained from making the dice, as well as old skills modeling Celtic knots in 3D, I was able to make a mold and cast some medallions for the box tops from silver clay.

    There are a couple more partly completed for my own collection, including one with a copper clay medallion that I will likely share when it is finished.

    If you want to get a good look at them from different angles, here are some spin videos:

    There is, of course, a whole process video of making the boxes:

    D20 Chonks from Scratch

    Andrew Crawford December 29, 2024
    42mm Jesmonite chonk in two shades of blue swirled together, the numbers painted in with metallic copper, sitting on an oak stand.
    42mm Jesmonite chonk in two shades of blue swirled together, the numbers painted in with metallic copper, sitting on an oak stand.
    42mm Jesmonite chonk in two shades of blue swirled together, the numbers painted in with metallic copper, sitting on an oak stand.
    42mm Jesmonite chonk in two shades of blue swirled together, the numbers painted in with metallic copper, sitting on an oak stand.
    42mm Jesmonite chonk in two shades of blue swirled together, the numbers painted in with metallic copper, sitting on an oak stand.
    42mm Jesmonite chonk in two shades of blue swirled together, the numbers painted in with metallic copper, sitting on an oak stand.
    42mm Jesmonite chonk in pink and brown swirled together, the numbers painted in with metallic gold, sitting on a purpleheart stand.
    42mm Jesmonite chonk in pink and brown swirled together, the numbers painted in with metallic gold, sitting on a purpleheart stand.
    42mm Jesmonite chonk in pink and brown swirled together, the numbers painted in with metallic gold, sitting on a purpleheart stand.
    42mm Jesmonite chonk in pink and brown swirled together, the numbers painted in with metallic gold, sitting on a purpleheart stand.
    42mm Jesmonite chonk in a rainbow of orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple, swirled together, the numbers painted in with metallic silver, sitting on a purpleheart stand.
    42mm Jesmonite chonk in a rainbow of orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple, swirled together, the numbers painted in with metallic silver, sitting on a purpleheart stand.
    42mm Jesmonite chonk in a rainbow of orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple, swirled together, the numbers painted in with metallic silver, sitting on a purpleheart stand.
    42mm Jesmonite chonk in a rainbow of orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple, swirled together, the numbers painted in with metallic silver, sitting on a purpleheart stand.
    42mm Jesmonite chonk in peach and bright green swirled together, the numbers painted in with white, sitting on an oak stand.
    42mm Jesmonite chonk in peach and bright green swirled together, the numbers painted in with white, sitting on an oak stand.
    42mm Jesmonite chonk in peach and bright green swirled together, the numbers painted in with white, sitting on an oak stand.
    42mm Jesmonite chonk in peach and bright green swirled together, the numbers painted in with white, sitting on an oak stand.
    42mm Jesmonite 20-sided die glowing in the dark with an organic stripey pattern of dark green and glowing orange.
    42mm Jesmonite 20-sided die glowing in the dark with an organic stripey pattern of dark green and glowing orange.
    Top view of a green and orange 42mm Jesmonite 20-sided die with the numbers painted in yellow on a walnut stand.
    Top view of a green and orange 42mm Jesmonite 20-sided die with the numbers painted in yellow on a walnut stand.
    Two 42mm Jesmonite chonks. One is lavender and white with the numbers painted metallic gold. The other is mostly a dark purple with a little bit of red swirled in, also with metallic gold numbers.
    Two 42mm Jesmonite chonks. One is lavender and white with the numbers painted metallic gold. The other is mostly a dark purple with a little bit of red swirled in, also with metallic gold numbers.

    I kept thinking I wanted to get a little more experience with mold making and casting. I have nieces, nephews, and friends who are all playing various tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPGs) like Dungeons & Dragons regularly. Dice would make great gifts for all of those people. I have also been enjoying the work of some of the resin artists I have found making dice. I didn’t really want to do a bunch of resin casting in my home studio, but had become aware of some less-toxic stone-based “eco resin” casting materials like Jesmonite.

    Back in March, I started working on making a big 42mm 20-sided die (a D20, in TTRPG parlance). I modeled it in Blender with a font I like (and have properly licensed), and set about 3D printing one from which to make molds. Although I have been knocking out all sorts of perfect models on my resin printer, there were some issues with getting my Anycubic machine to produce a flawless D20. At first, it was mechanical. It took me a bit to realize the plate had worked itself loose in a way apparently isn’t expected, then a bit to get it fixed correctly. Minor issues after that were eventually resolved by choosing the right resin.

    From that print and a printed mold form, I made silicone molds, eventually coming up with a slightly-modified cap mold style that seems to work pretty well.

    Triangular plate that attaches to one side of the 20-sided die to elevate it for the modified cap mold.
    Triangular plate that attaches to one side of the 20-sided die to elevate it for the modified cap mold.
    Modified cap mold for a 20-sided die.
    Modified cap mold for a 20-sided die.

    I cast a bunch of dice in Jesmonite, playing with various mixing and pouring techniques, different pigments, and various approaches to keeping bubbles and voids from ruining the casts. I mostly settled on using an old dental vibration table, some tapping and stretching of the filled molds, and a pressure pot for the later.

    I have been painting in the numbers with acrylic paint, and finishing by polishing with bees’ wax.

    There are a lot more finished dice than I am showing in this post.  I haven’t managed to photograph all of them yet.  I may add more in the future.

    Once I had some big dice, I decided I needed to make some cool gift boxes for them. That’s for another post, though.

    I made a video walking through the journey of getting some finished Jemonite chonks:

    You can also watch some of them spin in the demo short:

    Double Spiral Chocolate Bar Box

    Andrew Crawford December 22, 2024

    I needed to wrap this fancy chocolate bar, and decided to design and fabricate a custom box for it. Designed in Inkscape, cut on the laser from the violet Curious Skin cover stock.

    Purple box with a butterfly-style closure with spirals on the flaps.

    The Enchanted Forest

    Andrew Crawford December 15, 2024

    Welcome to the Enchanted Forest!

    This holiday card is my take on a popular origamic architecture/kirigami concept. These are laser scored and cut, then hand folded from the Ice Gold stock I have been using.

    A pop up card made from cutting and folding a single sheet of stock depicts a stag standing framed by the convergence of rows of trees receding into the distance. The branches overhead form whirls and spirals. The background is a green textured paper (momigami) with the white card backlit against it.
    Welcome to the Enchanted Forest!
    Rows of Enchanted Forest pop up cards.
    Rows of Enchanted Forest pop up cards.

    I made a two-minute video of cutting and folding these.  No narration on this one but, watch for the jig-in-place technique for scoring both sides of the card in the laser near the beginning.

    Jack-O-Lantern 2024

    Andrew Crawford October 31, 2024

    My 2024 virtual jack-o-lantern was created in Nomad Sculpt, then rendered and animated in Blender. Seen here with my virtual jack-o-lanterns from 2022 and 2023.

    Rendering of three jack-o-lanterns lit up from within with candles. Two are sitting on a brick wall with one below and between.

    Spiral Crystal Light-Up Pop Up Card

    Andrew Crawford October 11, 2024

    Chibitronics asked me to participate in a project they are coordinating with prompts from @5am_popup. My prompt was “reverse.” Thus, the switching mechanism for this card works by reversing the covers of the card, touching the front and reverse sides.

    I took inspiration from a design by the late Professor Masahiro Chatani for the mechanical functioning of the card. The electronics and everything else were improvised as quickly as I could manage.

    Spiral Crystal pop up card fully open (360º). A yellow pentagonal lattice with triangular panels featuring Celtic triskelion designs is lit from within by a red light. The base card is a dark blue.
    Spiral Crystal Pop Up Card
    Spiral Crystal pop up card fully open (360º). A yellow pentagonal lattice with triangular panels featuring Celtic triskelion designs is lit from within by a red light. The base card is a dark blue.
    Spiral Crystal Pop Up Card
    Spiral Crystal pop up card fully open (360º). A yellow pentagonal lattice with triangular panels featuring Celtic triskelion designs is lit from within by a red light. The base card is a dark blue.
    Spiral Crystal Pop Up Card
    Spiral Crystal pop up card fully open (360º). A yellow pentagonal lattice with triangular panels featuring Celtic triskelion designs is lit from within by a red light. The base card is a dark blue.
    Spiral Crystal Pop Up Card
    3/4 top-down view of the Spiral Crystal pop up card. Spiral Crystal pop up card fully open (360º). A yellow pentagonal lattice with triangular panels featuring Celtic triskelion designs is lit from within by a red light. The base card is a dark blue.
    Spiral Crystal Pop Up Card
    Top-down view of the Spiral Crystal pop up card. Four panels with Celtic triskelion designs appear to make a diamond pattern, perched on the edge of a blue card.
    Spiral Crystal Pop Up Card
    Spiral Crystal pop up card fully open (360º). A yellow pentagonal lattice with triangular panels featuring Celtic triskelion designs is lit from within by a red light. The base card is a dark blue.
    Spiral Crystal Pop Up Card
    A dark blue card with an attached yellow-gold structure composed of triangular panels with Celtic triskelion designs.
    Spiral Crystal Pop Up Card (Half Open)
    Spiral Crystal Pop Up Card about 85% closed. The pop up portion is a golden yellow lattice featuring Celtic triskelion designs, backed with a diffuser.
    Spiral Crystal Pop Up Card (85% Closed)
    Closed Spiral Crystal pop up card. The side is dark blue with a metallic copper spiral. A ridge is slightly visible under part of the spiral. A strip of black covers the central fold.
    Spiral Crystal Pop Up Card (Closed, side 1)
    Closed Spiral Crystal pop up card. The side is dark blue with a metallic copper spiral. A strip of black covers the central fold.
    Spiral Crystal Pop Up Card (Closed, side 2)

    I made a video with a detailed walk-through of building the card.