Anyone ever made poker chips?

[Robert gree]

Wondering if anyone here has ever made poker chips.

[Van Huskey]

I have seen a lot of really cool poker tables but never poker chips. Given the number needed seems like a lot of work but could be a neat project.

[Mark Major]

Hmmm, I certainly know how to lose them, but make them...sorry, no experience in that. :rolleyes:

Regards, Mark

[Matt Day]

+1 to Mark's comment

I've never made them, but I would think you'd turn a dowel then cut slices off to make simple ones. You can get as detailed as you want I suppose. Keep us posted on what you do.

[Gary Herrmann]

Don't turn a dowel. The slices will be endgrain. If you want them to last make them as small facegrain turnings. Essentially, you'd be turning a bunch of small platters. Ask on the turning forum, and you may find someone who's done this.

Or use a hole saw and a drill press to cut out circles and then sand the edges.

Or use a trim router and a small trammel arm.

Any way you do it, lots of repetitions.

[Brendan Plavis]

Don't turn a dowel. The slices will be endgrain. If you want them to last make them as small facegrain turnings. Essentially, you'd be turning a bunch of small platters. Ask on the turning forum, and you may find someone who's done this.

Or use a hole saw and a drill press to cut out circles and then sand the edges.

Or use a trim router and a small trammel arm.

Any way you do it, lots of repetitions.

I second this approach. Except, make sure you use a hole saw that doesnt have a pilot bit.... you dont want holy chips....

[John Coloccia]

They're typically made out of "clay" (actually a mixture of stuff), and the process can be pretty involved and expensive. For example, those markings along the side, that look like little blobs of ink, are actually inlayed if I remember right.

Did you have a design in mind? I would probably turn a dowel with face grain on the ends, then slice them by hand or with a scroll saw....or a band saw with a really really thin kerf. Then I'd arrange them on a sled and pass them through my drum sander for final thicknessing.

I haven't made poker chips, but I was just thinking back to how I've made little wheels.

[Mark Patoka]

The clay chips have a certain weight and heft to them that you might have a hard time replicating with most woods, if you want to be authentic. I've seen "wooden nickels" type things handed out as promotional items that are really light but may be similar to what you want.

[Paul Atkins]

Checkers are made endgrain, so if you had a nice piece of maple I'd think you'd be ok with endgrain if you were careful when throwing down the chips when you lost.

[Bill Whig]

Maybe it makes more sense to make a "dealer button" instead, or a poker chip case, or a poker table, or a box to hold your winnings! : ) Good luck!

Bill

[Zach England]

I have been considering making backgammon pieces and a backgammon board.