A dice tower that folds into a book for storage.

Ideally I would have used a fantasy novel to make this but I like all of my fantasy hardbacks too much to cut up.

Whenever gluing in this project, I recommend using heavy weights to squash whatever is being glued so that paper does not warp in the gluing process.

Supplies

A thick Hardback Book
Mod podge
Paint Brush
Greaseproof Paper
Craft Knife
Patterned paper, a Poster or Wallpaper
(Optional) Material to Cover Book (card, wallpaper or fabric)
(Optional) Acrylic Paint

Step 1: Separate the Page Block From the Book Cover

This step is necessary even if you want to keep the the original cover of your book. Simply cut along the end pages connecting the page block to the cover. Be carful to not damage the text block or the cover during this process.

Step 2: Re-cover the Book Cover (optional)

Thoroughly cover the outside of your cover with Mod podge or PVA.

Glue the material you want to cover you book with to the outside of the cover. I used cocktail sticks to make sure the fabric was glued into the groves on the edge of the spine.

Once the outside is dry, wrap the material around the edge of the book and glue it down.

I used faux leather to cover my book, this step should be skipped if you have a nice book cover.

Step 3: Glue the Pages

Open the Page block to about 1/4 of the way through and slide in a sheet of baking paper to separate the two sections. The smaller section will become our Dice Tray and the larger section will become our Dice Tower. Use a paintbrush to spread Mod Podge or PVA glue along the outside edges of both sections to glue the pages together, the baking paper will stop the two sections from being glued together. Use a pile of books or a weight on a flat board to squash the page block to stop the pages warping as the glue dries.

Step 4: Cut the Dice Tray

The two sections are currently connected by the book binding. Cut a Large rectangle from the middle of the binding end of the Tray section, Keep the cut out rectangle connected to the Tower Section and cut along the binding to separate the rest of the Tray section from the Tower section. Cutting through the Page block can be done by cutting a few pages at a time with a craft knife and moving the

Trim half a centimetre from each (non-binding) edge of the rectangle so that it can easily fit back into the hole it was cut from.

Now cut two long rectangles along the edges of the Tray Section.

Cut Two rectangles into the Tower Section So that they line up with those in the Tray Section when the two sections are put together; the rectangles in the tower section do not need to go all the way through, just deep enough that your dice set will fit in the long rectangles when the book is closed.

Now glue the edges of the pages in all rectangles, including the sticking out rectangle on the tower section, and press the sections individually.

I cut the Large Rectangle to be a 120mm x 120mm square and the long rectangles to be 30mm x 120mm.

Step 5: Cut the Tower Path

Cut a path with ledges into the back of the Tower Section. If you keep this path within the area covered by the extending rectangle to the front then you will have more room to work with.

This path should be large enough any of your dice can travel through the whole thing.

The top of the path should connect to the other side of the tower section by a horizontal tunnel.

The Bottom of the path should connect to the other side of the tower section by a sloped tunnel so that the dice will roll out to the front.

Be careful to not have any horizontal or shallow areas in the path where dice can get stuck. The blue part in the picture is where i made the path too flat at the end so had to add some insulation foam to ensure dice could get down.

Now glue the sides of the Tunnel so that the pages stick together.

I painted the inside of my tunnel black so that the insulation foam was not visible.

Step 6: Cut and Glue the End Pages

Cut your patterned paper to a couple of millimetres shy of your Book Cover and glue it to the inside of said cover.

Step 7: Glue in the Tower Text Block

Glue the Tower Section into the cover so that the Binding is flat against the middle if the cover and the face with the tower cut into is glued flat against the back cover. I recommend not gluing both faces at once so that you can rely on Gravity to help you glue flat.

Step 8: Glue in the Dice Tray

Place the Tray section onto the tower section so that the pages are in their original positions in the book. Line up the edges of the sections so that the seam is not obvious when the book is closed. Tape along the seam between sections to keep the sections in position.

Apply glue to the top surface of the Tray Section (Carful not to get glue on the inner rectangle) and close the book to glue it to the Cover.