So you’ve decided to invest in a poker chip box to store all your poker chips. Before you begin, whether you build the case yourself or order a custom case from a third party, there are a few things to consider that differentiate a quality poker chip case from a simple wooden box.
SEALS
Woodworking is a part of carpentry that involves joining pieces of wood to create furniture, structures, toys, and other items. The characteristics of wood joints – strength, flexibility, toughness, etc. – are derived from the properties of the joining materials and how they are used in the joints. Therefore, different carpentry techniques are used to meet different requirements. When designing a box of poker chips, you need to consider the weight of the chips, which can approach 50 pounds for a box of 1,000 chips. The joints have to be strong, or the box will fall apart under the weight of the chips.
Most commercially available pre-made cases use a butt joint. A butt joint is a joining technique where two members are joined simply by butting them together. The butt joint is the simplest joint to make, as it simply involves cutting the members to length and butting them together. It is also the weakest because, unless some form of reinforcement is used, it relies only on glue to hold it together. Because the member orientation generally features only the end of the long-grain gluing surface, the resulting joint is inherently weak.
When building or ordering a custom chip case, you should avoid butt joints and use something stronger, like a dovetail joint. A dovetail joint is a technical joint often used in fine joinery joinery. Known for its resistance to separation (tensile strength), the dovetail joint is commonly used to join the sides of a drawer to the front. A series of pins cut to extend from the end of one board interlock with a series of tails cut into the end of another board. The pins and tails are trapezoidal in shape. Once glued, a wood dovetail joint does not require mechanical fasteners.
Another simple and strong joint is the mortise and tenon joint, which has been used by carpenters all over the world for thousands of years to join pieces of wood. This is commonly used when the pieces are at an angle close to 90°. Although there are many variations on the theme, the basic idea is that the end of one member is inserted into a hole cut in the other member. The end of the first member is called the spigot, and it is usually tapered with respect to the rest of the piece. The hole in the second member is called a mortise. The gasket can be glued, pinned, or wedged to secure it in place.
HARDWARE
The hardware for a poker chip box should also be durable. There are a variety of hinges and hardware available, but you should avoid a stamped hinge, which is the weakest type of hinge. When building or ordering a custom box, there are a variety of hinges you can order.
A full-length piano hinge is a long, narrow hinge that runs the full length of the two surfaces its leaves attach to. This imparts additional strength to the hinge when using a heavy solid wood top.
Concealed hinges are used for furniture doors (with or without self-closing function and with or without damping systems). They are made of 2 parts: one part is the hinge cup and the arm; the other part is the mounting plate. They are also called Euro/Cup hinges and give the case a cleaner look.
FINISH
One thing to keep in mind when choosing a finish for your wooden token box is to make sure you use polyurethane or a non-dissolvable varnish that won’t stain or seep into the tokens. You should avoid any type of oil finish such as Tung or Danish oil, as these oils can soak into the clay chips over time.
TRAY SIZE
Most poker chips are 39mm in size, however, large denomination chips, as well as chips based on the Paulson Inverted Hat and Cane mold, are 43mm in size. Make sure the chip trays are the right size for the type of chips you have. If requesting a custom token box, be sure to specify the size of your tokens.
So when building or designing a custom wooden poker chip box to store your chips, remember to consider the type of joints, hinges, and finishes used in your box design.