A game of chance...

Games, gambling or fun, often use a pair of dice in order to supply a random number between 2 and 12. Simpler games may use one die returning a random number between 1 and 6. Simple little things but not if you want to make one in Meccano.

A thread on the Spanner II List, wandered off it's original subject and ended up discussing building a die using modern flanged plates. The plates being discussed are the 1½ x 1½ inch flanged plates shown below.

Flanged plate A551 (51b)

The plates are designed to be put together with other small flanged plates to make rigid boxes and hollow columns. The flanges are cut back so they fit nicely together with all the flanges hidden inside. Paul Dale had made a Die using some replica plates but these are not exactly the same as the Meccano plates. Six Meccano plates fit together nicely to make a perfect cube.  Using threaded bosses it is possible to build an enclosed box but Paul had said his box was made using only the six plates, 21 bolts and 21 nuts...

The flanges are cut back

Six plates make a perfect cube

That was it, nothing was going to get done until I had worked out how this was possible. Working it out in my thoughts, It seemed a relatively straightforward task to bolt five of the six plates together, but how was the sixth one going to be secured? nothing for it...

The parts and tools

... six plates and twenty one each of nuts bolts and, in my case, washers were gathered together. the cube was assembled as shown below.

Stage one

Stage two

Stage Three

Stage four

So far, so good. Now for the tricky bit. Place the five remaining nuts inside the open cube...

Loading the cube

...then slide the last flanged plate in position, sealing the cube.

Closed!

The next bit will either really irritate you for hours or give a real feeling of accomplished in minutes. Turn the cube over and rattle and tap the cube until one of the nuts is over the bottom corner hole. The modern easy-start or finger-safe nuts are the best for this.

Engaging the nut with the bolt

Carefully insert the bolt so the nut is sitting on top of the bolt. This may take a few attempts. Best to close the door at this point. We don't want to offend anyone when the nut falls off for the twenty-seventh time.

Hold your breath...

Using a drift or the small hex-key, gently turn the nut while rotating the bolt by spinning the hex key between finger and thumb. You will find that some nuts will be locked by the adjacent corner nut and this will allow you to tighten it up fully with no intervention. The drift can be used to hold the nut still while the bold is tightened.

The finished die viewed from one side...

...and the other.

Now all I have to do is work out how to take it apart. All good fun now I will be up half the night catching up with all the stuff I should have been doing this afternoon.!

Ralph.