Sylvan Crafts – 8-Sided Die / Polyhedron Assembly

Things to consider before you assemble your Sylvan Crafts kit:

This model was laser cut from natural wood so will have burn marks and scorching. The burns and scorching actually add to the appeal and aesthetics of the wood, so we recommend you assemble your kit with the scorched side of each piece facing outward, for optimal attractiveness.

Non-scorched or inside face

Scorched or outside face

We recommend completing assembly in one sitting; although it is certainly possible to assemble the kit in multiple sessions. Assembling in one sitting allows for you to work while the glue is still a bit flexible, especially if something is slightly out of alignment. A typical first-timer assembly of this kit should take about 15–20 minutes.

Equipment Required:

1. A good quality wood glue, such as Titebond/Titebond II (available at any home store). Wood glue will stay flexible as you work with the pieces.
2. A craft mat, or some other work surface (not your nana's good dining room table) where you don't have to worry about glue getting on anything. Kitchen parchment paper (used in baking) makes a wonderful work surface when taped flat with painters’ tape.
3. A handful of wooden toothpicks for applying glue.

Prepare for Assembly:

There are two types of pieces in this kit:

   8 polygon (triangular) face pieces

  24 mushroom-shaped joint pieces

Separate Face Pieces and Joint Pieces From the Board:

1. Peel top adhesive layer back carefully – exposing all pieces of the kit. NOTE: Some of the cutouts for the pips (holes in the face pieces) and sprue (junk between joint pieces) may stick to the adhesive paper. This is okay, as long as none of the small joint pieces are accidentally discarded.
2. Carefully remove all 24 joint pieces (the little mushroom looking guys) and place to the side – preferably in a little dish to keep them together.
3. Carefully lift out the 8 triangular face pieces. You may need to use a toothpick to pop out any cutouts left in the pips of the face pieces. Usually the cutouts will stay stuck to the bottom adhesive paper. Stack the face pieces nearby in numeric order. Once you are sure there are no joint pieces or face pieces left, you can discard the board in your green yard waste recycle bin (adhesive paper and all).

Assembly of First Half:

Prepping for Assembly:

1. Starting with face piece #1. Flip it over so the pale side is facing up (non charred side). Glue 6 joint pieces to the #1 face piece as seen in image A below. As the glue begins to dry, snug the joint pieces again against the face piece to ensure they are seated tightly. Set aside to dry for 2–3 minutes.
2. Select face pieces #4 and #8 and glue 2 joint pieces to one side of each as seen in image B below. Allow these to dry for around 2 minutes.
3. Get face piece #5 ready, but do not glue anything to it yet, as we will be adding it to the other three face pieces (#1, #4 and #8) we prepared in the last two steps.
4. Position face piece #1 with a pointy corner facing you (a flat side facing away from you) just like in image A. Add glue to the joint pieces on the two sides to either side of the pointy end. Also add glue to the joints on face pieces #4 and #8 we prepared in image B.

Assembling the First Half:

1. Starting with face piece #4, attach it to the left side of base piece #1 with its joints facing toward you. Hold this in place just until it begins to hold on its own. Then connect face piece #8 to the other side — again with the joints facing you. Hold for a brief while just till the glue gets tacky.
2. Lastly, position face piece #5 betweek #4 and #8 to complete one half of the 8-sided polyhedra as seen in image C below. Cup the 4 faces together in your hand or use the flat work surface to gently squeeze the 4 faces together snugly and square. Set this half to the side to dry.

Assembly of Second Half:

Prepping for Assembly:

1. Starting with face piece #2. Flip it over so the pale side is facing up (non charred side). Glue 4 joint pieces to the #2 face piece as seen in image D below. For this half of the construction, the pointy end will be pointing away from you.
2. Glue 2 joint pieces to the #3 and #7 face pieces as seen in image E below. Do not add any joints to face piece #6. As the glue begins to dry on these pieces, snug the joint pieces again against the face pieces to ensure they are seated tightly. Set aside to dry for 2–3 minutes.
3. Note the position of all the face pieces: #2, #3, #6, and #7 in image E as this is the position they will be when joined.
4. Add glue to the 4 joints on base face piece #2. Also add glue to the two joints on faces #3 and #7.

Assembling the Second Half:

1. Starting with face piece #3, attach it to the base #2 in the same position as shown in image E. Hold in place just until the glue starts to hold the piece in place (1-2 minutes).
2. Next, attach face piece #7 to the other side of base piece #2. Hold again until the glue gets tacky. Then maneauver piece #6 into place between faces #3 and #7 as seen in image E and image F below. Cup the 4 faces together in your hand or use your work surface to gently squeeze the 4 faces together snugly. Set aside to dry for 3 minutes.

Assembling the Two Halves:

In this final step we will be joining the two 4 side halves together to form the finished 8-sided polyhedron. It is important to make sure you join the faces in the order described in the steps to get the statisticly best position of the numbers on the die face.

Bringing it all Together!

1. Get the first half of the construction – the one with faces #1, #4, #5 and #8. Attach the remaining joint pieces to this half as seen in image G below. Wait about 3 minutes for the glue to set before continuing.
2. Add glue to all 8 joints on the first half. Align the first and second half of the constructions so that face #1 and face #2 will be joined together like in image H below.
3. Carefully press the two halves together and nudge and tweak them until they join snugly. Once they are joined, cup the polyhedron in your hands and gently apply pressure to ensure the construction is snug. You finished 8-sided polyhedron should look like image I below.