3D Catan – Making a case

This guide will show you how to make a case to hold your amazing 3D Catan set previously built in my original 3D Catan Build Guide.

Printed Parts (Thingaverse Links)

Tile Holders

Depending on the tiles you create, you will need to print off the various different spacing options. Remember you can always print off the smallest spacing option and skip spaces to accommodate larger tiles such as ore, gold, and lighthouse water tiles.

Border Tile Holders

These holders can fit 24 border pieces each, I required two. Corner frame pieces were placed snugly beside these holders and the playing card stack.

Player Set Container

Six player set containers was made from a great customizable box which I tailored to fit everything a player needs to play Cities & Knights.

Box Construction

This box was constructed from 1/4″ Baltic Birch Plywood which is essentially just a good quality thin plywood. It’s a pretty basic box, made with a… box joint. Begin by ripping and cross-cutting the pieces down to size. Leave the top and bottom pieces oversized by about 1/2″ as we will trim the excess off later.

This was my first box joint and it was really enjoyable and came out great. The jig is simple! check out this video on the mighty box joint.

Glue the four sides together first, clamp and allow time to cure. Next, glue the bottom and top and rest it on a nice flat surface with a sacrificial sheet good on top for protection. Then fill up a 5 gallon pale with water and place it on top and allow to cure.

Once dry, use a router (or router table) with a flush trim bit to remove the overhang from the top and bottom. Now you can run all four side of the box through the table to create the lid. Make sure to line up the cut with the end of a box joint finger. I finished this box by sealing it with the left over water based polyurethane from the original 3D Catan build.

The hinges, clasp , and corner protectors where then installed evenly spaced and centered. Done!