Playing Card Holder 3D Print - Craft Modified to Work One Handed
Made this playing card holder for my wife Kate. She is down to one hand for a few weeks as she heals up. At her snowboarding lesson Friday she had an wipeout accident and broke her wrist.
She's doing pretty good, still waiting to get the real cast to replace the splint she got in the ER. That was a 5 hour adventure where it is so packed and busy the tech putting on the splint was hoping out loud that he could get some assistance bracing Kate's arm and holding her wrist position just-so. I realized we're either staying in the ER another few hours waiting to get two people to help or I'll be the assistant. I offered, Kate endorsed it and then here I was helping install her arm/wrist splint. Update: she's getting along better now after getting a far more light and manageable cast. The splint she had probably weighed about the same as a toddler.
In a few days we'll be getting together with family for the holidays. One of Kate's brothers planned a gift exchange poker game event. She's new to only using one hand and asked me to 3D print something for her. I think she was picturing something that would sit on the table the whole time. I pointed out it might be a good idea to be able to hold the cards closer to avoid prying eyes. Sure it's a game for holiday fun, but we also know from experience how competitive things can get at family holiday games.
With that in mind I made the foundation of this build this a 3D print I found on Thingiverse. A clever design that is meant to sit in a stand and be held in-hand. The transition from stand to in-hand and back and forth was tough to use with only one hand.
To improve things I wanted to make three things better. The holder needs to be stable in the stand without sliding away. It needs to be easy to get cards in and out of the holder one-handed. Finally, the holder needs to pop out of the stand easily with one hand:
- I installed magnets into the base and the cards holder.
- Glued the holder base to a mini clip board.
- Added some grippy rubber feet to the clip board.
Kate tested the improved build, gave it the thumbs up, and plans to give it a try at the holiday party.
