I don’t have a 3D printer, although I did ask for one for Christmas once. My wife looked at me and said, “What the heck is that?” Needless, to say, Santa didn’t deliver that year.
It would be easy to blame my lack of a 3D printer on my wife, but as Jimmy Buffet learned, it’s my own d@µn fault. I don’t have a 3D printer because they’ve always intimidated me.
Would I be able to fiddle with the software? How do I set the nozzle aperture? What is a nozzle aperture? Would do you find the digital files? Which 3D printer is the best to even buy if you are a beginner?!!?
We Don’t Deserve Danny of 3D Printed Tabletop
Enter Danny of 3D Printed Tabletop. I don’t deserve a YouTube instructor as soft-spoken and encouraging as Danny, but his 3D Printed Tabletop channel was the exact thing I needed to get over the barriers of entry with 3D printing.
While other YouTube channels are yelling at you to SMASH THAT SUBSCRIBE BUTTON, there are none more wholesome than Danny. He simply offers wonderful tips for getting into the hobby.
For example, see the video below. As a beginner to the hobby, I can’t imagine spending more than $500 or so on my first printer. So here Danny walks through the best entry level printers, exactly what I needed:
One does not post videos on YouTube and not be greeted with Thoughts and Opinions® from the comments, yet Danny intereacts with grace and gentleness. He’s a warm guy to listen to and it’s also clear he’s a stand-up human.
But that’s not what we need. We need killer tips! Well, Danny gives that and then some. Perform even a shallow dive on his channel and you learn the following:
- Best printers to buy.
- Different types of printers and the supplies they use.
- Hobby adjacent stuff like painting tips after they are printed.
- How to tweak your machine for better results.
He also shows you where to find digital files to print, like the following video that shows you where to get the files to print each and every monster in the D&D 5e Monster Manual!
That’s all I got for you for now. Dive into Danny’s channel if you are on the fence about 3D printing. Us nerds at Nerds on Earth are using COVID-19 as an opportunity to dive into new hobbies that we may have been putting off, like drawing, tabletop game design, and action figure photography.
3D printing is that area for me, and I can’t wait to get started. Because of Danny, I’m ready.
Tabletop Takeaways: Tips for Dungeon Masters with a Narrative Spin