Project 5: SNES Coasters - Update - Larger and ... newer?

So this is an update from the last update in 2014, but it’s an update. That being said, having taken … 6 … years to finish this project a lot of my thinking is totally lost to me now. Still I’ve made newer bigger coasters and they seem pretty good.

The Coasters

The original coasters.

I set out to make coasters because I wanted to play with pixels and to make myself some geeky stuff. The first set of coasters have been pretty good, but they are a little small. They’re pretty good with tumblers or a can, but they’re a little small for mugs. They also worry me a bit whith wine glasses, so I tend not to have them out when we have guests over. They have always had a bit of a curve or a cup to them, which, so far I think is the nature of something made out of perler, which makes them a little bit prone to tipping.

They’ve held up quite well over the years. I took an inventory and a few have a bit of separation between the backing and the beads, but all 8 of the original set get use everyday.

One of the blue coasters where I use it daily.

The cupping always bothered me a bit and the size has also been a small problem. So a long time back I figured adding in an extra ring of beads (taking the width from 16 bead x 16 to 18 x 18) would fix the size problem. I’m also hoping that the bigger coasters will also help with cupping, but since that seems to develop over time I don’t have a great answer for that yet.

Pattern

For the pattern I added in an extra ring of the interior colour. That helps actually float the exclamation mark more in the middle so I think overall the bigger sprite makes sense.

I didn't generate a pattern, but here's the expanded layout. You can see the extra row above the exclamation point) which effectively wraps around the whole coaster.

To compare here's the original coasters with the completed larger ones:

All of the originals with the newer ones behind.

For each I used the perler colours: 

The Black and White are Black (80-19018) and White (80-19001).

The Red:

Sprite Colour	Bead Colour
Outer Red	Red (80-19005)
Inner Red	Magenta (80-19038)

Red Coaster - click to enlarge

The Blue:

Sprite Colour	Bead Colour
Outer Blue	Dark Blue (80-19008)
Inner Blue	Turquoise? (80-19062)

Blue Coaster - click to enlarge

The Green:

Sprite Colour	Bead Colour
Outer Green	Dark Green? (80-19010)
Inner Green	Green? (80-19080)

Green Coaster - click to enlarge

 The Yellow:

Sprite Colour	Bead Colour
Outer Yellow	Cheddar (80-19057)
Inner Yellow	Yellow (80-19003)

Yellow Coaster - click to enlarge

Any of the beads where I'm either not sure what bead I used, or what colour the bead is I've marked with a question mark. Those are best guesses.

I also had a bit of an adventure and made a rainbow exclamation mark block. I have a lot of beads kicking around that aren’t really getting used for anything so I thought it would be fun to make up my own. 

 

The Rainbow Wonder. The white ring matches the extra row of beads if you're curious as to size.

I didn’t take notes, so I have no idea what colours I actually put in here.

Fusing

I fused three of these at least a year ago and the other two in the last few days.

For the ones I did in the last few days, I also made some shapes out of the same beads so I had a feeling for how those beads melted. I’ve noticed a bit over time that the different colours have slightly different melting / fusing points.

I also noticed for future reference that depending on how I fuse the beads the depth of the coaster can be pretty different. It doesn’t show so much from the front, but it’s a factor I hadn’t really considered. For the future I’d like to find a way to be more systematic about fusing.

The different depths of the different coasters.

Backing

I used the same backing as I did for the original coasters. Which I do mean literally, they’re the same set of sticky felt that I purchased back in 2013 (2012?). So they might not work as well as I’d like. But it’s what I had and given that going out to the craft store is not an option while I’m working, I figured I’d go with what I had.

As it works out the 18 x 18 bead squares are exactly 3 ½ inches wide. So I proceeded to cut a bunch of squares that were *almost* 3 ½ inches square. I have a new cutting mat that’s a little warped still and I guess I just need more practice (and maybe a bit more technique). 

The fit of the red coaster. The cutting matt is a little wonky underneath.

 

I also realized that 3 ½ inches is too wide, because it doesn’t allow for the edge where the beads hang over the backing. I tried to make that a ½ bead overhang and it seems like cutting the squares to be 3 ⅜ inches would have been a better approach. I also had to trim the corners to deal with the curve. I found it was a bit difficult to get a proper trim, so I think if I do more of these it would make sense to have a template or a jig.

The coaster backs.

So the backs are a little adhoc, despite my best efforts, but they seem to be on comfortably despite all of the potential problems. I’ll use them for a bit and then update to see if the backing actually works, but given how long the smaller coasters have lasted I’m feeling a little optimistic.

Coaster with the backing on.

Wrap-up

These were fun to do. The several times I’ve worked on them over the last (checks notes) half decade, I’ve enjoyed it. Filling in the fields is a very peaceful activity, especially when compared to my Chrono Trigger perler sprites. 

 

The four coasters ready for action.

Now I’m going to use them for a bit and see how they do. In the mean time I get to mark this project done.

And now time to relax.