Lightbox Christmas present

[eyekode]

My mom asked for a lightbox for Christmas this year. I thought I would try to build one instead of buy.

This was the first time I used keyed miter joints. The box is milled out of a single board and the grain would have lined up great in the corners... but I had to re-cut one of them due to a jig mishap .

Oh well, only WW's would notice anyway .

The wood is Cherry with Maple keys. The box has a slanted top and uses some material I picked up from Dean (Dino). In the pictures it is finished with only 1 coat of BLO.

View image in gallery​

View image in gallery​

View image in gallery​

 

[MrAudio815]

Salem,


That is very Beautiful~! Not sure what a light box is used for, but you made it look very professional.

I love the Cherry wood and Maple keys, good combo~!

 

[b4man]

Now that is a first class light box! Great job and I know she must have been thrilled!:icon_thum


Barbara

 

[red]

Very nice. The cherry and maple go great together. Can I ask what a light box is used for?

Red

 

[eyekode]

Very nice. The cherry and maple go great together. Can I ask what a light box is used for?

Red

Thanks Red. A lightbox is used for tracing things. My mom uses it for quilting. You take a pattern and place it on the box. Then you place fabric or paper on top of the pattern and when the light is on it shines through the pattern and your material so you can trace the pattern. And back when there was such a thing as film it was useful for negatives and slides
Salem

 

[Ray Martin]

Very nicely done. How did you do the keys? Sled on a table saw? Router table? I have a couple of boxes on my to do list and can always use and idea and a bit of advice.

 

[Douglas Robinson]

This is timely. My daughter and I were just discussing making one for her as she has been taping pictures to the windows to trace.

Where did you get the electrical parts? What wattage bulb(s) did you use.

Got any inside pics?

Great job

Doug

 

[froglips]

Great job!

You light up her life........

Jim

 

[jhreed]

Anyone can purchase a present. When it is made by a mother's own son, it will be a treasure forever. I am sure she is showing it to everyone she knows and telling them what a smart son she has.

God bless you for taking the time to make something for your mother.

James

p.s. it looks like a piece of art. Good design and good work.

 

[Mt. Gomer]

Looks great!

 

[eyekode]

Very nicely done. How did you do the keys? Sled on a table saw? Router table? I have a couple of boxes on my to do list and can always use and idea and a bit of advice.

Ray, the keys slots were cut with a simple jig after the box was assembled and glued. A jig similar to: http://boxmaking101.blogspot.com/200...uestion-i.html

The tricky part for me was I don't have a flat ground saw blade. So I had to use my dado set, which means the minimum width I could do was 1/4". I would have liked to make them a little thinner.

The actual keys themselves where made by ripping 1/4" wide strip off of 1" thick stock. My advice would be to keep ripping stock until you get a great fit. Something not loose enough to fall out by itself but not so tight that you need a mallet. Also consider the glue will make the wood expand a little so it doesn't need to be uber tight. The edge of the key needs to be all the way into the slot otherwise it leaves a gap. And if you have to hit it with a mallet to get it to seat you may dent the grove such that it is impossible for the straight edge of the key to touch on both sides of the slot.

Another trick I picked up for keys that were a little too thick is to sand the key on a dead flat surface. This way you can do some minor adjustment without having to rip a new piece of key stock.

Salem

 

[eyekode]

This is timely. My daughter and I were just discussing making one for her as she has been taping pictures to the windows to trace.

Where did you get the electrical parts? What wattage bulb(s) did you use.

Got any inside pics?

Great job

Doug

Doug,
I spent quite some time staring at the lights in home depot. My first thought was to make it completely custom. Buy the switches, buy the lamp holders, buy the ballast, buy a plug etc. But in the end they had some cheap 18" fluorescent's that I canibolized. I took a dremel to the plastic and cut away most of the casing so it would not obstruct the light. I put one up front and one in the back. I initially moved them around in the box to find the best locations. I think they were 15w? The switches snapped into the plastic casing so I took them out and cut matching mortises on the back to receive the scavenged switches. I then bought some 5000k replacement light bulbs to make sure they were (mostly) color correct. I painted the inside of the box with a primer to act as a reflector. The ledge that keeps the top from falling in is ~1/4" wide strips screwed in. No screws were required to hold the top, you can barely get a piece of paper between the wood and the plastic. All that time setting up crosscutting and miter jigs paid off .

The end result was very even light. I was pretty surprised!

The real surprise was that it was cheaper to make than to buy (a first for me). But this is only because the plastic top was just about free (Thanks Dino!). The lights and electronics were ~35$ total. The wood was only a couple bucks.

Salem

 

[Dean Maiorano]

Very, very nice. The quality is fantastic!

 

[mshel]

Looks great. I made one several years ago when I was doing / teaching calligraphy. I used to do the Lords Prayer in a circular motif and had a pattern that I used to help keep the lettering in line. Something I bet you would have never guessed, huh.

Mike