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| by:
Paul Lewis
photos: Roger Yip
illustration: Len Churchill |
A LITTLE LIGHT CONSTRUCTION |
| This
easy-to-build tracing box is a bright idea for your shop drawings |
My woodworking projects start with drawings. Lots of them. And
a lightbox is an indispensable tool for revising designs and
tracing patterns; just lay a sheet of paper over the drawing
or photograph to be copied, and the interior light shines through
to make tracing easy.
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| Tracing
patterns or drawings is made much easier when there
is light coming from behind |
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The lightbox uses an inexpensive fixture as the light source,
and translucent plastic for the top, available at building supply
stores as lenses for drop-in fluorescent fixtures. If you intend
on using the surface for cutting, add a tempered glass top over
the plastic—just enlarge the top groove to accommodate
the extra thickness of glass.
Start by ripping to width enough
plywood to make the sides. Next, using a tablesaw, slice the
pine strips that conceal the edge of the plywood. Attach the
edge strips using glue only. Short lengths of masking tape,
applied every few inches or so, hold the strips in position
until the glue dries.
When the glue has dried, cut
the grooves that will hold the hardboard bottom panel and the
plastic top panel. To make the bottom groove, set the depth
of the tablesaw blade to 1/4" and run the inside face of
the edged plywood over the blade. Nudge the fence over a bit
and make another pass to widen the groove. Use a scrap of 1/8"
hardboard to test the size of the groove after each pass; it
should slide freely in the groove without being sloppy. Make
the groove for the plastic top the same way.
The box is assembled with mitre
joints at the corners. This conceals both the plywood edge and
the grooves you just made. Cut the mitres now with the tablesaw,
using the sliding mitre gauge.
Close Is Not Enough
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| A
store-bought fluorescent light fixture provides
illumination for this shop-built light box |
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Unless you
are satisfied with a cut that’s just “close”
to 45°, forget the blade tilt indicator that is installed
on your saw. To set the blade at exactly 45° to the table
surface, use a small plastic 45° drafting triangle—available
at art supply stores. Raise the blade as high as it will go
and tilt it close to 45° (the indicator on your saw can
manage this). Now set the base of the triangle on the surface
of the table and slide it up to the blade. It will be easy to
see what adjustment is necessary to get the blade to exactly
45°.
Cut the hardboard for the bottom
and dry fit the four sides and bottom in place. Some more masking
tape at the corners will hold everything together. The plastic
top needs to slide out to allow access to the light fixture.
To do this, shorten one side down to the bottom of the top groove.
Mark this now with the box assembled, then take the box apart
and rip the side down to size.
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| CLICK
ABOVE TO ENLARGE |
|
Before putting the box back together, drill the vent holes and
cut the cord access slot in the appropriate locations. To assemble
the box, spread some glue on each of the four corner mitres,
and bring the sides together, capturing the hardboard bottom
as you do so, white side up. Use a strap clamp or even a few
wraps of surgical tubing to hold everything together while it
dries.
The last step is to cut the plastic
top to size and round its sharp corners using sandpaper. Drop
the light fixture into the box, plug it in and flip the switch.
|
| You
Will Need |
| Part |
Material |
Size |
Qty. |
| Top |
plastic |
1/8"
x 11 1/2" x 14 1/2" |
1 |
| Bottom |
hardboard* |
1/8"
x 11 1/2" x 14 1/2" |
1 |
| Edge
cap strip |
pine |
1/4"
x 1/2" x 48"** |
|
| Short
side |
plywood |
1/2"
x 3 1/2" x 12" |
1 |
| Short
side |
plywood |
1/2"
x 3" x 12" |
1 |
| Long
side |
plywood |
1/2"
x 15" x 3 1/2" |
2 |
| Light
fixture |
General
Electric Co. Model # 27270 |
*
white one side
** total length required. Trim to fit |
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