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.
* Click here for a detailed illustration.
| 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 | |||
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.
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