DIY Light Box

Originally, I was going to title this How-to “101 reasons you need a light-box”. I got to 4 reasons and stopped.

A light box, also called a light table, is quite simply a box of fluorescent tubes balanced for white light and covered with translucent glass or plastic. Typically they are used for viewing slides or negatives, tracing images and cutting stencils. Maybe even show that special someone your X-rays! For being a box with lights and a glass top, they can be surprisingly expensive. Not wanting to drop upwards of 300 dollars on one, I decided to make one.

The Box

The enclosure for our light box was created with particle board. More specifically, one-side-white-melamine particle board. Particle board is easily recognizable as that cheap wood used in making most of the items you find in Ikea. Of all the varieties of hardwoods I could have used, I chose particle board for 2 very good reason. It was free, and because of it’s porous properties it allows assembly using just glue. I did use Bondo (the thinking mans duct tape) to smooth out the rough edges and seal some small seams. There’s not much more that needs to be said about the enclosure. It’s six sides with a hole cut out that is inset an 1\8Th of an inch to place the glass. I chose a size that would allow plenty of arm room for drawing and cutting, 22 X 18 X 4.5. If you Don’t want to build a box, find a shadow box or an old scanner. It should be a more than acceptable substitute.

The glass

Welcome to the most important part. Etching the glass. During the course of this project, I managed to learn 3 ways to create the look of etched glass and a couple of ways to ruin it.

Armor etch bath

Pros:

• Readily available at Michael’s and other craft stores
• Comes in a plastic bottle so you don’t have to hold it in your mouth.

Cons:

• terrible results (blotchy)
• expensive

Delta Glass frosting

Pros:

• Readily available at Michael’s and other craft stores
• Cheap
• Good results

Cons:

• It’s essentially an acrylic paint getting a uniform coat is difficult on glass.
• Additional coats may lift-off previous coats
• Can take up to four days to fully dry

Window Film

Pros:

• Removable
• Perfect uniform coverage
• May be able to get some from a sign shop.

Cons:

• Expensive
• Minimum sheet orders

Krylon frosted glass spray

Pros:

• Readily available at Michael’s and other craft stores
• Uniform coverage
• cheap

Cons:

• A little yellowing when fully dried.

Armor etch glass etching cream

Pros:

• None

Cons:

• It’s crap.

Ultimately, i settled on krylon’s frosted glass spray. I didn’t have to wait 10 days before handling it, and I was afraid the adhesive on the film may loosen from any heat put out by the lights. If you plan on predominantly using your light box to view slides and negatives, I would suggest just painting one side of your glass with flat white spray paint as this will provide the most light diffusion and most uniform viewing area.

The lights:

Most commercially produced light boxes use fluorescent bulbs (5,000k). Spend a couple of moments in the lighting department of your local hardware store and something becomes painfully obvious, fluorescent lighting fixtures aren’t cheap. To make matters worse, the smaller fixtures i considered didn’t put off a whole lot of light. I decided to go with halogen lighting. you can pick up a pack of 3 to 4 halogen lights, usually used for mounting under a cabinets, for about twenty dollars. I picked up a pack of four 100 watt halogen “pucks” for $21.49. Four 100 watt halogen lights may be over-kill, but I do plan on hooking up a dimmer.

Follow the wiring diagram that came with the kit. I placed each of the four lights on the inside sides. Placing them on the bottom facing directly upward would create “hot spots” and Way too much light. Most of these kits will have an on/off switch built into the power cord. I opted to place a toggle switch on the side of the box instead.

By getting your hands a little dirty (and maybe learning something new), you will have created a light box customized for you and saved upwards of 300.00. No one would pay that much for a light table right? Wrong. Ya Dig what I’m laying down?!