Lightbox in Cherry

[Salem Ganzhorn]

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 cherry 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 . They keys are maple

Oh well, only WW's would notice anyway .

In the pictures it is finished with only 1 coat of BLO.

[Gary Breckenridge]

There are many times I wish that I had one of those. What is the white panel, plastic or glass ? Do you think one coat of blo is enough ? Nice work.

[Salem Ganzhorn]

There are many times I wish that I had one of those. What is the white panel, plastic or glass ? Do you think one coat of blo is enough ? Nice work.

Honestly I don't know what the panel is . It seems very much like UHMW PE. I gave a lot of thought to frosted glass but all the processes seemed involved. And I didn't know how I would cut the glass on a bevel. I also thought about lexan but I tried to "frost" a small piece with sandpaper and it turned out poorly. This plastic ended up great. It cut easily, it is not too flexible and it diffuses light nicely.

As for the one coat of BLO, I don't know the answer there either . The project came down to the wire and it is all I could get on it before I had to give it away! I have asked her to bring it back and I think I will just give it another coat and then wax it. No drinks or anything sit on it so I am guessing it will be fine.

[John Keeton]

Nice work, Salem, and I am sure very much appreciated by Mom! Were it me, I would put a couple coats of shellac on top of the BLO. It will add to the color/warmth, and give it a bit more protection.

[John Thompson]

A good build and you did a tight job on the miters and splines. A coat of finish over the BLO would be advisable IMO also.

[Brent Ring]

Nice work, Salem, and I am sure very much appreciated by Mom! Were it me, I would put a couple coats of shellac on top of the BLO. It will add to the color/warmth, and give it a bit more protection.

+1 on EVERYTHING John said!

[Joe Little]

Great job, simple, clean look. I am curious how you cut the splines. I know there are several methods.

[Salem Ganzhorn]

Great job, simple, clean look. I am curious how you cut the splines. I know there are several methods.

Joe, 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 groove 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 thickis 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

[Joe Little]

Salem

Thanks for the detail, it is helpful. I tried this once but it came out miserably. I will now try again.
joe

[Jack Camillo]

It came out great. What does one use a lightbox for?
That cherry is going to age beautifully just the way it is.

[Salem Ganzhorn]

It came out great. What does one use a lightbox for?
That cherry is going to age beautifully just the way it is.

Thanks! I am hoping it darkens some to make the maple keys stand out more.

A lightbox is used mostly for tracing patterns. You put the pattern on the lightbox, lay the material or paper you want to transfer the pattern to on top and turn on the lights. Back when "film" existed they were used for slides and negatives too .

Salem

[Salem Ganzhorn]

Salem

Thanks for the detail, it is helpful. I tried this once but it came out miserably. I will now try again.
joe

Joe,
This is the first time I tried them too so I don't really know what I am doing. But it seems that if the jig is stable and the cut has backing to avoid tear-out you are probably going to be ok. Oh... and you don't make my mistake of trying to squeeze in too thick of a key... oh and you don't cut into your box when trimming the keys... oh and if you plane in the correct direction to avoid blowing out the edges... Hrm, I made almost all of those mistakes .

Good luck with your next one!

Salem

[mike holden]

A lightbox is used mostly for tracing patterns. You put the pattern on the lightbox, lay the material or paper you want to transfer the pattern to on top and turn on the lights. Back when "film" existed they were used for slides and negatives too .

Salem

One additional use for a lightbox: I tend toward period furniture and take prints of the carvings on original furniture and use a lightbox to trace out the outlines. A lot easier than gridding the pics and trying to draw them.

Mike