I have wanted a lightbox for years, I live in a small flat and don't have the space to store a large lightbox. I decided to build a photo/tracing lightbox into my Ikea coffee table. I picked up all of the equipment on ebay and put the whole lot together in a couple of hours. The table is an Ikea 'Lack' and cost about £5, they come in many different colours.
Step 1: Choosing Correct Acrylic
-Ideally I would have made the top from one single thick sheet of acrylic with a routed out step around it's edge. However to do this I would need a router and a acrylic cutting router head... which I don't have. Instead I ordered two sheets of Acrylic. One 8mm thick transparent sheet and one 3mm thick Opal coloured sheet. I had the clear sheet cut slightly smaller (which the acrylic company did free of charge).
-Lack table top measures 550x550mm
-Clear Acrylic 8mm 480x480mm
-Opal 3mm Acrylic 500x500mm
-I purchased these materials on Ebay from trentplastics.co.uk, they gave me cheap combined postage and next day delivery.
-Lack table top measures 550x550mm
-Clear Acrylic 8mm 480x480mm
-Opal 3mm Acrylic 500x500mm
-I purchased these materials on Ebay from trentplastics.co.uk, they gave me cheap combined postage and next day delivery.
Step 2: Measure and Cut
-Carefully Measure out the aperture on the top of the table. Check your measurements and offer up the thickest sheet of Acrylic, make sure it will fit correctly as the chance are it probably wont be perfectly square.
-Use a brand new stanley blade and a non slip metal ruler to carefully cut through the table top. Be patient because it takes quite a few cuts to break through.
-Peel off the cut away section and remove the cardboard reinforcement.
-Check the acrylic fits and cut/sand away more if it doesn't.
(tip. Mark one side of the table and acrylic sheet with small strips of masking tape, this will make sure you relocate it the same way when you put it back)
-Use a brand new stanley blade and a non slip metal ruler to carefully cut through the table top. Be patient because it takes quite a few cuts to break through.
-Peel off the cut away section and remove the cardboard reinforcement.
-Check the acrylic fits and cut/sand away more if it doesn't.
(tip. Mark one side of the table and acrylic sheet with small strips of masking tape, this will make sure you relocate it the same way when you put it back)
Step 3: Recessing the Corners
-Each corner has a chipboard reinforced corner. You need to Recess these to the thickness of the first sheet of acrylic. I used a stanley knife but a chisel would probably have been much safer. Keep measuring as you go and check each corner by replacing the clear Acrylic sheet. If you chisel any of the corners to much then you can always build them up again with the cut away section of table top and some PVA.
(Tip: Use the protective coating from the acrylic to help you remove it from the table top)
-When the corner reinforcements are complete paint the whole thing white with emulsion or gloss. It might not seem that important but it makes a HUGE difference.
(Tip: Use the protective coating from the acrylic to help you remove it from the table top)
-When the corner reinforcements are complete paint the whole thing white with emulsion or gloss. It might not seem that important but it makes a HUGE difference.
Step 4: Electrical Components
-I picked up a 5 meter strip of adhesive LED lighting from ebay. These are intended for use inside cars so I also bought a 12 volt adapter kit from the same seller. The lighting is available in different tones of white but I went for Cool White as I thought it would probably be brightest.
-I thought about adding a switch but in the end I couldn't be arsed.
-I drilled a small hole for the power cable and attached some cable ties to stop it slipping through.
-I thought about adding a switch but in the end I couldn't be arsed.
-I drilled a small hole for the power cable and attached some cable ties to stop it slipping through.
Step 5: Attaching the Lighting
-Make sure you lay out the lighting before you start sticking it down. Start from the end near the power cable so you don't end up having to re-drill the hole. The adhesive is pretty strong although I added some double sided padded tape at the corners just to be sure. You have to sort of curve the strip around each corner.
I used up the entire 5 meter strip.
-Connect the LED strip to the power supply and tape/glue gun in place under the lip of the table top.
-Test everything is working
I used up the entire 5 meter strip.
-Connect the LED strip to the power supply and tape/glue gun in place under the lip of the table top.
-Test everything is working
Step 6: Drilling and Finishing
-Mark and drill the holes in the first sheet of clear acrylic. Use this as a template for the Opal top sheet by laying both flat on the floor. Make sure the holes are large enough for the screws you have chosen otherwise it can easily crack.
-Round off the corners of the Opal sheet with a metal file.
-Choose your screws, you could probably counter sink them so they are neat and tidy but I quite like the look of the rounded head ones I've chosen.
-Screw the whole thing together and you're done! Try and keep the sheets clean because dust and dirt will show through when you turn the lights on.
-Round off the corners of the Opal sheet with a metal file.
-Choose your screws, you could probably counter sink them so they are neat and tidy but I quite like the look of the rounded head ones I've chosen.
-Screw the whole thing together and you're done! Try and keep the sheets clean because dust and dirt will show through when you turn the lights on.
Step 7: Finished Piece
I'm sure there are plenty of other ways to do this but my finished result is very neat, tidy and effective. It provides an EXTREMELY bright and even light which is perfect for viewing negatives and tracing.
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Could i ask you how much both sheets of plastic combined cost you in the end?
http://www.flickr.com/x/t/0099009/photos/61654338@N02/sets/72157632572246406/
Don't know how to post them on here (I'm on a phone).
I didn't take any photos inside before doing it all up which is a shame, but the connector is glued around the hole on the inside and also to the leg support.
I was going to have it flush, but there wasn't room between the Perspex and the bottom, so had to push it through a few mm. It made it stronger and tidier though.
I like the fact that the opal is smaller than the top, that and the screws, makes a feature of it. A flat complete top would look too plain in my eyes...
I hope it serves you well.
I think painting it white inside is a must. I used 2 tester pots from b and q as i didn't want to buy a brush or pot of paint. Each tester pot (50ml) did one coat. I gave it two coats.
The hardest part was the drilling of the Perspex. I think I would go slightly bigger on the Perspex (maybe add 5/10mm all round to both sheets) as I found the fixings were very close to the edge of the clear Perspex, and so one corner broke off a little (makes no difference as it doesn't move on the plane as its sat in a recess so that fixing is only holding the clear one down).
The only changes I made were...
1. using washers under the fixings (I still used the dome screws like you as I liked the look of them) but I wanted to spread the load a little!
2. I didn't like the hanging cable connector, so instead drilled a hole the size of the connector just off one of the leg supports, so that I could just poke it through a little and then glue the rest of the connector to the leg support so that it was solid.
Got the LEDs and power cable from eBay. £12.
Paint pots from b and q. £2.20.
Perspex from Trent plastics. £29.
Table. Free.
So £45 total. Not bad for a light box that size!
All in all, was a good instructable, Thanks!
Congratulations on the build, would be fantastic to see a picture! I like the sound of your power cable modification. I would especially like to see what that looks like. I had considered at one point making the Perspex the same size as the whole top of the table and just glueing it down on top, I ended up deciding against this as I wasn't sure if the Perspex would be cut perfectly square. Id like to see someone do this with a white table as the light box would almost be entirely hidden. SO MANY POSSIBILITIES!
I'm glad you like the project, I can certainly understand your students loving light boxes. They are surprisingly useful. You are absolutely right about silver being a better reflector, however silver objects reflect SO well that the reflection almost exactly mirrors the light source. Ideally the light in a light box is diffused and spreads evenly across the drawing surface, you don't really want to be moving the paper around the board to find the best light spots. Although the acrylic sheet helps the diffusion you would be surprised how much of a difference the white interior makes.
I considered using fluorescent lighting however it gets extremely hot and there simply isn't enough space inside to allow proper air circulation. The table is only 5cm deep and I think the plastic would melt pretty quickly. Rope lighting should do the trick though! Most rope lighting is LED based so you don't have to worry about the heat issue. Have a look on eBay for different options because LED lighting is INCREDIBLY cheap. I bought 5 meters for less than £10. Hope that helps!
Best of luck with the build! Be sure to post pictures when you're done.
Cheers
Thanks
Cheers
I've always wanted a lightbox!
Thanks for posting this!! :D
I would like to add a few tips of a slightly different approach.
As an old school graphic designer I used light boxes most of my life, not just for viewing transparencies (slides or films) but to also use them as montage tables.
The difference from the ones I build (of this size) is that I used a circular fluorescent light (remove all its components from the metal casing and remount them inside your table/box), then I glued some wooden stripes on the inside perimeter to create a step deep enough to hold flash a white acrylic sheet and a glass top over it. Open a few big enough holes at opposite box sites for air ventilation and to cool it down. No screws are necessary as the weight of the two tops will keep it in place nicely and flash, also it’s easy to remove and change the fluorescent if needed. Some times if the diffusion is not enough you may add a sheet/s of tracing paper between the acrylic and the glass or use a white glass. At the site you can mount an on/off small light switch.
It's nice to hear everybody's different approaches. I was thinking about using a fluorescent ring as that's what they have at the photo lab where I work. However it does get very hot and I was a little worried about mounting it in a table which is only 50mm thick. I think if I built one from scratch then that's what I'd do.
Cheers
I really dont know a lot about lightboxes, but why do you need 2 acrylic sheets?
doesnt it work just as good only with the opal one?
Oh and also they only seem to make Opal acrylic up to 5mm which is a bit to thin.