I have clear glass on mine as I have had to trace many charts. I have a lower wattage fluorescent light in the box and the chart under the trace chart was enough to diffuse the light yet give me good detail.
Has Anyone Built a Light Box?
- Thread starter Iplayfarmer
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Iplayfarmer
Super Member
Anything is going to be an improvement over the picture frame on an upside down bar stool with a desk lamp tipped on its side underneath that they are using now.
Next Question... For an 18" fluorescent light in a box that is about 19" X 14" How big and how many holes do I need to let heat escape?
Next Question... For an 18" fluorescent light in a box that is about 19" X 14" How big and how many holes do I need to let heat escape?
beppington
Elite Member
Not many ... I dunno, 4. There's not that much heat. Zero holes might even work, but I drilled a few just to be sure.
forgeblast
Elite Member
I wasnt sure if you had the supplies, i was shocked when checking out the prices of plexiglass last year. It should be a fun project then.
WM75Guy
Elite Member
My wife's 4'X8' stained glass table has a 2'X3' light box built into one end. I put 3 24" single bulb flourescent lights in it. It has a piece of clear plexi first, then heavy white paper, then a piece of clear glass. It is recessed so the glass is flush with the table top. The lights are on a shelf under the glass so it is open on all four sides. She tapes the pattern to the glass and lays the stained glass on the pattern to mark it.
PILOON
Super Star Member
If you mix in a little dish washing detergent with acrylic paint it will adhere to the glass.
Naturally it wants to be on the underside as it can be scratched off as the adherence is not of the highest level but adequate for the task.
Naturally it wants to be on the underside as it can be scratched off as the adherence is not of the highest level but adequate for the task.
OP
Iplayfarmer
Super Member
Dish soap and acrylic paint... ? I learned something new again today.
forgeblast
Elite Member
We do that If we are painting on widows, it makes it easier to get the paint off.
OP
Iplayfarmer
Super Member
Here's the finished product. I decided to leave the glass clear and see if it works.
I tried to center the light in the middle of the box, but it looks like that may not have been the best bet. This particular light casts the light directionally and leaves one half of the box darker than the other.
I tried to center the light in the middle of the box, but it looks like that may not have been the best bet. This particular light casts the light directionally and leaves one half of the box darker than the other.
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Pixguy
Super Star Member
Iplayfarmer said:
No problem, just move it to the rear and claim the extra hole was for venting purposes. Admit to nuttin!
I believe you'll find you'll need to make the plexiglas opaque.
beppington
Elite Member
Can you rotate the fixture so it stands on its narrow edge instead?
Lookin' good, tho! :thumbsup:
Lookin' good, tho! :thumbsup:
OP
Iplayfarmer
Super Member
I could stand the light on its narro edge if I attached it to the back "wall" of the box.
My 5-year-old daughter did the first test today. I got her approval.
(If anyone was wondering, my daughter's drawings are the ones on the right.)
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aczlan
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I might remove the diffuser from that light when I moved in into the corner, but that is just me.
Aaron Z
OP
Iplayfarmer
Super Member
I think the diffuser is what is letting me get away with a clear cover (vs. white translucent).
schweizer
Gold Member
Nice build on the box. Looks like you'll need a diffuser and center the light.
If anyone else is contemplating building a viewbox, you can get the x-ray light boxes free or cheap nowadays. I'm a radiologist (MD) who interprets x-rays, CT's, MRI's, etc. all day long. Almost everyone has gone to digital imaging called PACS. We don't look at hard copy film ever anymore. It's all interpreted from a large banks of super-megapixel computer screens in my office. Your family doc or internist can still see the x-rays by a screen in their office, if desired. Most non-radiologists are looking at my reports for complex imaging (CT, MRI, ultrasound). Some look at simpler studies like chest x-rays themselves and wait for my report for confirmation. Anyway, my point is, look on e-bay or go down to the hospital/clinics, etc. and you can get those viewboxes for probably next to nothing because we don't use them anymore. (That said, many primary care clinics, especially smaller and rural facilities are still using the old film to do a chest x-ray or look for grossly fractured bones, but they will be changing their equipment soon. Film is getting hard to find.)
Marcus
If anyone else is contemplating building a viewbox, you can get the x-ray light boxes free or cheap nowadays. I'm a radiologist (MD) who interprets x-rays, CT's, MRI's, etc. all day long. Almost everyone has gone to digital imaging called PACS. We don't look at hard copy film ever anymore. It's all interpreted from a large banks of super-megapixel computer screens in my office. Your family doc or internist can still see the x-rays by a screen in their office, if desired. Most non-radiologists are looking at my reports for complex imaging (CT, MRI, ultrasound). Some look at simpler studies like chest x-rays themselves and wait for my report for confirmation. Anyway, my point is, look on e-bay or go down to the hospital/clinics, etc. and you can get those viewboxes for probably next to nothing because we don't use them anymore. (That said, many primary care clinics, especially smaller and rural facilities are still using the old film to do a chest x-ray or look for grossly fractured bones, but they will be changing their equipment soon. Film is getting hard to find.)
Marcus
