Comments on: Homemade Light Table Ver. 2.0

By: flash

flash — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 00:08:11 +0000

We build it! Thanks a lot for your instructions! Everything was quite easy, except to find the lamp. We improvised with a neon Lamps, which was quite cheap but more painful to install. Anyways we like love to work on this table and like to thank you again.

By: Oluseyi

Oluseyi — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 21:21:42 +0000

Thanks for sharing, Tom. I guess, as the overcautious beginner (cursed with an engineering background), I’m looking for solutions as close to ideal and with as few compromises as possible.

By: Zieglar

Zieglar — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 20:49:14 +0000

Very cool and useful. I was going to ask about the height difference also but McCall beat me to it. So 2 other things instead.

The original table/legs must be pretty good to take the extra weight. Also, seeing the black section at the top kinda throws when I glance at it – why didn’t you sand the whole sheet for a uniform look instead of painting?

By: Tom

Tom — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 20:48:31 +0000

Actually you can get translucent white plexi at a real glass place if you want, but it’s a lot more $$$.

This is bright but I use 4 ply bristol in most cases and I need the bright light to see the images through it. I also get a little distracted by the light outside the edges of my paper but I have a few pieces of black matt board laying about to cover the sides if the ambient light is too much.

Good luck with the project!

By: Oluseyi

Oluseyi — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 20:26:30 +0000

Very inspiring. I do have a question, though: do you find the shop light *too* bright? From the photo, it appears that it would seem so, and while it’d probably be fine for a few sheets of paper placed one on the other, the light bleeding around the edges might be distracting…? (Admittedly, I think I have higher light sensitivities than most people.)

In one or two other DIY light table projects I’ve seen, a sheet of translucent plastic is attached to the underside of the plexiglass surface, accomplishing the same effect as sanding (acting as diffuser) but to a better degree.

I’m planning on building myself a drawing table with integrated light box and, possibly, animator’s circle, so I’ve been stalking projects like these across the web ferociously! Thanks for sharing!