![]() ![]() ![]() The shop light is 23″ wide, so I needed to place this middle board so there is 23″ between it and the foremost board. These lights have a ‘lip’ along the long edges that work perfectly to hold them in place when turned upside down and placed in the space. The larger space is 48″ x 23″, just right for the shop light ![]() Next I added the middle board, which creates the frame that the shop light sits in. I also used two screws on the end of the side boards (the 37.5″ ones”) that screwed into the end edges of the 48″ boards. I pre-drilled the holes in the 1×6’s with our 1/8 inch bit so I didn’t split the wood. That’s a lot of screws but this thing will be pretty heavy when done. You can see how I used five screws along the bottom of the board, into the edge of the table top. The ends were flush with the table sides, and the bottom of each board flush with the underside of the table. I screwed two of the 48″ boards to the top and bottom edges of the table top. I also bought some #8 1 1/4 inch screws, some 1 1/2″ corner braces and about 4 feet of 1/4″ x 1/4″ trim hobby boards.įor tools and other supplies I needed a power drill, 1/8 inch, 1/16 drill bits, a 1 1/2 inch spade bit and a phillips screw bit, a table saw, hammer, 1″ finishing nails, wood glue, a pint of black paint, and a power or belt hand sander.įirst I wrapped the table in the outer frame. I also bought a piece of 1/4 inch clear plexiglass, which comes in 36″ x 72″ sheets. I kept the extra which I will use some of for support braces. I had them cut me three 48″ and two 37.5 inch lengths. Places like Home Depot will cut the boards for you to whatever lengths you want for free. I bought some decent 1″ x 6″ pine boards, rather than rough lumber. The light is only 23 inches wide, so there will be table top not part of the light box. That way the interior dimension of the frame would be a full 36″ x 48″. I just needed to build a frame to encase the outside edge of the table top, rather than be on top of it. These shop lights are exactly 48 inches long, so that’s perfect for the table. I started out with the table I was basing this on and the shop light originally used in the first light table. My scanner’s not working so I have no blueprints, but here’s how I did it: So, I spend a day recently designing a new light table that is a combination of my old 36″ x 48″ drafting table and my old light box. I thought “wouldn’t it be better to have a combination drawing table and light table, so I can comfortably transfer the roughs onto bristol and actually do the ‘drawing’ at the same time… making my adjustments and changes right on the light table and ending up with a ready-to-ink final pencil?” I was spending all this time working out the rough pencils, only to have to spend time hunched over a flat light table doing a very insubstantial transfer and then having to draw it all over again. Then I took that back to the drawing table and redrew it, incorpoating any changes I needed to make and fixing any issues I saw.That was inefficient. I had to lean over at an awkward angle, and therefore was forced to do a very quick and limited sketch of the original rough. Because of the light table’s flat surface, it was impossible to “draw” for long on the bristol using the light box. Then I scan this rough, increase the size to inking size (200% in MAD‘s case) and then transfer it to a 3 or 4 ply bristol. What I generally do with an illustration, especially those for MAD, is do a fairly drawn out rough at print size to send in for review. But I quickly realized that the flat nature of the light table was making it difficult to use. That’s the light table to the right of Shakespeare All I did was turn it upside down, place it in a frame I placed between counter areas, rigged a cord and wall plug and placed a piece of 1/4 inch plexiglass on top. I made it out of a shop light I bought at Home Depot, the kind that hang from the ceiling and have 4 fluorescent lights in it. Back when I built my studio I constructed a homemade light table that was incorporated into a counter area. ![]()
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