Litho Box Question

[HelpBot3000]

Hey guys, I am about to start working on a box for the litho I made my wife for Christmas of my two little girls. My question is what do you guys think about design in regards to what works best for light distribution without excessive heat? Also in respect to heat, what ventilation method have you preferred? I'm taking in as much information and studying as many posted pictures as possible before I start undertaking. Thanks guys.


Barry

[cnsranch]

First of all, the florescent puck lights from Lowe's work great - generate 9 watts, with virtually no heat. As I learned from Ken, you're best served to put the light behind the litho and see what looks best depth-wise so you can determine how deep to make the box.

The attached is set in a rabbet - no glue, etc. I made the sides, cut the rabbets and then cut the 45's so the litho would fit - and it fits tight. In fact, I had to clip a tiny bit off the back edges to re-set it once staining was done.

Didn't need the second pic, but she's so darned cute (sound like a proud great-uncle?)

Works pretty good.

***Edit*** For ventilation, the hole that the cord passes through in the back is fine when using the fl. light.

[brdad]

The litho box I posted in this thread (http://forum.carvewright.com/showthread.php?t=9558) worked nicely at 3 1/16" depth from the back of the puck light to the back of the lithophane. The lithophane was 5X7 viewable area. Obviously for a different size litho the depth would have to be adjusted. I posted in that thread the temperatures it ran at and was a bit surprised at my results. As that thread also suggests, using foil tape also helped a lot with light distribution.

[James RS]

I too used the 9watt puck from Loews on two of these they work great. I made mine so the rear would pivot with the light mounted to it, And I cut it a little short so there's a slight space on the top and bottom.

[bizbiki]

Let me too chime in about the nine watt puck light from Lowes. About ten bucks and no discernable heat. I ve made three light boxes with these and one has been on at my house since 11/08.

[HelpBot3000]

Let me too chime in about the nine watt puck light from Lowes. About ten bucks and no discernable heat. I ve made three light boxes with these and one has been on at my house since 11/08.

Wow! That's one heck of a recommendation. Ok, so I think I have a winner for the light, now just have to choose a design for the box.

[cnsranch]

There are a ton of suggestions on box styles - remember what a very smart guy once said (can we say it altogether???)

Search is your best friend :p:D:):rolleyes:

[HelpBot3000]

Ahh Jeff, even when you're not here... you're here. Your mark is left on us all! :) I actually did search it and have been taking notes, but not a lot of folks have said much on which designs have worked best or they were happiest with. I guess that's the information I am most interested.

[brdad]

I am very happy with my box functionally. It makes it real easy to remove the litho to show someone hands on or to insert another litho into it. However, I think it could be designed to be more visually appealing. But maybe it's just me, the people who received them like them!

[HelpBot3000]

Well I've come to grips with the fact that its going to be like every other project. No matter how good it looks or what people tell me, I'm always going to think about that one thing I forgot or that little detail that could have made it better. I'm more than confident I'm not the only one around here who gets that way. :rolleyes:

[Kenm810]

As with any Craftsmen, we're always our own worst Critic!!

[Jeff_Birt]

Ahh Jeff, even when you're not here... you're here. Your mark is left on us all! :) I actually did search it


You have been assimilated! :rolleyes:

[tonygeist]

For my lithos I buy frames at Hobby Lobby (generally %50 off, almost always on sale) and make my lithos standard photo sizes and glue the litho into the open in the back. For the light I use a craft ligth that you can get out of a crafting catalog for around $3 ea. These lights are the ones used in plastic jack-o-lanterns that just snap into the back. You just drill a hole in the back of the box. I also paint the inside of my boxes with a metallic silver spray paint. The paint is not flammable after it is dried and the bulbs don't generate much heat and they are made specifically for these applications.

[derrickmdale]

I have just gotten into litho's. However with my background in woodworking and electronics I tackled the box first since that seemed to be the easiest thing.

If anyone is interested in a very nice slick idea for a lighting system for your litho's here it is. I was in my office looking at old computer parts and realized I had a great backlighting system in one of my old laptop screens. It's bright, evenly lit, generates virtually no heat and is extremely slim at 3/16" So I destroyed the dinosaur laptop and gutted the screen.

If you check around I'm sure you can find a real junker laptop. Sure the price for this isn't the 10-15 dollars that some others are talking about. However the end result will be a perfectly lit litho in a standard frame without a lot of bulk.

I'm going to start checking at discount electronic stores. Any small portable LCD screen can be gutted for this. If you see any junked portable dvd players or car screens or anything of that nature.. pick them up and give it a try.

Just my two cents.. thanks for listening.

[Digitalwoodshop]

I bought some LED's on a reel that runs off of 12 volts DC. You can cut them in sections of 3 LED's. I am going to try to use the LED strips to light Hitch Covers.

I bet they would work for the Litho's. Sticky tape on the back, solder jumpers to the strips placed side by side.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Flexible-LED-Light-Strip-on-a-reel-warm-white_W0QQitemZ230319572415QQihZ013QQcategoryZ2070 6QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

AL

This is the same stuff that you can make a wood base and lay a strip of this in the bottom and lay some clear acrylic sheet in it so the LED's shine in the edge. V carve a text or image in the back of the acrylic and you have an instant Best Seller.... Kids Names, Pictures..... I bought a reel of Blue too.

The last picture I borrowed from eBay and shows what I trying to do without the Copyright issues..... This gives the Carve Machine a whole new use.... I would vector using the V60 to do something like this from the back.

[geekviking]

How bright are those little guys?
And thanks for sharing the lead! ;)

[sweliver]

Just bought a frame box from Hobby Lobby. The shadow boxes by the frame dept look interesting as well.

My pseudo son in law is a computer tech for MS and turned me on to these
http://www.vibelights.com/coccliki.html they're cheap and appear to come with all the parts ready to install. Some are even sound activated.

I'm o getme some.

sw

[cnsranch]

I've thought about those lights before - since they normally plug into the computer, how do you fire those bad boys up in a litho?

[atauer]

I've thought about those lights before - since they normally plug into the computer, how do you fire those bad boys up in a litho?

All you would really need is a circuit board that you can plug it into. It is really easy to do, as long as you have a knowledge of electronic circuitry.

[cnsranch]

Cool -

What do I plug the circuit board into to get power for the litho (Obviously, I fall in the latter cetagory re your post :D )?

[atauer]

It depends on the type of circuit you use. If you browse through the rest of that site, it has the power inverters and everything needed to run the lights.

I would simply just buy one of the power inverters. They look like they are battery powered, but it is hard to tell from the pictures.

[sweliver]

This is an excerpt from the FAQ's page

Q. Can cold cathodes be run from an a/c source? A. Although the inverters for cold cathodes all require 12 volts DC for power, through the use of an a/c adapter they can be powered directly from a standard wall outlet.

If you google cold cathodes I think I saw units that included the transformer.

sw

[HighTechOkie]

You just need a 120V A/C to 12V DC inverter with adequate amp rating. They list a 12v 500mA for $12 they claim to be enough for their CCFLs.

Rob