There are many different lightboxes out there to choose
from. There’s even a tablet available that will light up in different shades.
You don’t need anything fancy just functional. In fact, the hardier and bulkier
the better because that way you don’t freak out if you scratch it. It’s meant
to be worked on. And you might even progress to the point where you will cut
straight on top of the light box and not just use it for tracing the lines.
You will need a box that you can press down on. Wood and clear
glass work the best.
If you have a box with plexiglass change it out for real
glass, preferably ¼” thick and clear. The reason is because plexi flexes when
you press on it. When you score glass you don’t want any bowing when you press
down and glass won’t do that. If you were to use plexi it can cause uneven
scoring and even cause your glass to break prematurely.
You can easily get a sheet of glass at your local window
glass store. They will even cut it to your specifications and polish the edges
for you.
The reason you want the glass to be clear is because your
pattern paper will be your diffuser. Brightness is your friend when you want to
see through the pattern and the glass. Some dense glass will be hard to see
through if you don’t have intense enough light. Florescent lights are fine but
if you have a choice I would get LED strip lights (as intense as possible)
because then it won’t be so hot to work over.
What size lightbox do you need?
Well, I’m very spoiled, I have a very large 5’ x 7’ light
table for any and all size panels I might build. But you really don’t need it.
Simply have a small lightbox, slightly bigger than your biggest pattern piece around
12” x 12”.
When you use your lightbox have two full sized patterns, one
for your lightbox and have the second pattern on a worktable nearby. As you cut
out a stained glass piece put it on your worktable pattern. That way your cut
pieces are out of the way and you can see your pieces fill your pattern. This
will allow you to nearly eliminate piece numbering which can speed up your
process as well.
What if I don’t have a lightbox?
You can make a lightbox out of anything that will hold glass
above a light. Have an old glass top table? No, go down to your local recycle
store and find one. All you need is the glass top table and a portable shop
light, a table lamp (with shade removed), or even a strong flashlight under the
glass. Be creative: coffee table, end table, dining room table, table with
removable tiles (replace with glass).
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