re: Light Box

I got this 1/4" plywood that was probably mahogany on the outside. It was red and had wide pores in it. I sanded a boo-boo (we’ll call it) and the underlying lamination was probably birch. I used pine shelving board for the bottom and top. I cut huge rectangles out of the panels first. I then made the patterns with little sticks and I’ve since learned that is not the best gluing situation. I’m still not sure how I’m going to do the next one. I may just use epoxy or the brown Gorilla glue. Not sure.

The entire thing was stained with Minwax Colonial Maple. It’s very light but with Minwax Tung Oil looks nice. I glued handmade paper with grass in it to the panels on the inside. It has a night light bulb inside. It’s very delicate. But it’s not a piece of furniture either. I like it but I’ve since learned a lesson about gluing to end grains. My prototype Shaker table in pine had breadboard ends with no joinery, just laminated and glued on the ends. One piece just fell off one day sitting by my window. A cabinet-maker friend discussed this no-no with me after it happened.