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How to Make a Plexiglass Light Up Table Top

A light table has practical applications when creating art of all mediums. Between lighting up items for professional-looking photography, examining photographed negatives and making effortless tracings for use in illustration or digital art, the surface area of your light-up table top is likely to be in high demand. Instead of purchasing a light table, limiting your workable area to a small space, modify an existing table by transforming its entire top into a working light board.

Things You'll Need

  • Wooden table
  • Screwdriver
  • Tape measure
  • Plexiglass sheet, sized to your table
  • Electric sander
  • 4 wooden blocks, approximately 12 inches long by 3 inches wide by 1/2 inch thick
  • Flat-head screws, 1/4-inch long
  • Piece of plywood, sized to your table
  • Flat-head screws, 1-inch long
  • Light strip
  • Construction glue
  • Drill with Forstner drill bit, 1-inch diameter
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Instructions

    • 1

      Use a screwdriver to remove the screws that attach the wooden table top to the rest of the table. Remove the table top and set it aside.

    • 2

      Measure the dimensions of the table’s rectangular structure formed by the side panels. Take your measurements along the inside of the rectangle. Purchase a piece of plexiglass with these dimensions so that it will fit within the side panels.

    • 3

      Sand one side of the plexiglass with an electric sander until the surface turns translucent. This will diffuse the light from within the table.

    • 4

      Position a wooden block along the inside of one side panel. Place it lengthwise against the wood and about 2 inches from the top of the panel. Use two to four 1-inch screws to secure the block in place, attaching the screws through the side panel of the table and into the block. Repeat on the opposite side of the table. Choose a block with proper dimensions for your table to create a sufficient ledge on which your plywood will rest.

    • 5

      Select a large piece of plywood with the same dimensions as the plexiglass. Insert it into the rectangular frame of the table so that it rests on top of the wooden ledges you’ve made. Attach the plywood to the wooden ledges with 1/4-inch screws.

    • 6

      Place two more wooden blocks along the inside of the shortest side panels. Position these as you did previously to create a ledge, this time about 1/8 inch from the top of either panel. Screw the blocks into place with 1-inch screws from the outside of the side panels.

    • 7

      Place the light strip on the center of the plywood with the light or lights facing upward. Select the side of the table that will be the back and turn the light strip so that its cord faces that direction. Glue the light strip into position with heavy duty construction glue. Let dry.

    • 8

      Drill a hole in the side panel that you’ve designated as the back. Position this hole directly between the plywood and the upper ledge, if you’ve selected one of the shorter sides. Thread the light’s cord through the hole.

    • 9

      Line the tops of the upper wooden ledges with glue. Lay the Plexiglass table top in place so that it rests on the ledges inside the table frame. Make sure its sanded side is facing down. Let dry.

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