Light Pads and Light Boxes.....

[Donny]

Hello everyone,

I was hoping to find out if anyone uses Light Boxes or Light Pads for tracing designs and the like. If so what size do you use?

I am looking at getting this one:

http://www.dickblick.com/products/artograph-led-lightpad-series/


Any thoughts?

Donny

 

[jr hoot gibson]

I have used a cheap model from Hobby Lobby, guess it's 8 or 9 yrs old. It is a tad bigger than a standard sheet of paper...also use .03 mechanical pencil to draw with.

 

[thughes]

Donny,
I just made one out of some scrap 3/4" stuff, dadoed in a piece of 8" x 10" standard glass into the lid so it would be flush, and put two of these I guess 6" long stick on battery powered fluorescent lights inside and it works like a champ. I guess I might have ten bucks in the lights, glass, and hinge from the depot.

 

[Marrinan]

I use the "LightTracer" from hobby lobby- I find it very useful for design development. Mine light table screen is 10 by 12. I needed to replace the bulb and found that Hobby Lobby wanted 3 times the price of replacement bulb than buying direct from the company. Mine sits a an incline. I made a table for it to mount on for my ball vise. sit there anyway. Your choice looks very nice. Fred

 

[grumpyphil]

I use a piece of thin acrylic taped or clipped over my laptop screen

 

[Donny]

Thanks for the info everyone...I think I'm gonna pull the trigger on buying this one. I would love to make my own but time is a precious thing in my life right now and it would take away from my engraving time!!!!

Donny

 

[SamW]

Donny, I have used one for years and find it a great asset...wish I had a large light table about 3' by 4' but too expensive and absolutely no place to put it. Sure could find uses for it!

 

[ETHELBERT]

I use a small kitchen florescent with acrylic already over it. It measures 8"x6" and works great. Cost around 6bucks. And you can take it and put it in your lap wherever you have electricity....Good Luck Ethelbert

 

[scroughstock]

I have the exact one that you posted. I bought it at Hobby Lobby and love it. It works very well. The only thing I would change is to make them battery operated. Having it in my lap, but tethered to the the wall is a bit of a pain. All in all I would highly recommend it though.

 

[graver2]

look on ebay, i bought a nice led light pad for way less than $100.00. It is used for tatoo artists as well.

 

[Lee]

I use a window. Tape or hold the picture to be traced up against a window and place tracing paper over it. It is not nearly as cool as a light box but it's really cheap.

 

[mitch]

Donny,
I just made one out of some scrap 3/4" stuff, dadoed in a piece of 8" x 10" standard glass into the lid so it would be flush, and put two of these I guess 6" long stick on battery powered fluorescent lights inside and it works like a champ. I guess I might have ten bucks in the lights, glass, and hinge from the depot.

sounds like my home-made job- only a lot nicer. mine has a double circline kitchen fixture that only lights up when i brush my hand across the acrylic top. the static charge must give the starter ballast the last bit of boost it needs. it also has big vent holes drilled in the side that i made after its maiden voyage- the heat build-up warped the top...

i've also taped things to a sunny window on occasion.

 

[Donny]

Graver2...Do you recall which one? and how big?

Lee...I do have PLENTY of sunlight here in Arizona but leaning on a window when its 120 outside is not so good! LOL
I will stick with the store bought table and the Air Conditioner

Donny

 

[JCB]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/TATTOO-Ultr...780?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5d3185e40c

 

[rod]

Donny,

I have a large light table but small enough to work with on my lap on an easy chair, however it is deep, about 3 inches.

I do suggest you have one big enough to revolve around an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper, while you are hand sketching preliminary ideas.

If you have an iPad, it can be a super little traveling light table for waiting on a delayed plane, etc. The have Apps to let you trace and save, and this was discussed on another thread.

Almost all light tables have tube lights that try to give even light, and don't quite.

This might seem an odd approach, but while buying a laser printed at Staples yesterday, I wondered past the row of flat screen computer monitors, and was quite amazed how low the price has come even for a new one.

If you are talking even bright... and variable intensity light tables, for not much more money than an old style table, consider buying a computer monitor of whatever size works for you, throw away its stand, so you just have the screen, it is pretty light and thin, if you wish, put a layer of transparency over the surface for protection, and sit it on your lap, or on your drawing bench.

You will find that most light tables have no brightness control.

There are so many flat screen monitors around, I am sure you can pick up a used one for less than a new light table.

I just Googled:

"use computer monitor as light table" and there are plenty of hits on this. Basically, using light tubes to give even light is a thing of the past when we are tripping over surplus flat screen monitors in the dumpster?

Is this a crazy idea? Let me know...

Rod

 

[Donny]

rod,

Not a crazy idea at all. I have used my computer screen to do as you are proposing in the past. I just never took it apart and layed it down.
I will look further into this. The only drawback I see is portability.....

Donny

 

[JTC]

I have been using an old X-Ray view box since 1984. It is the size of a chest x-ray so there's plenty of room.Now that I think about it I've never even changed the lamps in all these years!