homemade backlit DS poster lightbox

[Clarence]

My first double-side movie poster arrived in the mail today... "The Incredibles".

I'm going to attempt to make my own lightboxes.

A sane person would wait until the project was over until he posted a step-by-step guide, but since the glue says it needs 3 hours to dry, this seems like a good time to document my initial steps.

My inspiration came from these websites:
http://www.weilandworks.com/summerla..._overview.html
http://hovanic.homeip.net/gallery/MoviePoster
http://white.hometheatertalk.com/tips/posterbox.htm

Hopefully my end result will look something like this:


I plan on using ropelight instead of fluorescent lights.

Here's what I bought at Home Depot tonight:
1" x 3" x 8' pine boards for frame... qty 2 @ $2.79 = $5.58
8' trim moulding... qty 2 @ $7.78 = $15.56
3.25" square rosettes for trim corners... qty 4 @ $2.28 = $11.20
8' weatherstripping with double slots... qty 2 @$1.99 = $4.98
#8 x 1/2" screws... $1.90
36" x 48" acrylic plexiglas... $20.99
4' x 8' tileboard (makes 3 frames)... $9.95/3 = $3.32/frame
2' x 4' light diffuser... qty 1.5 @ $4.19 = $6.29
24' ropelight = $14.96

Let's see if we can build a frame that's worth $84.78

[Dan Forsyth]

cool, how many are you gonna make?

[Clarence]

Just one for now to see how it looks.

If it comes out OK, I'll go get supplies for 2 more since I've got 3 sections of tileboard.



Dang... my ropelight from Home Depot has a dead section in the middle.

[Dan Forsyth]

cant wait to see final result.

[AndreGT6]

I too am in the middle of producing my own poster light boxes.

I went the extra mile and got 4 sheets of uv5 filtered acrylic. (2 per box)
Cost a bit, but after taking a poster down from the wall, I noticed the sun light had faded it pretty well.

Thanks for the picture with the weather striping. Very useful. I guess your going with a top loading system?

I opted for a back loading.

A.

[Clarence]

I'm going to leave one of the sides unscrewable so I can side-load a new poster.

How much was your acrylic?

I'd also like to find a better diffuser... HD only had 2'x4' sheets of light panels. That means I'm going to have to tape together 24"+4" to get the width I need (don't worry, my front clear acrylic is wide enough). Since this is what I'm taping the poster to, I'd like to have a single, sturdy sheet. If the acrylic wasn't so expensive, I'd buy another sheet and sand or paint it to diffuse it, but I'll use the $4 stuff behind the poster until I find something better.

Next step... mitered the corners...

[pcdoctor]

Looking good Clarence.

[AndreGT6]

My glass did cost a bit. After tax they were $50 Canadian each. Thats pretty well on par as I was quoted $35 US from http://www.hollywoodposterframes.com/ but they don't ship to Canada.

I bought my stuff from http://www.canusplastics.com/main.html
I highly recommend them as they saved my butt. I ordered my glass cut to 27x40 only to realize my reprintings were wider then advertized. Canus was able to make my order to 27.5x40 for no extra charge. I also picked up a nice narrow piece from their free bin. Going to make a sign out of it.

My first plan had me using 2 pieces of disfusser. I was going to glue them together.

A.

[AndreGT6]

You have the width on the difusser.
I was going to cut 2 pieces to fit 27x20 each.

Oh tip, you may want to try refelective tape on the back broad. That's what I plan on using.
You know the stuff they use on heating ducts.

None of these are my photos.

http://temp.justdrive.ca/lightbox/pages/fa20d821.html

Just examples I've been studying.


A.

[AndreGT6]

BTW great work....

I'm making a run to HD this morning.
Going to buy the pieces I need to get my framing started.
I'll writing up my lists and will post them later, but I'm buying enough to build my two boxes.

A.

[Jay Wilson]

I used a lot of the same materials as you Clarence. I was lazy in the construction though as mine I installed in window openings to cover them up. I just butt jointed everything and stuck them in. This photo is prior to them completed, but you can see them in the wall...

[Jay Wilson]

Here it is complete but not mounted...

[Clarence]

After assembling it last night, I'm going to make a few changes on my second one...

The weatherstripping strips are just too shallow so I'm going to switch the framing from 1"x3" to 2"x3" or 2"x4". Then I'm going to use a router or a table saw to cut the grooves for the plexiglas and diffuser.

Jay, I'm going to switch to butt-jointing too... I considered that last night, but I liked the nice clean cut that the miter gave to the joining weatherstripping. I'm not too concerned about the framing corners because they won't be seen behind the trim.

Did you use ropelights? I'm not sure they're going to be bright enough. I might see what Lowes has.

I figure I can route the grooves 3/4" or 1" deep... then I'll cut the plexiglass wider. Even though my first frame came out very sturdy and square (stapling on the tileboard really helps), there's just too much flex in the plexiglas and it takes a lot of effort to get it to stay in the weatherstripping on all four sides.

As an added benefit, switching to 2"x3" will be ~$7 cheaper because I won't need to buy the weatherstripping or screws.

I don't know if I'll have time to mess with it tonight though... I'm helping my son with his pinewood derby car and I have to put up some crown moulding for the wife (which was supposed to be the primary reason I went to Home Depot).

[Jay Wilson]

And here is how I did the rope light. The top hanging piece is secured in the corner. I used open screw eyes every 6" and then just ran the rope light around each one in a zig zag.

[Clarence]

Thanks... Check the ropelight attachment. It's the same (picture2a)

[Jay Wilson]

Opps...thanks Clarence...it's fixed now.

[AndreGT6]

I just returned from Home Depot after a $125 spending spree.

I'm building 2 frames so its costing a little more. (Double)

While I was there, I switch my design.

I was jusy going butt join my frame and put some kind of trim over top.

I could not find anything I liked, so I'll do a mitter cut for the frame and use a 1/2" round to hold the glass in place.

I may stain the pine or paint it. Have not decided yet.

I will do a mach up this afternoon and upload some photos.

A.

[brickie]

Awesome work guys!!Keep the pics coming.I love to see forum members going the DIY approach.Just shows how much we can save and get as good or better results.

brickie

[AndreGT6]

Cost Saving Meassure!

I'm taping up the back board when I thought to myself. This tin tape is $$$ and I'm going to need another roll to do the 2nd box.
Plan B. Aluminum Foil, I will use the tape and staples to hold it down nicely.

A.

[AndreGT6]

I made my cuts today, but will have to plain the inner frame before I can cut the pieces to size.

http://www.justdrive.ca/theatre/gall...-05/index.html

Side note, I will be altering my design next time. The plywood is not as straight as I was hoping for.



A.

[Clarence]

I returned the burned out Hampton Bay ropelight to HD. I bought a couple of rolls of 24' Sunbeam ropelight at Target... a couple of bucks cheaper, but not any brighter.

I wish I'd noticed your screw-eyes tip for stringing the lights. I would've bought a pack of those, too.

The white tile board is pretty bright and glossy/reflective, but if it looks like it needs more light, I think I have a mylar space blanket somewhere. A little spray adhesive...

But I can already tell tonight's 2x4 frame is going to be MUCH better than last night's 1x3 frame... sturdier, stronger screwed corners, deeper groove for the plexiglass, and even a couple of bucks cheaper.

TIP #1: the blade-width on a table saw is EXACTLY the right width for holding the plexiglas. I cut 2 grooves, each 3/4" deep. I bought a 1/8" router bit, but didn't need it.

TIP #2: use scraps of plexiglass in the grooves to align the corners when screwing them together. Perfect alignment.

[AndreGT6]

Hey not bad, so when you mount the poster are you going to tape it to the front glass?

A.

[Clarence]

I'm going to try taping it at the top of the diffuser, following advice from Weilandfilm

we had to fall back on our old friend, transparent tape. But don't despair. You'll only be applying a few pieces (three to four that are 2-inches in length) of Scotch tape horizontally along the top of the poster. Gravity should do the rest, and the poster will simply hang in the air pocket between the two pieces of Plexiglas.

By the way, don't worry about seeing tape on your poster when it is displayed in the lightbox. You will only be overlapping (at most) a ¼" of tape onto the poster, and the front rail assembly will sufficiently matte the outer rim of the poster so that the tape won't be seen.

As a side note, it should be known that the original design called for the poster to be sandwiched firmly between and suspended solely by the two Plexiglas panels. In fact, the prototype was constructed this way, and I was forced to administer the biggest change to my design as a result. At first, the poster hung great. But after a few days, the print started to sag and ripple since it wasn't able to freely expand and contract. Given their size and flimsy nature, the plexi panels flexed and could not maintain a firm hold across the entire surface of the poster. So as the humidity and temperature (from the lamps) changed, the poster would exhibit ripples in those areas that weren't tightly sandwiched. So I was forced to create an air pocket between the plexi panels of my prototype only a month after I thought I had finished my project.

Since employing the air pocket solution over a year ago, I've not had one wrinkle or ripple in my Gladiator theatrical poster. It has floated freely, allowing for expansion and contraction caused by both humidity and temperature changes. In addition, I've not had to re-tape the poster either.

[AndreGT6]

Yeah saw that, I'm going to give the sandwith method a try with my first box.

So many options.

A.

[Clarence]

Wow... it's turning out even better than I hoped.

The sawblade grooves are really working out well... I've removed the side of the frame and replaced the poster a dozen times already. The ropelight is providing a VERY even, diffused backlight.

I haven't attached the trim yet because I don't know what color I'm going to stain it. But I propped up the uncut trim on the sides for a quick picture...



I ended up taping it to the back of the clear plexi instead of on top of the diffuser. And I used electrical tape to border the whole poster because I was getting a little light spill around the edges. It looks great with the lights on or off.

I just bought 2 more DS posters

[coolhand]

So clarence, is there a verdict on whether the ropelight is sufficient?

[AndreGT6]

Sweet. Very nice work.

I may consider another approach for my second frame.

A.

[Clarence]

Originally posted by coolhand
So clarence, is there a verdict on whether the ropelight is sufficient?

It's not bad as is, but it could be brighter, especially if I end up putting these on a dimmer.

I'm going to search around on the forum and see if there's a brighter brand. I think they all say "extra bright"... I'll check ebay too.

Otherwise, I might just get a larger length of rope light... I'm using 24' now... I might try 36' or even 48'.

There is ZERO indication of the rope pattern behind the diffuser. Even my wife said that she expected to be able to see a brighter outline above the rope, but it's nice and evenly lit.

[Jay Wilson]

Originally posted by Clarence
It's not bad as is, but it could be brighter, especially if I end up putting these on a dimmer.

I'm going to search around on the forum and see if there's a brighter brand. I think they all say "extra bright"... I'll check ebay too.

Otherwise, I might just get a larger length of rope light... I'm using 24' now... I might try 36' or even 48'.

There is ZERO indication of the rope pattern behind the diffuser. Even my wife said that she expected to be able to see a brighter outline above the rope, but it's nice and evenly lit.

That's exactly what my thoughts were. You saw the way I did mine...Mine are plenty bright. I zig-zagged the rope lights so that I would have the even illumination. I bought mine at Lowes before I worked at Home Depot. I'm sure they're all similar. I used 24' lengths, but I did make sure the box was sealed. I did not use any type of reflector in the case.

Jay

[bluekitty]

the light boxs look great guys.
I've been planning on building one for a while now and hope to find time in the next week or two to actualy do it.

quesiton about posters...do they have to be double sided posters to work in the box?