Light table for hard tattooers

Une challenge!

I was tasked with building a light table for tracing tattoo work by a very talented local tattooer. The requirements were: a low-angled top with opaque glass that could be lit from underneath, made of reclaimed wood. Easy, right?

Well, no. Due to the prohibitive cost of frosted custom glass, a solution was needed that would keep the project within budget while still providing an opaque work surface that was real smooth like.

So I cut down some regular 5/16″ glass I had on hand and framed it out. Well, wood is a real organic material, so naturally, it flexes. Oh, does it flex.

Flexed wood + glass = heartbreaking

Broken glass and starting over. The second frame was built with more clearance in the rabbets to allow for wood flex and movement. Lesson learned. The next roadblock was lighting it from underneath. The lights sit on a flip-down, hinged piece that allows the client access to the lights for swapping out bulbs.�

Finished product in an unfinished garage.

Beautifully wrapped and ready for delivery.

A challenging project involving lots of staring and reworking. Finish is Jacobean stain and 5 layers of satin polyurethane over reclaimed Doug Fir. Keeping tattooers happy is essential.