Tracks

The light table is conceived of and assembled as a series of layered pieces, each locking the previous one in place. A maple frame, finger-jointed at the corners, is rimmed by a wider walnut base (1) which supports the panel housing the electrical components. The panel itself is laminated create grooves (2), thus allowing the wires from the fluorescent tubes (3) to run concealed to their corresponding ballast (4) and then to return to the other side of the tubes, completing the circuit. These channels are sealed when the panel is placed within the frame. A dividing arm of maple (5) rests in a trough cut into the panel, and bears both the walnut lid for the ballast storage box and the sandblasted glass. Wedged walnut insets (6) provide gaps within the frame that permit the glass to be easily removed.