# Shadowbox questions



## AndyA (Jan 7, 2011)

I am starting my wife's military shadow box. She just got out of the Air Force after 12 years 2 weeks ago. I got all her medals and ribbons laid out and arranged. My question is what do you use for the backing on the inside of the shadow box? I was thinking about lining the back in foam core board, and covering it with blue felt. That way I have something to stick the pins of all the medals and ribbons into. Will this work or is there a better way of doing this? Any advice will be greatly appreciated. The one I am building will be a 32" w x 34" tall with a 3"x5" flag display on the top. I am thinking i'm going to make it out of cherry but I'll see what I can find at the lumber store. 
Thanks for any help.
Andy


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## lawrence (Nov 14, 2009)

AndyA said:


> I was thinking about lining the back in foam core board, and covering it with blue felt. That way I have something to stick the pins of all the medals and ribbons into.


 

I like the plan but would probably use a glossy fabric like silk or rayon...the dull felt has always left an air of cheapness to me


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## Al B Cuttn Wud (Oct 14, 2007)

For the boxes I have made, I normally use 1/4" MDF or some folks call is press board. I rabbit the back of the box so that it sits flush at the back. I'll use spray adhesive to hold the backing material. 

I agree with lawrence, don't go with the standard felt. It fades after a few years and just looks tired all the time. I recommend you go to the local fabric store and browse around. The fabric I use looks like velvet sort of....I think it is called frape' but it's very thin, stretchable. It is porous. I mention porous becuase I normally use super glue (gel) to mount everything. For the medals I often use hot glue because of the weight of the medals. Take a look the shadow boxes in my picture album and you will get an idea of what I'm poorly trying to explain. Hope this helps.


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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

I have to give a vote to the felt. I personally feel the shinny material would be the one that is cheap looking.

To me a critical thing is to keep the box as simple as you can. You want to highlight the medals that the person earned through meritorious service. Not just the ones that were awarded for just being somewhere or for time.

You may also want to consider constructing the box so that it is hermetically sealed. This will protect the contents over time.

George


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## AndyA (Jan 7, 2011)

Thanks for the advice guys. I have never actually seen a good shadow box in person and been able to look it over real good so I am going off of pictures and my limited woodworking knowledge. I price the wood for it and it looks like I'm goin to use sapele (sp?) mahogany for the box and I will use either 1/4" mdf or sapele mahogany plywood for the back. I will have to go check out the local fabric shop and see what I can find there. Hopefully the trip to get new tags for the car won't take too long tomorrow and I can make it by the fabric store. I'll be looking at your photos of the boxes you have made Al b and get as many ideas as I can from them. Thanks again for the advice it's always welcome.


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## Joe Lyddon (Mar 13, 2007)

I agree with your plan...

Especially the Felt! It is super good for stuff like this... The edges will NOT fray and cause problems... It's easy to use...

I think you're on the right track!


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## Coolal (Mar 19, 2011)

AndyA said:


> I am starting my wife's military shadow box. She just got out of the Air Force after 12 years 2 weeks ago. I got all her medals and ribbons laid out and arranged. My question is what do you use for the backing on the inside of the shadow box? I was thinking about lining the back in foam core board, and covering it with blue felt. That way I have something to stick the pins of all the medals and ribbons into. Will this work or is there a better way of doing this? Any advice will be greatly appreciated. The one I am building will be a 32" w x 34" tall with a 3"x5" flag display on the top. I am thinking i'm going to make it out of cherry but I'll see what I can find at the lumber store.
> Thanks for any help.
> Andy


Andy,
I use a foam board from the craft store
I then cover it with blue or black felt.
To add extra support I also use a 1/4 plywood for the back.
One thing to note you will have to cut down the divets (pins) a little so it will not show on the other side of plywood.
Use craft glue to hold the medals and crows in place.

I have built 5 shadow boxes and always used felt and 1/4 plywood for support and it has held up with out any issues.

R,
Al


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## Al B Cuttn Wud (Oct 14, 2007)

Andy,
I'm actually in work on one now. I'll take detailed pics along the way if you are interested. Do you have a specific design in mind? 

-Al


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## AndyA (Jan 7, 2011)

Al b,
That would be great. I would love to see progressive pics of the build. The one I am going to build is going to be a 32" x 34" box with a 3'x5' flag display mounted on the top. so it will look kind of like a box with a hat I guess would be the best way to describe it. 
You said you use the super glue gel do you use that to attach the fabric to the 1/4" mdf as well or just the ribbons to the fabric? 

Thank you all for your input I am really looking forward to building this display. I'll post pictures tomorrow of what the moc up looks like to give you a better idea.


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## Al B Cuttn Wud (Oct 14, 2007)

Here's a few pictures to give you some options on how to build your project. 

First pic is the stock piece, I normally use 3/4" stock. Decide how deep you want you box to be and rip all of your boards to size. I then cut the miters to size and do a quick dry fit check just to make sure I have my angles dead on with no gaps. I use painter's tape to dry fit up everything. 

Next 2 pics .....I used a dado blade to notch the back edges to allow the backing board to sit flush to the back. If you don't have a dado blade, just use a standard table saw blade and make multiple passes until you get the depth you need. Using 3/4" stock, I dado 1/2" from the 3/4" stock and cut 1/4 " deep for the 1/2" board. This allows for 1/2" lip to safely mount the backing board with #6 wood screws.

Now the backside of the box is good to go, you will need to figure out how you want to mount the glass. I prefer to go with a facing piece like the next picture. The main reason I prefer this method is because the glass is inserted from the back and held in place with clear adhesive/caulking. If the glass is ever broken, it can be replaced very easily. Also, I can mount all the medals and other things with the backing in place. Much easier than with the glass installed because it is painful to get everything mounted once the glass has been installed.


Another option to using the above method is to rip a 1/4" deep cut near the front edge. This allows you to mount the glass as you are gluing up all of the sides. Problem is that the glass is not removable once all glued up so you can't replace the glass if broken and you have to finish the wood having to tape up or work around the glass.


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## Al B Cuttn Wud (Oct 14, 2007)

Two more pictures.......

I forgot to mention that you can fancy up the front, either method, with your choice of router bit.

Here's a couple of different boxes.....if you have any questions just let me know.

Be sure to post your progress, we will all enjoy seeing your progress.

Hope this helps,
Al


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## verdesardog (Apr 2, 2011)

Al B Cuttn Wud said:


> Two more pictures.......
> 
> I forgot to mention that you can fancy up the front, either method, with your choice of router bit.


 
If you capture the glass like that how are you going to replace it if it breaks?


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## Al B Cuttn Wud (Oct 14, 2007)

verdesardog said:


> If you capture the glass like that how are you going to replace it if it breaks?


 
Not easy, that's why I always go with the facing piece. It takes more time to glue up but well worth it. Also, using the facing method allows for more creativity with router bits, inlays, etc.

I have used the second method and did break the glass. After I removed all of the broken glass, I used the same size straight router bit and routered all the way through to the orginal ripped cut. Now I could slide a new piece of glass in. If you made the cut in the top you wouldn't have to worry about the glass falling out but to finish it up right, I ripped down a small piece to fit snuggly in the hole I just created.....make sense?


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## AndyA (Jan 7, 2011)

What kind if glue do you use to glue the fabric to the mdf backer? I have found some mahogany at a good price and I'm going to get that today. The box got put on hold for a week when my wife's uncle passed and I'm just now able to get back to it. So I'm picking up the wood today and goin to find the cloth for the back. Thanks again for all the advice. I'm sure as I build it I'll have more questions.


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## AndyA (Jan 7, 2011)

Ok nevermind the glue question I see you said spray glue for the backing material.


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## Joe Lyddon (Mar 13, 2007)

Al,

You did a *WONDERFUL* job on that very stunning shadow box... :thumbsup: :clap:

Thank you very much...

Have a great 4th!

<playing Taps...>


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## AndyA (Jan 7, 2011)

Well I got my pieces cut out of sapele(sp) mahogany. I purchased the glad for the large box. I still need to get the glass for the 3x5 flag display that will go on top but I'm going to get that in the next few days. I am using 1/4 plywood for the backer. It has a nice grain design I can use stain on to get about the same color as the sapele and should look really good. I covered it in crushed velvet (which looks similar to what you have in the pics Al B) and tonight I am going to begin the process of hot gluing all of the patches, ribbons, etc. Onto it. I have to make sure I have all her medals in the right order before I glue them down but I'm sure a quick google search will verify that. I'm going to prep everything for the flag display to attach to the top then glue up the bottom display so I can get it done and just attach the flag display after I pick up the glass and finish the top part. I'll get some pics of what I have so far in an hour after I get my kid bathed and to sleep. 

Thanks for the pointers and reference pics. It helped a bunch.


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## Al B Cuttn Wud (Oct 14, 2007)

AndyA said:


> I'll get some pics of what I have so far in an hour after I get my kid bathed and to sleep.
> 
> Man, that's a long bath for the little one...ha. Looking forward to seeing pictures when you get a chance to post.
> 
> -Al


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## AndyA (Jan 7, 2011)

Well I had tried to upload some that night but I kept getting an error message when I tried. Then I just forgot lol. I just finished glueing everything down. Now I just have to glue the box together if I can get the chance to get back in the shop for a little bit. Of corse that will have to wait till after I get my daughters new swingset put together lol. 
Anyway heres what I got so far.


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## AndyA (Jan 7, 2011)

Oh the little block in the upper right is where I'm going to put a little shelf to hold a figurine of a soldier that one of her family gave her when she finished basic training.


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## Al B Cuttn Wud (Oct 14, 2007)

Looks good so far. It will really come to life when you get everything mounted and buttoned up. Looking forward to seeing it all finished up.


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## AndyA (Jan 7, 2011)

Speaking of Finishing it up. What kind of finish do you use on your boxes? I was thinking a wipe on poly but i've never used that method before so it will be an experiment if I do. I haven't really givin the finish much thought yet. I know I don't want to stain it. I want the natural colors of the wood to stand out. Open for suggestions of types and methods of finish.


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## AndyA (Jan 7, 2011)

Here is the finished shadow box I made my wife a few months ago. Picture hasn't wanted to upload the last few times I tried it. It turned out pretty good. She loved it and I learned a lot in the making so win all the way around.


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## AndyA (Jan 7, 2011)

Thanks again for all the advice!


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